Thursday 27 June 1661

To my father’s, and with him to Mr. Starling’s to drink our morning draft, and there I told him how I would have him speak to my uncle Robert, when he comes thither, concerning my buying of land, that I could pay ready money 600l. and the rest by 150l. per annum, to make up as much as will buy 50l. per annum, which I do, though I not worth above 500l. ready money, that he may think me to be a greater saver than I am. Here I took my leave of my father, who is going this morning to my uncle upon my aunt’s letter this week that he is not well and so needs my father’s help. At noon home, and then with my Lady Batten, Mrs. Rebecca Allen, Mrs. Thompson, &c., two coaches of us, we went and saw “Bartholomew Fayre” acted very well, and so home again and staid at Sir W. Batten’s late, and so home to bed. This day Mr. Holden sent me a bever, which cost me 4l. 5s.¹

Whilst a hat (see January 28th, 1660-61, ante) cost only 35s. See also Lord Sandwich’s vexation at his beaver being stolen, and a hat only left in lieu of it, April 30th, 1661, ante; and April 19th and 26th, 1662, Post.—B.

Friday 28 June 1661Wednesday 26 June 1661

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Temperature: 14°C / 57°F

(Average for June 1661)

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Annotations

N Louis Anthony Scarsdale on Sun 27 Jun 2004, 11:22pm

Lest anyone entertain mad thoughts about why Pepys would purchase “a piece of armor protecting the lower part of the face; a helmet visor,” be assured that a beaver is merely a “hat made of beaver’s fur or an imitation of it” (L&M Companion), though at this time “imitation” must surely mean “a cheaper pelt that could be mis/taken for beaver.”
N A. De Araujo on Sun 27 Jun 2004, 11:42pm

“to be a greater saver than I am” was there inflation at the time? how about interest rates? there were moneylenders for sure.
N vicente on Mon 28 Jun 2004, 02:16am
N vicente on Mon 28 Jun 2004, 03:32am

Was Sam gazumped???”and did buy a new hat, cost between 20 and 30 shillings, at Mr. Holden
N vicente on Mon 28 Jun 2004, 03:43am

A. De Araujo;There was some inflation, more food was required because of more mouths to feed but not the wages as more workers than jobs.
N deepfatfriar on Mon 28 Jun 2004, 11:39am

“…and there I told him how I would have him speak to my uncle Robert, when he comes thither, concerning my buying of land, that I could pay ready money 600l. and the rest by 150l. per annum, to make up as much as will buy 50l. per annum, which I do, though I not worth above 500l. ready money, that he may think me to be a greater saver than I am.”

Am I reading this incorrectly, or is SP asking dad to lie to dad’s brother (who is maybe at death’s door) about how well-heeled SP is? And then off to the theatre, tra la?
N PHE on Mon 28 Jun 2004, 01:10pm

That hat
Seems odd that Sam should be buying a fur hat in June. Surely, this isn’t an off-season bargain price. Perhaps there’s a long waiting list and you just have to get one when you can.
N Ed Whipple on Mon 28 Jun 2004, 01:55pm

I doubt the “bever” refers to a fur hat, it’s more than likely to be a felt hat made from beaver fur.

Check out:

http://www.thehatsite.com/felt.html
N Australian Susan on Mon 28 Jun 2004, 02:10pm

Fur or Felt
I think this was a very fine felted hat made from beaver fur or if it was a pretend one - rabbit fur. A hat blocked from felted fur is much better quality than one blocked from felted wool.
N PHE on Mon 28 Jun 2004, 03:16pm

The ‘bever’ link quotes L&M glossary referring to a ‘fur hat’, but I agree that felt seems more probable.
N Nix on Mon 28 Jun 2004, 08:51pm

“though I not worth above 500l. ready money” —

I suspect Samuel is doing what real estate speculators have done since time immemorial: offered more than they have, because they think the deal is good enough that if accepted they can scramble to cover it somehow. (Speaking as a real estate lawyer who has managed never to make a dime in real estate himself!)
N Another Judy on Mon 28 Jun 2004, 09:02pm

Has SP ever taken Elizabeth to the theatre? She seems to be very much little wifey left at home whilest himself is out gadding with the lads and lassies!
N JWB on Mon 28 Jun 2004, 10:52pm

Inflation
For the year 1661= -5.26% Citation: John J. McCusker, “What Was the Inflation Rate Then?” Economic History Services, 2001, URL : http://www.eh.net/hmit/inflation/
N dirk on Tue 29 Jun 2004, 12:14am

Inflation Rate

Note the *minus* sign! So prices actually decreased as compared to 1660.
(I doublechecked at the site - it’s not a typing error.)
N Andrew Hamilton on Tue 29 Jun 2004, 09:51pm

” that I could pay ready money 600l. and the rest by 150l. per annum, to make up as much as will buy 50l. per annum”

Can anyone supply a gloss on this clause? My guess is that the unnamed total sum is “as much as will buy 50l. per annum” and is greater than 750l., which suggests an interest rate around 5% to 6% p.a. But I can’t quite see how the annual income figures in a land purchase.
N JonTom Kittredge on Tue 29 Jun 2004, 11:05pm

“As much as will buy 50l. per annum”
Mr Hamilton, I was curious about that myself. I was wondering if that meant “as much land as will bring an income in rents of fifty pounds a year.”
N Pauline on Wed 30 Jun 2004, 01:53am

“by 150l. per annum, to make up as much as will buy 50l. per annum”
I was thinking it was like a mortgage: 50L annual payment to principal, 100L interest.
N dirk on Wed 30 Jun 2004, 03:46am

“ready money 600
N vicente on Wed 30 Jun 2004, 04:10am

I do believe it should be to get an income from the property. For what other reason could there be, but to buy working property. He is not that wealthy [yet] to have it stand idle for his weekend pleasure [‘untin’, shootin’ and ‘ishin’], it is too far away to play the Gentleman farmer or invite the the two Willies over for a hot toddy. a 5-8% return was a good standard basic rate of return, [no pepercorns allowed]. South of the river was the place to play the landed gentry part. Land was a nice conservative investment, unlike buying into a spice boat or ‘baccy boat [that was more of a dot com affair] Hi risk, but when successful was very lucrative . A major fly in the ointment[investment] was the Weather, scurvy, and pesky feriners that liked to have easy pickings, and some very cheap labour and loot for their love interests.\
“Pecuniae imperare oportet , non servire.” Syrus, Maxims
http://www.sfd.pl/temat46241/
wot better reconmendation?
N E on Wed 30 Jun 2004, 12:32pm

Vicente — Investing in shipping
I have jsut been reading Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
by Jared Diamond, which looks at the question of why different societies have “progressed” at different rates. (A fascinating sweep over all of human history.) I wonder if Vicente has pointed up one cause — the sophisticated legal arrangements created to share the risks of investing in ship voyages, leading to limited companies able to invest in all kinds of large ventures beyond the reach of individuals.
N vicente on Wed 30 Jun 2004, 07:09pm

E: A marvelous point. Sharing risk yet be adventuresome. A Giant step in utilisation of ‘uman Greed, each jostles for the upper return at the same time covering the proverbial.
N Tommy T on Wed 4 Aug 2004, 10:05pm

I doubt the