THE EPHEMERA OF BUSINESS

A very popular subject that sells well on ebay. 1828 billhead top London - Taylor fishing tackle maker 1831 billhead top London - AR Jacobs  1868 billhead C. Bradburn & Co. Cleveland OH  1874 billhead Moore & Son Ellenville NY 1875 billhead Barton & Co. New York NY 1881 billhead Bradford & Anthony Boston MA 1881 billhead Gilbert Bailey Portland ME 1881 letterhead George A. Graves Springfield MA 1885 billhead Andrew Hendryx New Haven CT 1895 billhead Tracey, Wells & Co. Columbus OH 1899 billhead Sidney R. Baxter & Co. Boston MA 1899 billhead JW Tuttle & Co. Plattsburgh NY 1899 letterhead Miller, Sloss & Scott San Francisco CA 1903 billhead JC Schmidt & Son Memphis TN 1903 letterhead Marshall Wells Hardware Co. Duluth MN 1904 billhead Dame, Stoddard & Co.  Boston MA 1904 billhead Abbey & Imbrie New York NY 1905 billhead Wm Frank Hardware C...

Hardware includes a great variety of articles. These, in their manufacture and sale, fall naturally into certain groups, any one of which frequently constitutes an interest in itself. Domestic hardware includes agate, tin, and iron utensils and other household furnishings. Builders' hardware explains itself in a long line of bolts, locks, knobs, and trimmings, in addition to building staples, while tools, agricultural implements, machinists' supplies, cutlery, and saddlers' hardware are common trade distinctions. The early hardware industry imported goods, and for the most part of English make, the mother country continuing to be the principal source of supply throughout the colonial period. With independence came the beginnings of hardware manufacturing, which if small were at any rate prompt and significant. Soon the War of 1812, emphasizing the separation from England, and throwing the people on their own resources, gave a great impetus to all manufacturing interests. Bu...