More tables

[ffutures]

Here are a couple of tables that for various reasons need to come in the order shown. I'm a bit worried that the sudden change in layout between the two looks a little odd. What do people think. Also, is the small text I'm using for most of the tables legible enough?

Adventurers will often want to buy things, and may even want to work for a living if they can't find alternatives. Most of the Forgotten Futures worldbooks include prices for items that might come up the course of play, and construction rules for items such as flying machines, spacecraft, and automata which suggest purchase prices. This section (expanded from material in FF II) explains the complexities of British currency, and gives everyday items and real-world wages and prices from around 1900, a period of relative stability and little inflation; they should be adjusted up for later periods, down for earlier settings. For simplicity add 5% in 1906-10, 10% in 1911-15, 15% in 1916-20, and so forth.

Until 1972 British currency was based on the Pound Sterling, divided into shillings and pence. This form of currency is used in most British scientific romances. Occasional references to "LSD" in period fiction refer to money, not drugs; for obscure reasons these letters signified pounds, shillings, and pence.

The Pound Sterling One Pound = 20 Shillings = 240 Pence One Shilling = 12 Pence Abbreviations for currency: £ (sometimes L) for pound s for shilling d for pence (from the Latin "dinarius") Copper coins: ¼d (farthing) ½d (ha'penny) 1d (penny) Silver coins: 3d (threepenny bit, "Joey"; a bronze coin after 1937) 6d (sixpence or [slang] "a tanner") 1s ("a bob") 2s ("two bob", "Florin") 2s 6d (Half crown) 5s (Crown - uncommon) Gold coins: 10s (Half sovereign, "ten bob" - rare) £1 (Sovereign, "a quid". Purchasing power $5 in 1900) Britain went off the gold standard in the 1920s, and gold coins ceased to be legal tender.

Bank notes: £5 ("a fiver") - very rare. 10s and £1 notes were introduced in the 1920s; larger notes were extremely rare, but did exist. The Guinea The Guinea (gn), worth 21s, is used for legal and other professional fees, and by the most expensive shops. There are no coins or notes for this amount after 1813, but prices are often given in Guineas, and cheques can be written for Guineas. A half Guinea (10s 6d) is also occasionally used for smaller fees. Reading Prices There is very little standardisation of the way prices are written; here are a few examples: £2 6s 6½d = Two pounds, six shillings and sixpence-ha'penny 2s 6d or 2/6 = Two shillings and sixpence = half a crown 19/11 = 19s 11d = Nineteen shillings and eleven pence 10'6 = 10s 6d 25s = £1 5s Half a guinea = 10s 6d 5gn = 5 guineas = £5 5s 5½gn = 5½ guineas = £5 15s 6d

Wages Housemaid £12-30 per year Cook/Housekeeper £80 per year Page boy £10 per year Butler Up to £100 per year Skilled engineer 36s 6d per week Assistant to above 19s per week Bricklayer 38s per week Assistant to above 18s per week Clerk £1 10s per week Foreman £2 5s per week Miner £1 15s per week Craftsman in London £2 per week Cabinet minister £2000 or £5000 per year (£38 or £96 per week) Income tax 4%   Housing Hovel 4s per week 4 room rural cottage 5s per week, £200 to buy Small inner London house £200 per year, £1000 to buy Small suburban house £50 per year, £500 to buy Boarding house room £1 1s per week   Men's Clothing Shirt 3s-5s Collars for above (12) 6s 6d Detachable cuffs 1s Leather gloves 3s 3d Handkerchiefs (12) 8s Underwear 5s Good quality boots 11s Light boots 7s Walking shoes 14s Trousers 7s 6d Bowler hat 12s 6d Top hat 25s Soft felt hat 7s 6d Hat box, leather 15s   Women's Clothing Camisole 3s Chemises 7s Combinations 5s 6d Nightdress 6s Skirt 10s Stockings 6 ½d Shoes 12s-£1 8s Blouse £1 5s 11d   Transportation Bicycle £10 Railway fare 1d / mile Omnibus 5d (long trip) Family car £200

Food & Drink 1 lb Almonds 2d 1/2 lb tea 8d 2lb sugar 5d 1 lb butter 1s 2 oz tobacco 6d 1 lb fish 1 ½d 1 lb ham 9 ½d 1 lb steak 11d Marmite, 2oz 7d Bovril, 4oz 1s 10d 1 lb chocolate 1s 2d 1 lb soap 3d 1 lb currants 3d Pint beer 2d 1 lb Biscuits 2d Loaf bread 2 ¼d 12 Bottles Cider 14s 12 Bottles Champagne £4 18s 12 Bottles Claret £2 10s 12 Bottles Port £1 14s 12 Bottles Sherry £2 2s Bottle Whisky 7s Bottle Brandy 9s 10d Bottle Gin 4s 6d Bottle Rum 7s 6d   Miscellaneous Electricity 6d per unit (kilowatt-hour) * * rate held high to protect small generating companies 1 lb Candles 10d Safety matches, box 1d "Thermos" Vacuum flask £1 1s pint, £1 15s quart ** ** both leather with silver fittings Chest of drawers 17s Simple bed £1 15s Luxury bed £19 Piano, upright £105 Piano, grand £210 Violin £2 10s Kodak cameras £1 to £8 7s 6d Flash for camera 12s 6d *** *** uses explosive magnesium flash powder Cricket bat 12s 10d Golf clubs 6s Golf balls 10s per dozen Watch, good quality £10 Watch, for schoolboy 12s Sewing machine £1 10s Stamp (letter) 1d The Daily Mail 1d The Times 2d Tooth extraction 1s Set false teeth 1 gn. Alarm clock 4s 6d

Comments

[maviscruet.livejournal.com]

That's a good table. And proberbly one of the best I've seen for historical games. Lots of useful information, now if only I was planning some sort of 1920's or victorian game over ars magica.....

I like the fact that the golf balls are the expensive part of a set of golf clubs and gold balls..... were gold clubs that cheap?

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

This is the price per club, not per set! Actually, looking at the source there's a range from 3/6 to 6/-, presumably depending on type, so I need to change that one a little.