Day-by-Day / May 19, 1803

May 19, 1803

New tinware and cloth

In Philadelphia, Israel Whelan, Purveyor of Public Supplies, agent buys supplies and equipment essential to the success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition: tin lanterns, sounding horns, and cups; brass kettles, scarlet and drab cloth; and the most expensive item of the expedition, a chronometer.

Tin Lantern

Tinware lantern punched with hundreds of slots and holes

Taken in cooperation with the Fort Mandan Visitors Center. Photo © 2013 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Passmore’s Tinware

Israel Whelen Esqr. Phila. May 19th 1803
B. of Thomas Passmore
4 Tin horns 50 cts. 2.00
2 Lanthorns 1 2.00
2 Lamps 25 0.50
32 Canisters 25 8.00
1 squar box   1.00
3 doz. pint Tumblers 1 40 / 100 4.20
    $17.70[1]“Supplies from Private Vendors,” in Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed., ed. Donald Jackson (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), … Continue reading

Related: The Sounding Horn | Making Candles

Brass Kettles

Bot. of Ben. Harberson & Sons
14 Brass Kettles 48 @ 4/ £9 12 0
48 Pieces Brass 12 @ 4/3 2 11 0
1 Black Tin Saucepan 11 3
Porterage 1 10 ½
  12 16 1 ½
Exd. B. M. Drs. 34. 10 / 100

Benjamin Harberson & Sons were coppersmiths.[2]Ibid., 85.

Related: Outfitting the Expedition | Lewis in Philadelphia

 

Wister’s Scarlet Cloth

Bot. of Jno. & Chas. J. Wister
1 pc. Scarlet Cloth No. 1518 22 y. 9/6 10 9 0
    Adv. 100 pct. 11 9 9
      £21 18 9
5 doz & 6 fancy hdfs. 2 29/ 3 ½ 26/ £ 7 9 0  
3 Gro. Br. Binding 13/6 2 0  6  
3 Gro. Scarlet do. 17/6 1 12 6  
2 Card Beads 15/ 1 10 0  
    £13 12 0  
  Dist. 5 pct. 13 7  
      £12 18 5
      £34 17 2
    4 dn. Butcher Knives 10/ 2 0 0
      £36 17 2
Exde. B. M. $98.29    

John and Charles Jones Wister were Philadelphia merchants on High Street.[3]Ibid., 85–6.

The Chronometer

5 Mo. 19th 1803.

Israel Whelen Purveyor of Public Supplies. Bot. of Thos. Parker

1 Gold Chronometer $250.  
Keys for do. .75
$250.75

Thomas Parker as a Philadelphia clockmaker and watchmaker.[4]Ibid., 88. See Chronometer.

Lapsley’s Drab Cloth

Bot. of David Lapsley
32 Yards S fine Milled drab cloth @ $7 $225.75

David Lapsley sold dry goods on Second Street in Philadelphia.[5]Ibid., 91.

 

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Notes

Notes
↑1 “Supplies from Private Vendors,” in Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed., ed. Donald Jackson (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 79.
↑2 Ibid., 85.
↑3 Ibid., 85–6.
↑4 Ibid., 88.
↑5 Ibid., 91.

Discover More

  • The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.

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Unless otherwise noted, journal excerpts are from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, edited by Gary E. Moulton, 13 vols. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001).