I just found these cool bits of ephemera from the Studio Building in Boston. These are room rental receipts for one Mr. Thayer, who paid $30 for one month in Room 7 and $1.47 for what looks like 4 days in Room 44. I find the dates on the second scrap of papyrus a little confusing but it must have made sense to parties involved.
Mr. Thayer at the Studio Building in Boston, 1865
Mr. Thayer at the Studio Building in Boston, 1865
How do these rates compare to Parc Lincoln charges in 1990 and 1991?
I paid $166 a week for room 1422, and then $90 a week for Room 317, where I stayed for a majority of my time in that building. According to in2013dollars.com the monthly rate for room 7 at the Studio Building in today’s dollars would be about $432, versus $360 monthly for the $90/week Parc Lincoln Room 317. Of course one assumes Mr. Thayer paid more because his accommodation was more habitable than the infamous Room 317, which was a miserable shithole.
The Studio Building was something of a mecca for artists and literati in Boston. The Parc Lincoln, in New York, was no such thing. I find no mention of anyone named Thayer as having been among the cognoscenti who gathered at the Studio Building, though his name not making it to history books is no proof that he never existed or that these receipts are hoaxes and forgeries. Haha.
I’m going through some digital hoarding and unhoarding the more interesting bits. These receipts qualify, as do others to come this winter day. There are a few more scans from the Studio Building over at receipts.sorabji.com.
