What should I do with 70+ year old accounting ledgers I found in the attic of my new house?

Question

My wife and I moved into a house a few months ago. The previous owners owned a laundromat and tailor shop in what appears to be the 1930's through the 1960's.

Well, I finally went into the attic where I was hoping to find a huge box of cash, no luck there, but I did find a huge box of dusty old accounting ledgers from the previous owner's business. I'm not expecting these things to be worth anything, but there are dates going back to the thirties and early forties, and I haven't made my way through all of them yet, so there may be older ones.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do with these. They've survived a long time and I hate to just throw them away.

Answer 1

Try to track down the previous owners or members of their family. If you can't find the family or they don't want them, it's possible your local historical society might like to have the ledgers.

Finding stuff in the attic is fun, isn't it? I found a bunch of old European money in my attic (not worth much, though). Also a baby portrait from the turn of the last century. We gave that to the historical society.

update: In my other old house, someone left an empty 1940s beer can in the cellar. We left it as is..and the current owners have decided to keep it there, too. :)

Answer 2

Round file them.

Answer 3

I would dispose of them because they are a fire hazard.

Answer 4

1. Have them audited.

Or 2. Send them to the IRS and ask that they audit them.

Or 3. Throw them away.

Or 4. Return them to the family that owned the laundromat.