Hi Lyle,

I found the following very useful:

	United States Bureau of the Census
	1975	Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970
Part I. Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C.


For example, page 128 has retail prices of selected foods in US Cities
from 1890 to 1957; there is also a discussion about how this information
was compiled, earlier data, etc.

There are lots of other useful sections as well, including one on Power,
which documents the introduction of electricity, etc.

-Megan Springate, RPA

> I'm working on a set of sites dating from the Reconstruction Era to the
> early electricity period (1865-1940) in tobacco country. The literature on
> the subject refers to average incomes per year in various places but never
> mentions the costs of basics, staples and/or farm machinery. Could someone
> point me in the direction of compiled information that has staple prices
> and income figures (cost of a loaf of bread, pound of butter, average
> yearly income, etc.) for that time period? Also, has anyone compiled farm
> equipment prices for that time period on a yearly or decade basis?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Lyle Browning, RPA
>