1864 Brooklyn, New York – Original $50 Receipt for Church Organist Services For Sale

1864 Receipt for Church Organist Services with 2-cent U.S. Internal Revenue stamp
Original handwritten receipt dated March 1, 1864, in Brooklyn, New York, documenting a payment of $50 to Richard Phair for three months of services as organist at Washington Avenue Baptist Church.
The receipt records payment received from Mr. James L. Brumley and is signed by Richard Phair. It identifies the church, the nature of the employment, and the compensation paid during the American Civil War.
Affixed at the upper left is an original 2-cent U.S. Internal Revenue stamp, bearing a handwritten cancellation dated March 1, 1864. Federal revenue stamps of this period were used to document taxes on various transactions and helped finance the Union government during the Civil War.
The document offers an interesting glimpse into nineteenth-century Brooklyn religious and musical life, preserving the names of the church organist and payer as well as the amount paid for the services.
Condition: Original folded manuscript document with age toning, scattered spotting, handling wear, and small edge irregularities. The revenue stamp has damage at the upper-left corner. The handwritten text and signature remain substantially legible. Please examine the photographs carefully.
An appealing original piece of Civil War-era New York history, suitable for collectors of revenue stamps, church history, American music history, and nineteenth-century manuscripts.
From the collection of Dr. Allan C. “Doc” Johnson (1889-1941) of Clinton, Massachusetts, an active stamp collector during the early 20th century. Doc's collection has remained with his family for more than eight decades.
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