Robert Smith Dixon founded the store in 1849 in Natchez. The establishment sold paint and wallpaper, advertising their services as "House, Sign, and Ornamental Painters, Imitators of Woods and Marbles, Gilders, Glaziers, Paper Hangers, Wall Colorers." The two volumes are daybooks kept by the store between 1858 and 1868. The first volume covers the period January 5, 1858, through December 21, 1860, with a small number of entries in the back of the book that cover the dates, October 12, 1868, through December 31, 1868. The second volume covers the period January 1, 1861 through October 5, 1868. There are no entries for the period June 1862 through September 1865.