Friday, February 8, 2013

Receipt tucked inside shorthand textbook from San Diego City College

This old receipt was tucked away inside a paperback book titled "Most-Used Shorthand Words and Phrases" by John Robert Gregg, Louis A. Leslie and Charles E. Zoubek.

I can't really nail down what year the receipt is from. It states "SEP 17," but not a year. The book itself is part of the November 1960 printing, so I suppose it wouldn't be wrong to guess that the receipt is from the early to mid 1960s.

San Diego City College was founded in 1914. One of its most famous alumni is Cameron "You had me at hello" Crowe. It now offers more than 100 majors, including cosmetology, nursing, small business operation, and graphic design.

It took me a minute to figure out all of the information that's being conveyed by this receipt.

It's interesting how receipts evolved from a large format, in which everything is spelled out in detail; to the condensed electronic receipts of the mid 20th century (such as this one); to today's five-foot-long itemized receipts that you receive at grocery and department stores. (And, of course, we could see printed receipts entirely phased out, moving forward.)

Anyway, here's my take on the decoding of today's receipt. I would guess the shorthand book was the $2 item, not the $5.40 item.

1 comment:

  1. Sales tax in San Diego County was 4% from January 1, 1962 to July 31, 1967. Source: https://www.boe.ca.gov/sutax/taxrateshist.htm

    Since the receipt is dated September 17, it follows that the purchases must have taken place on that date in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, or 1966.

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