Search Results: Business History (221) from Eclectibles

c1880s. A 2 7/8" x 1 1/8" with trompe l'oeil corner giving the illusion of the corner being flipped forward. Printed in black and white, as a chalk board. The card reads Arthur A. Waite, Children's Chalk-talker? John 3:16 in the upper right corner. It is for Arthur Waite, who began his career as a mesmerist and medium and converted to Christianity around 1870 and deemed himself an artist evangelist. He delivered evangelizing sermons to children using illustrated chalk-talks.

Lyon County, KS: Bank of Warsaw, [1885]. General wear. Minor tear at top edge and along letter folds.. A circular advertising the sale of bonds for farmland in Lyon County in Kansas. The circular promoted the desirability of the land by emphasizing how close it was to several important railroads, such as Missouri Pacific R. R. and the Atchinson, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., as well as the low debt the township itself carried (meaning taxes would be low). The back of the circular provides information on the laws that detail how a bond can be issued and how the state of Kansas ensures the legality of the bonds. Single page, double sided. Measures 10" x 6 1/4". There was around 69,000 acres available in Agnes City Township, which was located 30 miles southwest of Topeka, KS. Each bond was issued with 6 percent interest over 30 years and was financed by the Bank of Warsaw, located in Warsaw, NY.

New York , [1875]. A 5 3/4" x 3 1/4" engraved illustrated business card for Brewster & Co. (of Broome St.) Carriage Builders. Fifth Avenue & 14th St. and Broadway & 47th St. New York. The finally detailed engraving depicts five gentlemen and a woman, lap blankets in place trotting along in a fine carriage pulled by four horses. Reverse is blank.

1845-1856. Surface wear. An interior page has been used at a much later date for jotting a note or two without relevance. Additionally the blank pages adjacent the last pages of weaving information have been inexplicably glued to the reverse. A total of 14 manuscript pages organized by year and including the article that was woven, the weave pattern including colors, the number of biers in the weave, the size of the fabric, specific weaving techniques, knots, etc. -- Any design element associated with the particular fabric. It begins in 1845 and is titled "Cotton" that continues for 6 pages. The next page is titled "SHAG". This completes the run of pages in the "front of the book". When turned upside down and opened from the back, it begins with information from 1848 - 1856 and includes the same time of information. The format may be accounting either for multiple weavers or materials types. Some of the articles mentioned include horse blankets, striped… Read More

Chicago, 1870s-1890s. Extensive information on growers and producers and the networks required to feed America at the time. The assumption of Chicago for the first journals is based on the bookseller labels in the journals and the accompanying letterhead. The Boston location was determined by reference to Boston based individuals in the journal and the address on the accompanying envelopes. All of these materials were found in one location without further information.. A collection of five journals for Fruit, Vegetable, Butter and Egg Shipper Journals from the 1870s-1890s. The four larger format journals are most likely from Chicago detailing the various farms from which they received their product. Four of the journals list out each farm and their location and are believed to be from the 1870s-80s.They are accompanied by a letterhead for J. C. Wallace, Commission Merchant, Jobber and Shipper in Foreign and Domestic Fruits, Nuts, Produce, etc. Chicago 1875.… Read More

Salem, MA: E. G. Hoose, 1820-1823. James Chancy was a grocer in Salem who used this copy book to keep an accounting of his customer's purchases between 1820-1823. For each entry Chancy lists the name of the customer, under which lists the date and items purchased. Sometimes it also records when he was paid, normally in cash. Sometimes the pages have been crossed out with an X, the reason for this is unknown, but perhaps it meant the account was closed. The front cover has two woodcut engravings. The first is a ship with clouds. The second is an intricate decorative device surround the bookplate. - The back cover has a multiplication and numeration table on it. As well as a list of the days in a week, and months in year. Additionally is the saying:"All you that in fair writing would excel,How much you write, regard not, but how well.Bear your pen lightly, keep a steady hand,And that's the way fair writing to command."Brown covers, 46… Read More

Springfield, MA: W. J. Holland, 1865. The single sheet circular announces a reduction in price a grouping of albums sold by the company. It also provides a promotional pitch and testimonials. It concludes with blank price list information. Measures 11" x 8 1/4".

Baltimore, Maryland: Western Electric Company, 1952. William Breathitt Gray II was born on October 3, 1888 to William Breathitt Gray I (1847-1915) and Mary Jane Draper Gray (1956-1922) in Utica, MT. Originally, a rancher on his parents farm, he moved to Chicago in the early 1920s to start work at the Western Electric Company. He married Mabel Dell St. John Gray (1892-1965) on December 23, 1916. They would have two children together, William Breathitt Gray III (1917-?) and David Wallace Gray (1919-?). He moved to Florida with his wife after his retirement, and died on January 11, 1976. . William B. Gray was a Works Comptroller who worked at Western Electric Company, Point Breeze works in Maryland who retired in the summer of 1952. He was presented with a scrap album by his coworkers upon his departure. The first page of this album starts with W. B. Gray's, often referred to as Bill throughout, business card with a hand written note that says he retired on August 1, 1952. Next is a program for… Read More

[1894]. General wear. Minor scratches. The second photograph is missing the bottom left corner of the matte board. . The first photograph is a black and white image of a Christmas display of various meat and seafood products. The caption "Jorden & Co. Meat Market, 1894" is on the bottom. The photograph shows the interior of the store with the store counter and walls behind it cover in meat products with a table in the center of the store covered in various seafood products. A "Merry Christmas" banner surrounded by foliage hangs from the ceiling. In the display are several different sizes of whole fish, lobster, rabbit, large birds such as pheasant, turkey or chicken, and large slabs of hanging meat, most like from a cow. The photograph is mounted on board. Measures 8 1/4" x 6 1/2" (photograph), 9 1/4" x 7 3/4" The second photograph depicts a black and white image of a exterior front of a butcher store with various meat products hanging from the… Read More

Providence, RI: Paine & Webster, [1860]. Stephen Paine was a manufacture and dealer of scientific items, but more specifically, optical Goods. Opening in 1860, with his partner Mr. Webster, his shop on Westminster St, in Providence, RI, sold spectacles, eyeglasses, opera glasses, and optical glasses, optical goods, and fine jewelry. This particular single-fold trade catalogue for the store lists inventory on a variety of glass thermometers, hydrometers, urinometer, and lactometer. The flyer claims that the store has "one of the largest stocks in New England" and that "especial [sic] attention given to selecting first-class, accurate Thermometers for Mechanical uses." Measures 10" x 8" (unfolded)