New Arrivals - The Elite Eight

New Arrivals - The Elite Eight - Part II

No. 5. = Billhead for John Stainton Printer, Bookseller, Bookbinder and Stationer, Dealer in Paper Hangings, Floor Cloths, and Table Coverings, Music and Musical Instruments, in great variety, Agent for London and Countey Newspapers, Bibles and Prayers in plain and elegant bindings, Genuine Patent Medicines. No graphic on this billhead. Dated 1840.

John Stainton is listed in Slater’s National Directory under Booksellers and under Printers located at 305 High Street.

No. 6.= Billhead for Thomas Winn Linen and Woolen Draper of Lincoln. Billhead has a left side graphic of a woman in flowing garb holding a shield that states Funerals Furnished. Lion in background and ship too. Engraved by Thomas. Dated September, 1826.

No. 7. = Two billheads for Winn & Whitton Linen and Woolen Drapers Funerals Furnished. First one has a left side graphic of a seated smiling woman this time with a lion under her feet on the coast with a ship in the background and the woman is sketching on a pad the words Silk Mercers. The second one has the same scene of a woman sketching but the print is cruder than the first. Engraved by Thomas. Dates are February & April of 1838.

Slater’s National Directory lists Winn & Whitton under Linen Drapers and Woolen Draper located at 234 High Street.

No. 8. = Billhead for Joseph Simpson (successor to Mr. Skepper) Furnishing Ironmonger and Dealer in Bar & Sheet Form, opposite the Butter Market. Edge-Tool Warehouse – Best Prices Given for Old Metal. Two crude graphics – left side of a Simpson padlock and the right side of a decorative key. Dated April 22, 1837.

Slater’s National Directory the firm Ann Simpson & Son is listed under Ironmongers located at 233 High Street.

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Baking Powder Billheads

In 1843 the first modern version of baking powder was discovered and manufactured by Alfred Bird, a British chemist. In 1846, Justus Von Liebig in Germany experiments with yeast made from sodium bicarbonate and hydrochloric acid with explosive results. In 1885, Eben Horsford and George Wilson manufacture chemicals which eventually became the Rumford Chemical Works. Horsford formulated and patented Rumford Baking Powder, the first calcium phopshate baking powder. In 1889, William Wright and chemist George Rew developed a double-action baking powder marketed under the name Calumet Baking Powder. Below find some examples of baking powder billheads.

Billhead of the Month: Schmit Bros trunks Oshkosh WI

I picked up this Schmit Brothers billhead recently in Eau Claire. I currently have it for sale on ebay right now. It is a nice triple graphic billhead. Here is my ebay write up: 1895 billhead for The Schmit Brothers Trunk Company manufacturers of trunks, traveling bags and valises of Oshkosh Wisconsin. Great header graphics with three images. Left side is the firm’s mill at Summit Lake, middle is the firm’s factory and left side is the firm’s warehouse. Billhead has creases. Peter Schmit was born in 1840 in Prussia. He emigrated to the U.S. in June 1854 and located inRacine WI. He was engaged in farming until 1861 when he enlisted in Company D, 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He engaged in the battles at Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Mine Run, Bull Run, Gettysburg, Atlanta, Macon, and Savannah. He was mustered out in June 1865. He came back to Racine and kept a hotel until 1866 when he joined his brother Henry’s trunk business. Henry had established the bus...

Newest edition to my collection - Widdicomb Furniture Co.

Lately, I can't help but buy some U.S. letterheads and billheads. I have an affinity for billheads / letterheads / receipts from the 1870s. Here is a recent purchase for the Widdicomb Furniture Co. of Grand Rapids Michigan. For 145 years, the Widdicomb name has been recognized in the furniture world. The earliest Widdicomb company was organized in 1857, by George Widdicomb, a British trained cabinet maker, employing 12 men, plus his four sons Harry, William, George Jr., and John. Except during the Civil War, a Widdicomb furniture firm was run by the family until 1916. The John Widdicomb Co. was founded in 1897 when John left the parent company to form his own firm. Though he died in 1910, that firm continued under his name until the 1990’s, and purchased the title of the original company in the 1970’s.

THE EPHEMERA OF BUSINESS

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