Salesman's Dummy for The Life and Times of John Bunyan

Salesman's dummies, or sample books, look from the outside like a complete book. They were used by sellers, particularly in the nineteenth century, to encourage subscribers to purchase a complete book. The dummy often includes a title page, a small selection of text, example illustrations, and sometimes alternative binding options. In this case the dummy has been used as a commonplace book by someone who wrote out various selections of poetry and literature. The front pastedown and flyleaf feature pen trials with the name "S.A. Lewis" and Milldale, Connecticut along with other Connecticut towns. Laid in at the back is what appears to be an incomplete draft of a letter addressed from Milldale, Connecticut to a Katie Lewis of New Haven.