An Attorney’s Ledger

Unknown Attorney, Joseph Foster Barham and Stephen Wren. Billable Hours and Fees. London: 29 May 1754. English.
Brown ink on paper. 330 X 185 mm.

This fascinating fragment is a page from an unknown attorney’s ledger book. Each service performed for the client is noted in some detail, as well as the cost of the service. The transaction on behalf of Stephen Wren was the sale of his estate in Kensington and the associated paperwork and filing.

Among the items enumerated is 3 shillings 6 pence for paper and stamps. The stamps noted here would not have been postage stamps but rather revenue stamps for collecting taxes on vellum, parchment, and paper.