Cotton Plantation Record and Account Book

It was first published in 1847 or 1848 by Thomas Affleck (1812–1868), a Scottish immigrant and owner of the Glenblythe Plantation in Gay Hill, Washington County, Texas.

The book contains a detailed system, including blank tables to be filled in, that allowed plantation owners to track the efficiency of their production.

"[5] By the end of the 1850s, his Account Book had sold over three thousand copies, contributing to his powerful influence on the direction of the "plantation economy into scientific and systematic channels.

"[6] According to historian Robert Williams, Affleck's manual included "a number of other forms which marked an improvement in the system of rural book-keeping.

The record forms were essentially consistent with the intent and purpose of modern cost-accounting, and followed the best and most advanced principles of efficient administrative management.

[3] Unlike many contemporary systems of agricultural book-keeping, Affleck's book took account of depreciation, the costs of labor, and other "often neglected factors.