Tobacco Billheads

Tobacco advertising in America first appeared in 1789, when the Lorillard brothers advertised their snuff and tobacco products in a local New York daily paper. Advertising for tobacco, and most other products, over the next 70 years took this same form - mostly unadorned advertisements in local or regional newspapers. It wasn't until the 1840s that brand names slowly began to appear on labels. Customers traditionally would ask for the "best" product, rarely requesting a specific brand, when they purchased their tobacco from the local grocer, or possibly from a traveling peddler. After the Civil War, there was an increased demand for tobacco products in general. The tobacco companies used trade cards (similar to business cards), tin tags and posters to advertise their products. Color lithography developed in the late 1870s, and businesses could now promote themselves with a variety of attractive colorful images, some having nothing at all to do with any of their products. (Taken from Duke University Tobacco Advertising Collection).

Tobacco advertising collectors usually focus on the small tobacco cards, trade cards and larger advertising pieces. However, some tobacco manufactures produced nice graphic billheads. Sometimes I see these billheads command premium prices, other times they can be picked up for a song.

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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...

Oswego New York Mills

Oswego is located on Lake Ontario and at the mouth of the Oswego River in north-central New York . In 1826 the first mill was built in Oswego for the manufacturer of flour. The mill was built by Alvin Bronson and TS Morgan on the east side of the river. An adjoining mill was thereafter built by Henry Fitzhugh. From that first mill onward, the flour milling business blossomed in Oswego chiefly due to it the hydraulic power of Oswego Fall and the Oswego River . On July 5, 1853, fire destroyed most of the mills and elevators on the east side of the river. All of the lost mills were rebuilt. Eventually the Oswego mills lost ground to the Western mills, but the paper mills moved took their place. A list of the mills in 1853 included: Empire - run by Doolittle, Irwin & Wright Ontario – run by GLAB Grant Atlas – run by Geo. Seeley Magnolia - run by Chas. Smyth Lake Ontario – run by Fitzhugh & Littlejohn Washington – run by Penfield, Ly...

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