Anyone written a book about practical aspects of living say, in the 1800s?

I wonder how they did everyday, boring things like this back then. Many things are obvious or have been played up in movies, but I'm sure many things that were part of everyday life are no longer widely known.

So does anyone have any idea how banks verified account ownership before photo ID in larger cities?

How about other things, like getting your mail in a small town, did people pick it up once a month before home delivery became the norm?

They actually knew their customers, a strange concept today.

They used signsture cards. When you opened the account they used common id materials like birth certificate and or drivers license, and you gave a sample signature they would use for comparison in future transactions.

Check out Jas. Townsend and Son. They have lots of videos on YouTube and a retail store. They specialize in American life during the 18th Century -- especially food.

? My 1979 New Jersey Drivers License didn't have a picture. I cashed checks with it- They looked at the signature.

New Jersey '70s again- To cash a check in the grocery store they pre-approved it and took a photo of the check and the person cashing the check.

My Dad was a grocery store manager and I went to night court for bounced checks a couple of times. He had a picture of the bounced check and person cashing it.

Like szyp said, signature cards.

We used signature cards - behind the teller line - and would question how much the last deposit was for.

I remember as a kid going thru the drivethru with mom,
she would have her check, and Dad's , (both were government workers) and would sign her's , with her signature, and his, with his signature,

she could sign his name, like his handwriting,

passed that trait on to me, I used to sign a bunch of his stuff before I got POA

When I reported to my duty station at North Island NAS in 1968, the bank on base was B of A.

I had an account at the tiny bank in my hometown. I had no account number, no preprinted checks and no check number on the check. We used what were called “counter checks.” Each merchant in town had a supply of checks from each bank (2) and when you bought something you wanted to pay for with a check, you used either the pink checks or the green ones. I used pink ones.

This drove the B of A nuts for a long time. “How did the bank know it was you?” they demanded.

“Well, the cashier was one of my classmates, and another classmate was the son of the bank president. They’ve known me since I was a small boy.” I could not have pretended to be someone else even if I had wanted to.

If the bank pays a check that you didn’t sign, its on them, so they are careful. If there was any doubt, the signature card was examined.

As I understand, a great deal of business was done in those days via bona fides and introduction. Social and business activity was rigid and complex in that period. A gentleman or businessman would seldom enter a bank without a letter of introduction. It simply was not done. (The Americas were less formal than Victorian England). You would likely present your calling card prior to the visit as well.

Before you ever had an account with the bank, there were preliminaries. This letter of introduction ideally would be generated by someone either respected or known to the banker/lawyer/businessman. This letter or letters would be presented along with "bona fide" papers. Among these documents could be letters of credit, perhaps even a birth certificate, lineage, etc.

You could try reading "Cassell's household guide”, which gives a comprehensive view on victorian life in 1869 or "Routledge’s manual of etiquette". 1860. These are available online for free in PDF and epub.

*In the event you are preparing for some time travel- here’s a few key dates and events:

Photographic identification appeared in 1876, but it did not become widely used until the early 20th century when photographs became part of passports and other ID documents such as driver's licenses, all of which came to be referred to as "photo IDs". Both Australia and Great Britain, for example, introduced the requirement for a photographic passport in 1915 after the so-called Lody spy scandal.
New York, the first state to require the registration of motor vehicles (1901) (No big surprise there), then mandated an operator’s certificate, costing $1, which had to be carried when driving. 1954: South Dakota becomes the LAST state to require driver’s licenses. 1958: Photographs first appear on California driver’s licenses. Mid-1970s: Texas adds photo to license for the first time.

quote:

Originally posted by szyp:
... they used common id materials like ... drivers license ...

Who had a driver's license in the 1800s like the OP was asking?

I remember when some of the local watering holes had counter checks from each of the local banks on the end of the bar.

The really cool part? It was up to each bank to decide how they wanted to do it and they assumed the risk! Imagine that!

As others have stated, the banks knew their customers. If someone new came into town they were vetted by employees and families of employees before doing business with them. Signature cards were used when banks grew, but banks operated on a local basis, people didn't travel like they do now, so most banks were locally owned and operated.

I work for a family owned bank that opened in 1899. The original ledger is still in the vault, it's cool to look at how things were done back then.

Into the 70's and 80's, loans were generally done on one sheet of paper - I, fill in name, owe the bank xx dollars to be re-paid monthly by this date in this amount. Signed xx.

That was pretty much it. A personal loan like that today requires credit check, multiple pages of disclosures, a note at least 10 pages long signed and initialed in multiple places. It's ridiculous.

Most people don't realize that even locally owned banks make very few decisions on their own. They are run by the FDIC - almost every aspect of the bank is fully regulated and run according to FDIC dictates. Products offered, ID's accepted and required, EVERYTHING is mandated by the federal government.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
They actually knew their customers, a strange concept today.

One of my banks still does. It's a nice thing.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:


Most people don't realize that even locally owned banks make very few decisions on their own. They are run by the FDIC - almost every aspect of the bank is fully regulated and run according to FDIC dictates. Products offered, ID's accepted and required, EVERYTHING is mandated by the federal government.

Some of us are cynical enough to hold the view that the banks are effectively nationalized in all but name, an elevation of form over substance. Sure, there are shareholders who can receive dividends if regulations allow. Sure, there are directors and officers, who must be approved by the regulators, and must be dismissed whenever the regulators desire.

The bank can decide under what conditions, and what flavors of candy to put out near teller desks. I’ve not heard of any regulations of that.

Back in the day I had a "Bank Book" issued by the credit union and all transactions were recorded in it and time and date stamped. They really really did not like doing business with you without it in hand.

I needed a withdrawal once and had misplaced my book... Couldn't get my own money! Had to find it or get a replacement sent by mail, or they could mail you a check to the address on file.

Credit unions may have been different than banks IDK. That was in the 60's and I was just a kid.

People knew their customers. Not just banks, but mercantile and the like also. Towns were more close knit as well.
One of the ladies my mother grew up with got a job as a bank teller. I worked with her when I was the bank’s IT admin. Miss Betty retired a few years after I moved on from the bank. I saw her and her husband at the new Denny’s last night.
The couple that now owns the local Western Auto are folks with which I went to school. They bought the business from the wife’s parents.
The local concrete plant? Either me or my sister were in school at some point with their three boys. Their parents also went to school with my parents.
The local feed store? My family and theirs goes back at least 4 generations.

And so on, and so on....



Oh, and I still go to town to get my USPS mail.