Treasure!

Okay - here's the wallet. It is fine leather that has hardened over the years. The name on the inside is Convers Purington, a well known Bowdoinham name. It is dated 1867. Inside were 3 $5 bills from the 1860's and 1870's, also 4 or 5 $1 bills from the same era. They were folded up tight and were ripped but you can make out quite a bit. These are "green backs" as signified by the green reverse side. There was also a calling card from S D Thorn who published the Bowdoinham Advertiser. We're not sure of the owner or vintage of the boot - it is made of leather and is fairly good condition. The bottle is blown glass, maybe an apothecary bottle? And the last item looks to be something that many young men would carry folded up in their wallets - yes, it appears to be a prophylactic. We checked and they started making them with rubber in the 1840's so this appears to be authentic to the times. This made for lots of fun on Halloween night with our special guests, the former Town Historian. We'll do some more checking and see if we can get some history on Mr. Purington for a future post.