A day's work for a man in 1814-1816 was from $1.00 per day for ordinary work, to $1.25 for driving oxen, or $1.50 for "digging a grave," or the same amount "for going after the thief."
House-rent is recorded at the rate of thirty dollars a year.
One may explain the high rates of many of these commodities, and the relatively high rate paid for labor by the prevalence of war prices at the time. Commodities such as molasses would be expensive as a result of the stoppage of sea-trade; and the labor market was exhausted to supply the army with soldiers.
In 1824 Toffey imported, for Costuming, shawls, crepe at $1 per yard, silk, skein-silk, twist, ribbon, velvet at 90c. per yard, drab-cloth, flannel, braid, handkerchiefs, buttons and button-moulds, gloves, suspenders, calico, vest patterns, pins, chrome-yellow, "bearskin" at 82c. per yard, dress handkerchiefs, beads, buckles, silk flags and morocco skins.
Of new foods he imported molasses at 35c. per gallon, oranges at 2c. each, which he seems to have sold only one by one, sugar at 6c., tobacco at 12c., alum, tea at 85c., salt at $1 per bushel, pepper, all-spice, raisins, salt-peter, pearlash, castile soap, hard soap, paregoric, ginger, logwood, vitriol, cinnamon, snuff, sulphur, cloves, mustard, opium, coffee, loaf sugar, watermelons, and seeds for beets, lettuce, parsnips.
Of House-furnishings, he had for sale, knives, forks—one set of knives and forks selling for $13, plates, bowls, pitchers, mugs, teacups, teapots, decanters, almanacs, brooms, oilcloth, glass and putty, inkstands, bedsteads, spoons in sets, sugar-bowls, tin pans.
Of Tools and Materials for Industry he sold nails by the "paper," by the hundred and by the pound, files, oil at 75c. a gallon, locks, slates, paper, pocket-books, pencils, turpentine, raw steel and iron, spectacles at 34c., sandpaper, shovels and spades, screws, gimlets.
Rum, brandy and gin appear also, with powder, shot and fishhooks, as tributes to the convivial and adventurous spirit. But the convivial spirits were the better patrons, for there was scarcely an entry in certain years in which was not an item of alcoholic spirits. The sporting goods were only occasionally purchased.
In 1833 for Costuming, cotton-batting had appeared, and canton flannel, canvas, blue jeans at 83c. per yard, brown Holland, cloth at $3.64 per yard, hats at 44c. each, hooks and eyes, pearl buttons at 10c. a dozen, side combs, bandanna handkerchiefs; while sole-leather was still sold in quantity, with buckskin mittens, which were scarcely made on the Hill.
For Industry, behold the arrival of pincers, gum arabic, "Pittsburgh cord" at 21c. per yard. In Housings, candles, frying pans, tin pails, dippers, tin basins, wash-tubs made their appearance; and in this year for the first time window-blinds were sold, for 75c.