1840s ledger repurposed as scrapbook of serial romances published in 'The Courier-Journal' ca. 1880s

Tall half leather with plain paper covered boards; 4to, 12 x 7.5 inches. 48 leaves with clippings pasted on both sides; numerous leaves clipped throughout to accommodate the bulk with leftover stubs. Occasional small wormholes and tears to the clipping. Originally used as a ledger (the date 1844 peeks through on one page), the pages were used to compile serialized stories published in the Louisville, KY Courier-Journal: "In the Dark; or, After Clouds—Sunshine." by H. N. Adair (1883) ; and two stories published in 1881 under the pseudonym "Daisy Deane," the name of a popular Civil War ditty: "Our Pearl" and "Fairest Among Women" (1881). Charmingly composed, snippets of the stories have been added in pencil where there were gaps (presumably where text was printed on both sides). A newsclipping about Samuel Clemens written by Sarah K. Bolton (1887) is the only item laid-in. The weekly Courier-Journal described itself in an 1876 ad as "not a mere hasty hotch-potch thrown together from the