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Instead of another dress-up suit, I opted for Sears Denim Toughskins (polyester, nylon, and cotton) bib overalls, with double knees, in hickory stripe for $30.99, and a cotton denim “chore coat” in blue for $27.96. [$59]

Since I had to outfit for both work and social occasions, I selected from the catalogue two pairs of navy Sears Workforce stockings, made of acrylic and nylon, for $5.99, and one pair of acrylicand-nylon Sears Best quality hose in navy for $1.68. [$8]

Here I decided upon a pair of Bean’s brown Maine Hunting Shoes, twelve inches high, for $66; a pair of eight-inch-high reddish brown Sears DieHard Leather shoes for $71.94; a pair of Sears black plain-toe oxfords at $31.94; and a pair of Sears black blunt-toe boots for $49.94. [$220]

Stores in my part of the country no longer stock garters, so I decided this was a good place to save money. [$0]

“A tagged lace or cord, of twisted yarn, silk, or leather, for attaching the hose to the doublet, lacing a bodice, and fastening various parts where buttons are now used.” In this instance a leather belt seemed a wiser choice, so I decided on one from Sears: a reversible (black and brown) split cowhide belt with polished gilt brass buckle for $12. [$12]

Two polyethylene tarpaulins from Sears (15 feet 8 inches by 19 feet 6 inches) cost $44.99 apiece. [$90]

When I used an obsolete English unit of measurement equivalent to 45 inches, 7 ells of canvas came to 315 inches, or about 9 yards. The salesman at the Pittsburg Awning Company urged me to consider more modern materials not subject to the dry rot to which canvas is prone. A family-size tent of cotton and polyester (sleeps six adults) priced at $210.64 in the Sears catalogue sounded like a much better buy. I decided to spend a little extra and get two Space Blankets from Bean’s (56 by 84 inches) for $9.75 each. [$230]

Could Smith have had a hammock in mind? Bean’s features an Outdoorsman sleeping bag with Quallofil insulation for $109 and a Kennebec insulated sleeping bag rated to zero degrees at $129. I concluded Smith would have paid the difference to get greater protection from the elements. [$129]

The Scots still use the term rug , but we prefer the word blanket . The Hudson’s Bay Point blanket in Bean’s catalogue looked the most appealing, and I settled on the largest (108 by 100 inches), which cost $210, as suitable for two men. [$210]

Total cost of apparel £4 6s. Od. [$l,521]

A trip to Consumers Market gave me prices for these items, but I was able to get only small packaged amounts and had to calculate the approximate value of the quantity Smith called for. This would include:

In today’s language Smith was calling for wheat flour. The equivalent of 8 bushels is 256 pounds. I could get a 5-pound paper bag of Gold Medal flour for 99 cents at my local store. I needed a little more than 51 of those bags at a cost of $50.49. [$51]

For a 17 ounce can of Del Monte sweet peas I would pay 66 cents. Two bushels translates into 120 pounds, or not quite 113 of these cans: $74.58. [$75]

The equal of 68 pounds, that much oatmeal would require about 26 cartons of Old Fashioned Quaker Oats in the 42ounce carton at $2.39 each and cost $62.14. [$62]

Evans Liquor Store had grain alcohol by McCormick at $24.83 a gallon. [$25]

A gallon of Food Club brand vegetable oil cost $5.69 in a plastic jug. [$6]

The store priced a gallon of Food Club cider vinegar at $2.29 [$5]

Total cost of victuals S3 3s. [$225]

Grand total £7 9s. Od. [$1,745]