Baskets from Williams Manufacturing, Northampton, Massachusetts

Williams Manufacturing in Northampton, Massachusetts was known for its fine baskets in the 19th century. A basket was included in the logo for this billhead from 1897.


The Central and Western Massachusetts digital library project known as Digital Treasures, has a nice photo in their archives that puts a "business face," so to speak, on the paper ephemera.

Wheel Cafe Salutes the 1939 Cincinnati Reds

Here's a 1939 Cincinnati cafe menu that congratulates the hometown nine on a championship season.

First, the menu, and then we'll get to what really matters--baseball!

The menu is from the Wheel Cafe in Cincinnati, at Walnut near Sixth. If you couldn't find something at this cafe to like, there was little hope for you. A variety of sandwiches to choose from, including grilled frankfurter and bratwurst sandwiches. No peanut butter and jelly here.

For a quarter you could have gotten the Self Serve Platter Dinner, which included on this day (it changed daily) your choice of meat or fish and two vegetables, salad, rolls, and butter. A quarter!


Pricier entrees included prime rib, chicken, Veal cutlet with spaghetti, pork chops, Swiss steak, and sirloin steak. For dessert, there were fresh baked fruit pies and that original Wheel creation, Old Fashioned Apple Cake. Hungry yet?

Another thing about those prices... Add up the prices for everything on the menu and it totals $4.25. Amazing. That amount of money wouldn't get you very far on a 2009 menu.


Beer and cocktails were on the menu also to help you wash down all that good food. And speaking of beer... The earliest mention of the Wheel Cafe I can find comes from an old Federal Writers' Project book, Cincinnati: A Guide to the Queen City and its Neighbors. In that book, we learn that on the eve of Prohibition, in 1919, a reporter was on hand at the Wheel Cafe in Cincinnati to record the events:

On May 26, 1919, local bars and beer parlors accommodated overflow crowds. All day and well into the evening men drank at their favorite saloons, a little stunned by the fact that the next day would bring prohibition. Everywhere the cash registers snapped with staccato rings; in some places trade ran to $20,000.
As the closing hour drew near, an Enquirer reporter was on hand to record the historic moment.

Midnight in front of the Wheel Cafe resembled the old Klondyke days... Two hundred men, each carrying a battle, a jug, or a case of liquor, thronged the barroom.

Fisher Bacharach, the manager, stood on the table. Coatless, and with sleeves rolled up, he waved his left hand filled with bills of all denominations.

"The town is dry," he announced. "Outside everybody," he commanded.

And so, at 12:01 o'clock, Cincinnati... passed into the shadow of the valley of ice cream and ginger ale.

Fast forward to 1933... The Wheel Cafe figured prominently and historically in Cincinnati when Prohibition was repealed, becoming the first establishment to receive a shipment of beer.

From Over the Barrel: The Brewing History and Beer Culture of Cincinnati, by Timothy Holian (Sudhaus Press, 2 vols., 2001):

As it turned out, the Bruckmann Company was the only Cincinnati-area brewery fully licensed and prepared for the repeal of Prohibition and immediately able to deliver beer shipments; other beer was brought in from Louisville, Chicago, Columbus, and Milwaukee as it became available, to help satisfy the initial heavy demand. At precisely 12:01 a.m. on April 7, 1933, the first Bruckmann truck left the loading docks at Central Parkway and Ludlow Avenue and headed toward downtown Cincinnati, to deliver the first legal supply of beer since January 18, 1920 to the Wheel Cafe, on Walnut Street. The joy of patrons there at the return of beer was diminished slightly by a lengthy wait to purchase the product; actual sale of beer at the Wheel Cafe did not commence until 9:00 a.m. due to delays in the retail sales permit process. Other establishments had better luck with the government; by 1:00 a.m. the Ohio State Liquor Control Commission—which had set up a temporary office in the Hotel Metropole—had granted 138 area permits for the first day of beer sales, to 115 bars, sixteen grocery stores, and seven wholesale distributors. In a later reminiscence a longtime Wheel Cafe employee recalled the typical response when the first glasses of draft Bruck’s Beer finally crossed the counter at area drinking establishments, where overflow crowds consumed a continuous flow that quickly tested the abilities of the bartenders—and the beer supply—to keep up with the rush:

People lined up 10 to 15 deep on Walnut Street between Fifth and Sixth, just waiting to get in to get a taste. We didn’t figure they’d do much eating, so we almost did away with the platter lunches. The only food we served was sandwiches which were wrapped ahead of time. ... We had only the lower floor open when they started packing in. There were at least nine bartenders on the job. Soon [I was sent] upstairs to open up another bar on the second floor. At both bars we would set up a barrel of beer ... open the spigot and let it run. We never had to shut off the spigot, so fast did that beer move. We just shoved the half-liter and liter glasses and mugs across the bars. [The customers] would toss their money on the bar, grab a beer and stand aside. We would throw the money into the open register. It went on like that all day.

Now to the ballpark for a dog and a beer and to watch those champion Reds.

Flip the menu over for a look into Cincinnati baseball history.

The Reds won the National League pennant in 1939 (the year of this menu) with players such as Al Simmons, Eddie Joost, Johnny Vander Meer, Ernie Lombardi, Paul Derringer, Bucky Walters, and Harry Craft. Vince DiMaggio was on the team, too (see below).

Following are some anecdotes about several of the players (I used to eat baseball trivia when I was a kid!) from memory and a bit of research for verification:

Johnny Vander Meer is the only pitcher ever to throw back-to-back no-hitters, which he did in 1938.


Ernie Lombardi caught both of Vander Meer's games, but is probably best remembered for what happened in the 1939 World Series against the Yankees. With the game tied 4-4 in the 10th inning, and Cincy needing a win to stay alive in the Series, Joe DiMaggio singled in a runner, Charlie Keller, for the go-ahead run. Keller scored on a close play at the plate in which Lombardi was knocked silly. DiMaggio circled the bases crossing home untouched as Lombardi lay on the ground still in a fog. Lombardi, known as the Schnozz, became a part of baseball folklore that day, with the episode dubbed "The Schnozz's Snooze" or "Lombardi's Big Snooze."


Vince DiMaggio was traded to the Reds by the Yankees (farm team) at the end of the 1939 season and played in only eight games for the Reds. He had no plate appearances against the Yankees and brother Joe DiMaggio in the World Series, which the Yankees swept in four games, by the way.

I remember Harry Craft, of course, because he was the first manager of my hometown team, the Houston Colt .45s, a National League expansion team in 1962. I can remember going out to old Colt Stadium with my brother and father for a few games in those early years, so I'm sure I saw Craft at some point, but had no idea who was who. I was only six. My dad did point out Stan Musial in one game and impress upon me the fact that he was one of the game's greatest hitters ever.

Craft also figured in the historic second no-hitter in Johnny Vander Meer's back-to-back gems, having caught Leo Durocher's flyball for the last out in the ninth inning to clinch Vander Meer's spot in the record books for eternity.

Craft got his managing start in the Yankees farm system. Mickey Mantle, on his quick trip through the minors, first came under Harry Craft's tutelage and later complimented Craft, saying, "I was lucky to have Harry as skipper my first two years. He started me out right."

Later in the 1950s, Craft was managing in Kansas City and a young Roger Maris credited Craft for helping him with his hitting. A few years later, Maris was traded to the Yankees and had his historic season in 1961, breaking Babe Ruth's single season home run record. No asterisks here. If you're a fan of baseball history, and have not seen Billy Crystal's film, 61*, order it from Netflix or your neighborhood video store now. You won't be sorry. Especially nice for you Yankees fans in the Hot Stove League.

As far as I can tell, the Wheel Cafe is long gone, but the Reds are still playing baseball. And in 1976, the Big Red Machine finally avenged the 1939 World Series loss to the Yankees with a sweep of their own.

9/11 ephemera

Browsing the Ephemera Society of America site today, I found an article about an interesting collection that focuses on 9/11. From an ephemera standpoint, you can't get any more topical than that on the this day, the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Michael Ragsdale is the collector. The article originally appeared in the Northeast Journal of Antiques & Art. and provides links to a 9/11 digital archive that includes the Michael Ragsdale Flyer Collection.

White Mountain Freezer Company

I've been in a New Hampshire state of mind the last several days after talking with friends about vacationing there and after reading Donald Hall's memoir from last year, Unpacking the Boxes: A Memoir of a Life in Poetry.

Donald Hall served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2006 to 2007 and hails from New Hampshire (by way of Connecticut and Michigan), where he's lived and worked at his craft on his grandparents' farm for the last 35 years or so. I like Mr. Hall's poetry, but his essays rooted in New Hampshire and his personal landscape are my favorite (Seasons at Eagle Pond, Here at Eagle Pond). And I recently found a "lost" letter I received from him about 15 years ago (subject for another blog later).

Anyway, all this had me thinking NH and I remembered an old billhead I plucked off ebay a year or two back. It's from the White Mountain Freezer Co., manufacturers of White Mountain Ice Cream Freezers.


The billhead is dated April 11, 1898 and the officers of the company are listed as F.W. Estabrook, President; George A. Rollins, Vice President; and L.F. Thurber, Treasurer and General Manager. The company was located in Nashua, New Hampshire.

As for the company's history, hats off to Sam Streubel who blogged about the company and its history here. I was mildly disappointed to learn from his research that the company left New Hampshire, home to the White Mountains, in 1963, having been purchased by the Alaska Freezer Company. That they had begun in Laconia, New Hampshire in 1872 and stayed there nearly a hundred years counts for something where longevity is concerned. And they didn't move too far from Nashua. The buyout resulted in their relocation south to neighboring state Massachusetts.


The company was shuttled through several other owners in the next 40 years or so and, like everything else it seems, their ice cream freezer is now being made in China. That was very disappointing to read. Streubel also reports that complaints about the ice cream maker have surfaced since the manufacturing end of the product moved overseas.

I bought my dad one (he an ex-pat from New Hampshire) in the mid-1980s, so I know it was made in the good ol' USA. And I can personally attest to the quality of that ice cream maker, not to mention the ice cream it makes!

And if you happen to like these old ice cream freezers, or maybe even collect the White Mountain and others, you'll want to visit this site if you haven't already.

Illustrated cover - 1930 airplane

Here's an illustrated cover with an intriguing picture--an airplane in a nose-dive. Could be crashing, as the accompanying text asks the question, "Why take a chance on a forced landing?"

This intrigues me because I can't figure out the reference. Does it have to do with an aircraft manufacturer? Insurance? Religion? (addressed to a Reverend) The only clues, if you can call them that, are the number 14 below the text and the return address--a P.O. box in Richmond, Virginia. Nothing on the back of the envelope. That would be poor advertising for a company or business.

This appears to be a message or warning more than a company slogan. That assumption, together with the fact that the envelope is addressed to a Reverend, leads me to believe the contents and/or sender are connected with something of a religious nature.

The vintage airplane bears resemblance to the Lindbergh plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, if that means anything. I don't think so. For now, it remains an intriguing, unsolved mystery.

Grangers' Bank of California

Here's an example of a late nineteenth century California bank letterhead. This letter from the Grangers' Bank in San Francisco was sent to William Shipsey on January 6, 1892.


William Shipsey was an attorney and notary in San Luis Obispo. He served as mayor from 1898-1901. Later, in 1912, he became president of the public library.

Grangers' Bank of California was incorporated in April 1874, as indicated on the letterhead. From the Grange history reported on the Web site of the Museum of the San Ramon Valley:

In April, 1874, [Charles] Wood and John Chrisman met with delegates of the other 130 subordinate (local) Granges and California Grange officers to found the Grangers' Bank of California.

A Harvard University Press publication in 1913, The Granger Movement: A Study of Agricultural Organization and its Political, Economic, and Social Manifestations, 1870-1880, by Solon Justus Buck, offers this brief history:

The bank opened its doors on Aug 1, 1874 and within a year had two million dollars on deposit and a paid up capital of about half a million dollars It seems to have had a successful career and is reported to have saved the farmers of the state a large amount of money at a time of depression in the wheat market by loaning them three million dollars and thus enabling them to hold their wheat for a rise in the market.

I got the letter with its matching envelope--great logo with the anchor, scicle, and wheat.

Agnes Botanic Company

Here's a letter from Agnes Botanic Company on company letterhead--New York, 1885. I thought this was an interesting logo for a company, especially a botanical/patent medicine company.

So who was Agnes and what was it about her that her image would be deemed appropriate for a botanical company?

I found one (and the only) answer on a Web site for a current-day company with similar products to that of their namesake company from the 1880s: Sister Agnes Soap. Their FAQ offers some clues about their Agnes, informing us that she was a virgin saint martyred at age 10 or 12 and is the patron saint of girls. Don't know if that is the same Agnes, but the company uses a similar logo.

Looks like an interesting little company with a very creative and interesting looking Web site. I hope they are thought of in a better light than their counterparts in 1885. The following jab at patent medicine in general, and Agnes Botanic in particular, was included in the Chicago Medical Review, Volumes V and VI, January 1882 to December 1882:

Religious Newspapers And "Botanic Medicines."—Some benighted patent medicine man took the Alienist and Neurologist for a religious journal. The recent article of the editor on moral insanity doubtless led to this mistake, which, however, does not reflect credit on the patent medicine man's intelligence. The editor makes the following apt editorial reply:

"To the Agnes Botanic Company: The Alienist and Neurologist is not a religious journal, its editor is not a divine (that point at least is settled), and is not interested in disseminating the wonderful virtues of the ' Sister Agnes Herb Cure,' and consequently cannot engage to hand your communication ' to the principal newsdealer of our congregation.' "

C.W.F. Dare - Carousels, Carriages & Toys

Here's an artistic and aesthetically pleasing letterhead from one of the best craftsmen in his trade at the time this letter was written (1874)--C.W.F. Dare, of Brooklyn.

Dare seems to have been in business from the 1860s to 1890s, starting out making hobby horses. He later expanded his line to include children's carriages, toys, and carousel horses, for which he may best be remembered.

He pioneered a style of horse known as County Fair. While less sophisticated stylistically than what his competitors were crafting, Dare's creations were built for endurance and mobility, featuring the rare flying horse style where the horse swings outward as the carousel builds up speed. Their construction also allowed for greater portability in the world of one-night carnival stands. This simplistic carving style gained many followers in the trade.

The company added other animals to the carousel (camels, deer, donkeys and elephants) and also made the carousel platforms upon which the animals were placed.

One of Dare's carousels, made in the 1880s, is the oldest carousel still in operation today in the United States. The Flying Horses can be found on Martha's Vineyard.

Research on C.W.F. Dare led me to The Splendid Peasant, Ltd., whose owners, Martin and Kitty Jacobs, deal in beautiful antique American Folk Art. They have kindly given me permission to use their photo of a C.W.F. Dare Carousel horse, circa early 1900s (sold from their gallery). Anyone interested in American folk art antiques will enjoy browsing the pages, gallery, and archives of this Web site.


For more information about Charles W.F. Dare and his and other carousels, a must read is Painted Ponies, by William Manns, Peggy Shank, and Marianne Stevens.

Dr. McGill's Orange Blossom Cure

Here is a brochure for a patent medicine cure typical of the 19th century snake oil industry: The Famous Specific Orange Blossom, a Positive Cure for All Female Diseases. Getting down to specific claims, there's this: A safe and sure remedy for ovarian tumors in their early stages. Wow! J.A. McGill, M.D. was the quack behind this junk.

The copy below is in my collection, but I found a digital copy in the Duke University Libraries collection: Emergence of Advertising in America, 1850-1920. Click the links and poke around a little. It's a pretty nice collection of ephemera.