THE EPHEMERA OF BUSINESS

I spend a lot of time at the vet. My German Shepherd/Border Collie mix, Gus, was diagnosed with diabetes last March. It has been a learning curve. Dogs are type I diabetics, thus they need insulin shots. Cats can be both, type I and II. Anyway, sorry to digress - back to billheads. The billheads I have for veterinarians have a few commonalities - livestock graphics, i.e. horses or cows. So, cats, dogs, birds and other animals did not factor in to the early veterinary practice. Vets services were mainly advertised for farmers and businesses. Second, the majority advertise themselves as "veterinary surgeons." Now a little history , prior to scientifically trained veterinarians, the American farmer in the later 19th century faced problems with illness among their livestock. When scourges hit, it was not uncommon to have an entire communities livestock wiped out. Thus, the American farmer resorted to relying on superstitions and what were called the "hoss" doc...

I thought it would be interesting to show two billheads for A. Booth Packing Company packers of oysters, fish and canned goods. I have handled a lot of Booth billheads for Chicago. Booth billheads are always pre-printed with the goods it sells. All of the Chicago billheads focus on the company's oysters brands. This Chicago billhead has mainly pre-printed oyster products: oval, A. Booth, extra select, celery and fish. Nice decorative billhead with medals and factory scenes. The Chicago billheads also never indicated who printed it. Along comes another Booth billhead, this one for the Duluth fisheries. What I liked about this billhead was that it was pre-printed with the firm's fish offerings: whitefish, small trout, large trout, pike, pickerel and herring. This billhead also indicated in the upper left corner who printed it - Shober & Carqueville Litho Co. of Chicago. For the history buffs, a little bit about Alfred Booth. Alfred Booth was born in Glastonbury England...

To carry on the plate mark theme I discussed in a post in March, the billhead for April is one for Kilham & Mears of Boston dated 1817. Obvious plate mark at the header. Also nice decorative printed header. Jonathan Kilham was a tailor. He was born in Wenham in 1775 and served his apprenticeship in Beverly. In 1796, he went to Boston and four years later formed a partnership with Elijah Mears under the firm name Kilham & Mears. The merchant tailors carried on business for forty years. At some point the firm name changed to Kilham, Mears & Co. Kilham died in 1855.

Early American woodenware was made by tradesmen, specifically coopers and turners. Articles produced were turned bowls, plates, platters, trenchers, salt containers, and mugs. As the American population grew, so did its need for woodenware. Woodenware soon was produced on a larger scale through manufacturers. Woodenware is classified according to its use: kitchenware, storage receptacles, moulds, etc. Kitchenwares include forks, cooking utensils, rolling pins, egg cups, napkin rings, bowls, dry measures etc. Storage receptacles include wooden band boxes = hats, round or oval covered boxes – Shaker examples 1850-1920, tiny boxes for medicine or herbs, wall boxes for salt. Moulds include butter, chocolate and other candy type moulds. Example billheads: Daniel Cragin was born in Merrimac in 1836. He worked on the family farm until age 17 when he worked with John Newell of Lyndeborough to learn cabinet work. After 3 years with Newell, he moved to Wilt...