This message sent yesterday seems to not have gotten to the VA sites.
Here are 1850 prices, as paid my G-GFather, a young South-central Ohio
physician of no more than average means. These entries in his
"DayBook" seem to establish my suggestion that one must multiply the
1845-1855 prices by about 40 to show the relationship with today's
costs for common items.  Try it yourself; the CPI multiplier of 10
simply does NOT work (unless you can now hire a man to work in the
fields for $7.50 a day and buy sausage for 80 cents per lb.).

I will later send 1900 prices for common items, those also that 30 is
an appropriate approximate multiplier to compare the turn of the
20th-Century with now.
*******
1850 RETAIL PRICES (Southern Ohio)

20.00 for a "colt"
5 cents for a "daybook" (bound notebook 100 pg.)
$1.00 for leather for a pr. of shoes, plus $1.00 to have those made
$1.121/2 for a leather vest
$5.00 for an "overcoat"
$1.00 for 2 shirts
$1.00 for 2 prs. Trousers
371/2 cents for a tin bucket
$1.50 per student (two 66 day terms) = 23/4 cents ea. per day
621/2 cents a day for raking and binding
50 cents a day for hoeing corn
50 cents a day for reaping and the same for raking
50 cents a day for hauling grain (teamster)
$1.00 per day for threshing
(The above rates equal 4-6 cents per hour for such farm work)
$1.00 per week "and washing done" @ 4-5 cents per item
$3.00 for obstetrics
1 cent per bd foot for 375 linear ft. lumber (1"x1')
$1.25 for having a horse shod
39 cents for 5 lbs tallow
1.25 for "front quarter" of beef
35 cents for 10 lbs "beef"
17 cents for 10 lbs lard
80 cents for 10 lbs sausage
1 cent per lb. for 14 lbs spare ribs
66 cents for 141/4 lbs. ham (4¼ cents per lb.)
621/2 cents for 5 lbs butter
$1.00 for a bu. dried apples
10 cents per gallon for 5 gal. Vinegar
$1.19 for 28 lbs of pork (
$1.00 for a bu. of potatoes   1.00
$1.00 for having a pair of pants made
$1.50 for having a linen coat made
$1.99 for 2 prs of drawers
23/4 cents per lb. for 42 lbs. flour
$3.00 for house call at night, $1.00 day call
$1.50 room and board for one week
$3.00 for wood and candles for 3 months for a boarder
3-5 cents per item of clothes laundered

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