1915 Date Book with Handwritten Moonshine Distillation Recipe [n.p., 1915]

ANONYMOUS. 1915 Date Book with Handwritten Moonshine Distillation Recipe.

[n.p., 1915]. Slim pocket date book covering the full calendar year 1915. 6" x 3". 108pp with 8 full color maps. Complete. Very Good. Of primary interest is a contemporary handwritten moonshine distillation recipe, written across multiple dated openings in January 1915. Recorded prior to National Prohibition, the recipe documents a complete, step-by-step distilling process using corn mash, fermentation, and copper boiling apparatus, reflecting informal and illicit knowledge circulating privately at a time when alcohol production was already restricted under Texas local-option laws. Such instructions were not openly published and typically survive only by chance in working notebooks or personal ephemera.

The use of a compact commercial date book as the recording medium underscores the recipe’s functional purpose. Intended to be carried, consulted, and reused, the volume reflects everyday, off-the-record practice rather than novelty or display material. The presence of navigational maps alongside the recipe reinforces its character as a practical working object.

The date book bears the imprint “Compliments of Geo. Richardson, Wool Commission Merchant, San Angelo, Texas.” Richardson (1861–1933) was an established figure in the West Texas wool trade during this period. The association provides period context only; the significance of the item lies in the survival of the handwritten moonshine distillation recipe itself.