Two Autograph Notes Signed (ANS) by Charles Roscoe Savage to Thomas Williams
Salt Lake City, U.T. [Utah Territory]: [Charles Roscoe Savage / Savage & Ottinger], March 2 & March 4, 1869. Ephemera. Two slips of white, machine-ruled paper, measuring approximately 2.5" x 5" and 3" x 4.5" respectively, functioning as theatre scrip. Both show evidence of contemporary removal from a larger ledger, with edges torn cleanly. Each bears a bold ink cancellation flourish (or "ledger check") in the hand of the recipient, indicating the vouchers were redeemed and recorded. Clean contemporary spindle holes at the center of each slip suggest they were "spiked" upon processing. Minor toning and light creasing; otherwise very good.
The slips read:
1. [In pencil, dated March 2]: "March 2n | Bro Williams, Please let | my son have the best 75 cent | parquette you've got | and charge C. R. Savage | I am getting better very slowly | CRS"
2. [In ink, dated March 4]: ".75-c | Bro Williams | Please let bearer | have one (1) .75c ticket | and Chrg to CRS | March 4th/69 | Savage & Ottinger" Very Good. Item #71355
Two compelling pieces of business ephemera from the desk of Charles Roscoe Savage (1832-1909), Utah’s preeminent pioneer photographer, documenting the barter-based economy of the 19th-century West.
Both notes are addressed to "Brother Williams"—Thomas Williams, the treasurer and business manager of the Salt Lake Theatre. During a period when hard currency was scarce in the Utah Territory, these slips functioned as informal admission vouchers or theatre scrip; they allowed Savage to leverage his professional credit with the theatre management to secure "parquette" (main floor) seating for his son and other associates.
Thomas Williams (1828–1874), a Welsh LDS convert and church accountant, served as the treasurer for the Salt Lake Theatre (aka, "the Cathedral in the Desert"), one of the first world-class playhouses in the American West. As the theatre’s vital bookkeeper, Williams navigated a complex 1860s economy that relied heavily on barter and credit to manage the institution's daily finances. A trusted associate of the territory’s prominent artists and businessmen.
George M. Ottinger (1833–1917), the business partner of C.R. Savage, notably served as the principal scene painter for the Salt Lake Theatre from its 1862 inception, creating the elaborate backdrops and stage designs that transformed a desert playhouse into a sophisticated center for Victorian drama.
The 1869 date is pivotal, marking the same year the Transcontinental Railroad was completed, a transformative event that C.R. Savage famously documented just months after these notes were written. These credit-based entries offer an intimate look at the commerce and social life within Salt Lake City’s cultural and business circles during the period of Utah's most significant historical transition.
Price: $850.00