The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945 Page: 155
617 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Captain Charles Schreiner
being the principal products sold. One comb was charged to
Charles Schreiner.
Whisky, candy, coffee, and tobacco continued for some time
to be the chief items purchased. Most goods were bought and
sold in bulk quantities in those days. Whisky was purchased by
the retailer by the barrel, and customers brought their own
jugs and bottles. The standard price for whisky seems to have
been two and a half dollars per gallon (the tax on whisky
today is considerably more), and it was not uncommon for
a customer to purchase several gallons at a time. When asked
if more than one brand of whiskey was handled in those days,
Scott Schreiner, present co-owner and manager of the store
replied, "Probably not at first, the Captain would only buy
one barrel of a particular brand at a time from the wholesaler."
When further questioned as to how he accounted for different
prices being charged to various customers for the same quantity
of whisky (some were charged sixty cents a quart, others
seventy-five, and still others eighty-five), Mr. Schreiner re-
plied, with a twinkle in his eye, "Well, he could have had some
preferred customers, you know." "
Judging from the increase each day in the number of entries
in the daybook, the mercantile business grew very rapidly after
the first few weeks. Some of the lists of items purchased by
certain customers are interesting within themselves; for ex-
ample, James W. Glenn on January 1, 1870, purchased the
following list of goods:
One hat ........................$1.00
One yard of calico ............... .12
One wash tub.................. 1.25
Four cigars.................... .20
1/4 lb. of candy ................. .10
One pair of shoes............... 1.35
One pair of garters............ 2.50
One coat ....................... 5.00
The garters must have been rather fancy ones or else quite
a luxury, since they cost almost twice the amount of the shoes.
Other luxury items charged to different customers seem to have
been sardines, candy, and whisky. It is also noticed that with
practically every sale of whisky the customer bought a sack of
candy. It could have been an appeasement token for the wife,
or probably more often it was used to mellow the whisky since
practically all candy at that time was rock candy. Another
"Statement made January 6, 1944, to the writer.155
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945, periodical, 1945; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146055/m1/173/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.