THE EPHEMERA OF BUSINESS

More pages from the scrapbook. Some business advertisements include: American Arms Co. / Rising Sun Stove Polish / Dr. Simmons Liver Regulator / Anderson's Cough Cure / University Medicines / Schepp's Cocoanut / Elgin watches / J & P Coats thread / Boston baked beans / Augusta Healy's vegetable pills / Charter Oak City Shirt Co. / Jacob Hoffman brewery / Skilton Foote Co.'s Bunker Hill pickles / Solar Tip Shoes / Beef Canning Co. / Eldridge's safety halter / Pond's Extract / J. Hetherington / Kibbe Big Sandy cigar El

While the storefront graphic is by far the most popular graphic on billheads, some companies showed their product's packaging on its billhead (I have a letterhead example as well). Here are some examples.

As I have stated in other posts, I love researching all the billheads I buy for myself or for resale. This month's billhead is simple, but I learned something new while researching it - Kalamazoo The Celery City. It is for The Celery Supply Company of Kalamazoo Michigan. Dated July 25, 1889, with dark blue printed title and tag line; Famous-Blue-Ribbon-Celery. I found an 1899 Kalamazoo directory that lists several business in the same building as Hiram Kelder - Little Joe Celery Co., West Side Celery Co., Kelder Celery Co. and Celery Supply Co. That is the only mention of this company that I could find. In 1856, a Scotsman grew the first celery in Kalamazoo Michigan. Soon, Cornelius De Bruyn, a gardner from the Netherlands , would develop a modern type of celery. By the late 19 th century, Kalamazoo would be known as the Celery City for the area’s large celery industry. Some enterprising individuals would even produce medicines and condiments from the celery. As ...