THE EPHEMERA OF BUSINESS

Over the last year, I have further narrowed my billhead collecting to only buying items that carry a plate mark. Early billheads were printed from hand engraved copper plates. The plate would leave an impression along the outer edges of the billhead. You can see this outline fairly well in the maltser billhead below. Rickard's calls this effect the "dish effect." Commonly, traders used their billhead plates for trade cards and for entries in local trade directories. David McNealy Stauffer dates the first copper plate engraving in America in 1690 on Massachusetts paper money. In 1760, Philadelphia engravers appear on the scene, with Henry Dawkins being the first. Dawkins engraved maps, book plates and billheads. Dawkins was an Englishman who supposedly died in prison having been caught counterfeiting money during the Revolution. Paul Revere was another famous copper plate engraver. I have two American copper plate billheads in my collection. They are much har...

Manuscript billheads have no printed element to them. They are merely a handwritten receipt, but, unlike a regular receipt, have the words 'bought of' which places them in the billhead category. These billheads are purely utilitarian in nature. However, sometimes the hand writing can ad a decorative flair to them and make them pleasing to look at. As far as researching these billheads, the hand writing does make it more difficult to decipher business names and locations. Here are some examples:

I recently read an article on the seed industry on the New York Times website about rising seed costs . So, I thought I would show some seed billheads today. My favorite is the Jerome Rice billhead with the comical graphic showing the farmer trying to lift a giant cabbage.

I recently purchased a ledger of pasted in billheads. I soak out the billheads and sell them. A part of me cringes as I do destroy the historical value of the ledger by doing this. However, I combat that with the notion that I am getting these billheads into collectors hands. The ledger I recently purchased had a ton of neat billheads. One of my favorites is the the Kyser & Rex firm of Frankfort, Philadelphia. When I researched it I realized the significance of this billhead. The firm was a manufacturer of iron toys, including mechanical banks, that generate some significant prices in the market. What I found out about the firm, I got from the Mechanical Bank Collectors of America's website. 1883 graphic billhead for Kyser & Rex manufacturers of hardware specialties, iron toys, novelties and house furnishing goods of Frankford, Philadelphia Pennsylvania . Left side signboard gives the location of the firm’s branch office and sample room. Across the top its s...