Other Form of Name
Lee, T. A. (Thomas Alexander)
Publication Date
2008
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate use of archival material to access a hidden voice in accounting history and provide social context in the form of a biographical micro-history of public accountancy. The archival material is a letter written in 1846 by a Scottish teenage public accountancy clerk. An analysis of the letter gives insight to the employment and social life of the clerk in mid-19th century Scotland and also identifies a notorious character in Scottish public accountancy. The paper reveals the importance of social connections, religion, communication, and transport to middle-class Victorian Scots and, more generally, reminds accounting historians of the value of hidden voices and micro-histories.
Recommended Citation
Lee, T. A.
(2008)
"Letter from a teenage accounting clerk in 1846: A Hidden voice in a micro-history of modern public accountancy,"
Accounting Historians Journal: Vol. 35:
Iss.
2, Article 3.
Available at:
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_journal/vol35/iss2/3