On ebay last week was a really neat group of 4 early U.S. billheads. I really would have liked to have had the funds to add to my collection, but maybe if I had a healthy dog I could have. I thought the end price was cheap about $140 = $35 a piece. These billheads are hard to come by and each had graphics on them too - even harder to find in pre-1840 billheads. Here are some pictures of them. The one I was drooling over was the Bartlett & Brewer.
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.
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My name is Claire Marshall, and I'm with the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. I'm currently working on a project detailing the history of the Chamber, which is turning 150 this fall. You're probably wondering why I'm contacting you. Well, on Nov. 13th, 2008, you posted a lovely billhead of John Nazro's hardware store. The Chamber's original constitution was drawn up in that hardware store. If at all possible, I am seeking your permission to use that photograph for an photographic outline to be displayed in our offices in downtown Milwaukee. Feel free to contact me at pmarsh@mmac.org. Thank you!