It has been the misfortune of the Business Historical Society to lose within the first year of its existence three of its founders: John Wingate Weeks, died July 12; Charles Chauncey Stillman, died August 17; and Frank W. Remick, died October 16. They were, all three, men of great business administrative ability and eminent for their public spirit.

Extensive use of the Business Library's collections of early Boston and New York stock exchange prices has been made by the National Bureau of Economic Research for its forthcoming study of “Bond Yields and Interest Rates” for the last seventy years. It was found that the Library's set of official stock exchange records dated back as far as 1857, whereas the material in the New York Public Library and the New York Stock Exchange is not earlier than January, 1859.

The moving pictures, however much critics and doctors of divinity may lament their prevalence, as corrupters of the public taste or morals, are come upon us as an established fact. The Harvard Business School recognized the state of affairs by arranging a course of lectures for the students, given by some of the most prominent men in the industry; and our Secretary has recently come upon some timely information about its origin, through Mr. A. C. Rulofson, of San Francisco, one of our members.

(That our collections are proving serviceable in a wide variety of purposes is shown by the article which follows, a sketch interestingly recreating from the unlikely medium of a prosaic set of household account books, something of the domestic life of the old New Bedford whalers of a century ago. Ed.)

Through the kindness and generosity of a number of friends of the Business Historical Society in the field of accountancy, a most valuable treasure has recently come into our hands.

Our railroad collection is among the best, and is still growing, but in bringing together pamphlet material, in particular, there are always blanks to be filled in.

In Our last issue, we printed a summary of the recent steps taken in regard to affiliated membership in the Society. The account there given of our aims and methods is amplified and illustrated by the following typical extract from a letter sent out by the Chairman of the committee this last summer.

Announcement has recently been made in the public press of the projected fusion of business literature now contained in the Boston Public Library and the Harvard Business Library. These collections, together with that of The Business Historical Society and others, it is now planned to amalgamate into one unified collection of business material in the new Baker library building of the Harvard Business School.

“Our plumber, being employed in the tower of the church about the repairs of the roof, and not extinguishing his fire in the evening, but fatally and most foolishly covering it with ashes, that he might the more readily set to work in the morning, went down to supper; and when, after supper, all our servants had gone to bed, a strong wind rising from the north speedily brought on our great calamity.

The generosity of Mr. Joseph P. Day has recently enabled the Business Historical Society to buy an interesting little collection of pamphlets on transportation.

A small but valuable lot of bank reports makes a noteworthy addition to the library of the Business Historical Society.