University of Virginia Library

Nelson Barksdale
Advertisement for Workmen

1819 A part of the Proctors Advertisment to Undertakers House Carpenters and Joiners--As
the items of house carpenters and Joiners and there several Prices are too nu[m]erous to be
specifyed, some Standard of refference for Prices must be proposed. The Philadelphia
House Carpenters book of prices printed by M. Carey in 1812, is adopted for the rule of
prices and every undertaker is to say whither he will undertake, at the Prices printed in that
book or at what pr Cent more or less. Lumber is excepted from this refference to be settled
at its actual cost, the uncertainty of which might be hazardous for the undertaker, but
unseasoned boards must be sufficiently Kiln dryed by him. Where an item of work and
prices are not to be found directly in the price Book it is to be deduced from the elements
furnished by other articles in the book. As the buildings are distributed in portions of a little
more or less than a 100 thousand Bricks, each undertaker is to say for How much of these
portions he will contract to finish the wooden work by the first day of February next--

Whenever work is not finished by the stipulated day the party failing is to pay as an
indemnification as rent of 10 pr Cent on the cost of the building from the day stipulated until
his part of the work is finished--Advances of money will be made from time to time to the
amount of Materials brought into place and of half the workmanship actually done, the
balance within six months from the completition of each portion--

Letters containing proposials are to be addressed to the Subscriber--as Proctor of the
University near Charlottesville with as Little delay as possible, and an answer will be
promptly returned--

Signed Nelson Barksdale

Copy (extract), in "Memoriall to the bord of Visitors of the U.Va. Octobr 3. 1823," ViU:PP;
copy, part of document U in Oldham vs University of Virginia, ViU:UVA Chronological
File. See James Oldham, Lawsuit against the University of Virginia, 20 November 1823.
Oldham's extract presumably was copied from a local newspaper. The advertisement was
placed in newspapers in several other localities, including Staunton, Winchester, Richmond,
Baltimore, and Philadelphia (see TJ to Thomas Cooper, 3 March, TJ to Joseph Carrington
Cabell, 6 March, and JCC's reply of 12 March, TJ to Dabney Carr, 11 March, Israel Collett's
Account for Advertising, 18 March, and Thomas Cooper to TJ, 11 April 1819 as well as the
letters cited below). This advertisement appeared in the Richmond Enquirer on 12 March
(see Richard M. Burke to Barksdale, 6 April 1819). For proposals of undertakers which
make direct mention of this advertisment, see Levi Taylor to Barksdale, 16 March, James C.
Fisher, et all to Barksdale, 17 March, Christopher Branch to TJ, 20 March, Jacob H. Walker
to Barksdale, 20 March, John Parham to Barksdale, 23 March, Chilion Ashmead to
Barksdale, 24 March, William Hawley, Jr., to Barksdale, 24 March, E. W. Hudnall to TJ, 26
March, Richard Ware to Barksdale, 26 March, James Oldham to Barksdale, 27 March, John
Percival to TJ, 29 March, Abraham Woglome to Barksdale, 30 March, Richard M. Burke to
Barksdale, 6 April, Daniel Flournoy to TJ, 8 April.