Bill of Exchange Fragments: Lazard Freres

 Reverse side of Lazard Freres bill of exchange:

39 cents in US battsleship stamps to pay the US tax on the currency exchange.  Stamps have L. F. handstamp and LF perfin initials on the 25 cent stamps.

Front side of bill of exchange with Lazard Freres logo

and British tax stamp:

Lazard Freres history, credit to Wikipedia:

On July 12, 1848, three brothers, Alexandre Lazard, Lazare Lazard, and Simon Lazard, founded Lazard Frères & Co. as a dry goods merchant store in New Orleans, Louisiana. By 1851, Simon and two more brothers, Maurice and Elie, had all moved to San Francisco, California, while Alexandre moved to New York. Lazard Frères began to serve miners engaged in the California Gold Rush, and soon expanded into banking and foreign exchange.

In 1854, Alexandre Lazard moved to Paris, France, where he opened an office to complement the U.S. business. The firm began advising the French government on gold buying. In 1870, the firm continued to expand its international operations, opening an office in London as well.

The name "Lazard Freres" means "Lazard Brothers" or "the Brothers Lazard" in French. It refers to associations of the Lazard brothers to form various financial services institutions with world-wide offices and investments.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the firm evolved into three “Houses of Lazard” in the United States, France, and England, separately managed but allied. The Lazard partners advised clients on financial matters and built a cross-border network of high-level relationships in business and government. Noted financial advisor George Blumenthal rose to prominence as the head of the U.S. branch of Lazard Frères and was a partner of Lazard Frères in France.

New York Stock Brokers in Caricature: Charles M. Schott

 

Charles M. Schott Jr. appears to have used an undated circular cancel throughout the 1898 tax period.

Mr. Schott must have been a sportsman.  His page in The Stock Exchange in Caricature features an angler, though it not clear if it is Mr. Schott.

A gudgeon is a small fish commonly used for bait.

Arrow Collars and Shirts: Cluett, Peabody & Company

 

CLUETT, PEABODY & CO.

JAN

30

1900

Cluett Peabody & Company, Inc. was once headquartered in Troy, New York.  The company was a longtime manufacturer of shirts, detachable shirt cuffs and collars.  Cluett, Peabody & Company is best known for its Arrow brand collars and shirts and Arrow Collar Man advertisements (1905–1931). It dates, with a different name, from the mid-19th century and was absorbed by Westpoint Pepperell in the 1980s. The Arrow name is still licensed to brand men's shirts and ties.

Advert in the Saturday Evening Post

Cluett, Peabody factory in Troy, New York

The Coffee Exchange of New York

 

COFFEE EXCHANGE OF THE CITY OF N. Y.

MAY

1

1900

The Coffee Exchange of the City of New York was established so importers could protect themselves against changes in the price of Brazilian Arabica coffee. Its establishment in 1882 followed the so-called "coffee crash" of 1881, in which several companies tried unsuccessfully to corner the market on coffee.

Home of the Coffee Exchange, 113-117 Pearl Street, New York

Photo c.1900

From The Coffee Market,  by G. G. Huebner, PhD:

The Coffee Exchange of the City of New York. In the fall of 1880 there was a period of two months during which the coffee trade was almost at a complete standstill. There was a large accumulation of coffee in the port warehouses and the traders of the interior were fully supplied. Prices varied between sales as much as three cents per pound or $4.25 per bag. The first coffee exchange was then organized at Havre in 1881, and in the same year the New York Coffee Exchange was incorporated. It operated until 1885, when its property was by resolution of the governing committee transferred to the present Coffee Exchange of the City of New York. As stated in its charter its purposes shall be to provide, regulate and maintain a suitable building, room or rooms for the purchase  and sale of coffees and other similar grocery articles in the city of New York, to adjust controversies between members, to inculcate and establish just and equitable principles in the trade, to establish and maintain uniformity in its rules, regulations, and usages, to adopt standards of classification, to acquire, preserve, and disseminate useful and valuable business information, and generally to promote the above mentioned trade in the city of New York, increase its amount, and augment the facilities with which it may be conducted.

New York Stock Brokers in Caricature: Frederick T. Adams

 

F. T. ADAMS & CO.

NOV

4

1901

*

Frederick T. Adams ran his own firm as a member of the New York Stock Exchange.  Like many other wealthy brokers, he seemed to pass much of his free time at his yacht club and on his own yachts.  Adams' yacht club, The Atlantic Yacht Club, was so significant that it had write-up in The New York Times in 1898, with a brief bio of Adams and his involvement:

The Commodore of the club this year is Frederick T. Adams, and the flagship is the famous schooner Sachem.  Commodore Adams has been a member of the club for several years, and has worked hard to make it successful.  For three years he was Vice Commodore, and for two out of those three years was Acting Commodore while George J. Gould was in Europe.  When the new clubhouse was proposed, Commodore Adams entered heart and soul in the new undertaking, and it was largely through his efforts that the scheme was carried out so successfully.  Commodore Adams is a member of the Stock Exchange, a Governor of the New York Club, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, of the New York Athletic Club, and of several other yacht clubs.

Frederick T. Adams, from The Stock Exchange in Caricature, 1904:

From The New York Times, September 18, 1898:

Adams is the gentleman with the cap at the center left of the page

Pittsburgh & Castle Shannon Railroad

 

PITTSBURGH & CASTLE SHANNON R.R. CO.

JAN

16

1901

Castle Shannon, PA, a part of metro Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad was a 3 ft 4 in narrow-gauge railroad in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Originally built in 1871, it was likely America's first common-carrier narrow-gauge railroad. It purchased a rail line called the Coal Hill Coal Railroad from the Pittsburgh Coal Company, and used a coal mine under Mt. Washington as a tunnel to transport coal from Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh. Passenger traffic was added soon afterwards, and the train carried passengers during the day and coal at night.  The right of way continued as the Pittsburgh, Castle Shannon and Washington Railroad, later to become part of the Pittsburgh Southern Railroad and eventually the Pittsburgh Light Rail transportation system today.

P&CSRR Loco

View from Castle Shannon commuter train platform in 2018

Bill of Exchange Fragments: Park, Son & Company

Park, Son & Company were in the import-export business and did much of their business between the US, U.K. and Jamaica.

Reverse side of document fragment:

PARK, SON & CO.

JAN

8

1901

Front side of document fragment:

Park, Son & Company's principles included James Park, William C. C. Park, and James McFadyen.  McFadyen was UK based and ran the partner office of Park, McFadyen & Company in London.  Henry B. Marion of the firm held membership #1450 on the New York Produce Exchange.

James Park

from New York, The Metropolis, 1902

Drama in West Superior, Wisconsin

Tennis & Greeley,

OCT

??

1900

W. Superior, Wis.

WALTER FOWLER

JAN

13

1899

W. Superior

There is nothing in the world that is as interesting as squabbles between insurance agents and insurers.  When the insurance agents Tennis and Greeley failed, a dustup developed over a $73.83 premium in West Superior, Wisconsin.  Read the story below in The Western Underwriter. 

Thanks to Dave Thompson for finding this article, and reminding me of an old post on this site on Tennis & Greeley.

from The Western Underwriter, 

March 19, 1903

American Sanitary Drug Company: The Tolman Collection

This post is part of a continuing series documenting the Henry Tolman collection of 1898 proprietary printed cancels. 

Or is it American Syndicate Drug Company?  A search using contemporary technology doesn't turn up much, if anything, for the firm American Sanitary Drug.  It may be that the firm never existed.  Henry Tolman, in his collection, suggested on his page for these cancels that the firm's actual name was or might have been American Syndicate Drug Company.  But his suggestion creates a very different problem than searching and finding nothing.  Combining the words drug and syndicate and doing a general search produces zillions of results, mostly having to do with narco-trafficantes.

Joyce lists one type for this cancel on three values, so Mr. Tolman's collection of this company appears complete.  But given that the actual name of the firm is uncertain, I'm also not sure if we really know how many types this firm might have actually issued.  Whatever the case, additional information is needed to confirm the name of this company.  

A check of the BDR2 shows the 2 1/2c stamp attributed to American Sanitary Drug, and a few handstamps with the same initials without attribution.  There is a line with a small advert and no stamp for the "Aldo Summer Drug Co."  It appears there remains sleuthing to be done here!

Baily & Montgomery, Commission Merchants

 

BAILY & MONTGOMERY,

MAR

5

1900

NEW YORK.

from the Commercial and Financial Chronicle, March 5, 1898:

from Savannah Naval Stores Review, February 13, 1904:

More C. H. Arnold & Company: Look to the Expanding BDR2

 

Frank Sente reminded me a couple of days ago to always check the relatively new, and constantly improving, BDR2 to see what cancels have emerged since Joyce's addendum to the Chappell list of 1898 proprietary printed cancels.  Thanks to Bob Mustacich and a dedicated team (including many contributors over the years to this site), BDR2 has become a much more useful and interesting reference tool for proprietary printed and handstamp collectors.  And because the team is thorough, they have identified, listed, and provided images and branding materials for the companies in the Joyce/Chappell list and then some.  And in today's case, the then some includes C. H. Arnold, which featured here a few days ago as a component of Henry Tolman's collection.  

Frank Sente sent me the examples of the stamps above, which add to the single cancel listed in the legacy list.  At the BDR2 site, if you search for CH Arnold, you'll find images of Arnold handstamps in addition to the printed cancels.

Death and Taxes

Happy April 18!  Celebrate this special day with three 1898 death and taxes combinations: taxes paid by an embalming fluid company, a casket company, and on a transfer deed for a cemetery plot.  Also included, a special added bonus from James D. Gill, the Collector of Internal Revenue in 1898, clarifying just what sort of death certificates require a tax stamp.

DURFEE EMBALMING FLUID CO.

NOV

19

1898

*

Crate that once held Durfee Embalming Fluid

NATIONAL

JUL 8   1899

CASKET CO.

National Casket Company Factory, Oneida, New York

APR 28 1899

The Evergreen Cemetery

ELIZABETH, N. J. 

The Red Badge of Courage novelist Stephen Crane is buried near Evergreen Cemetery's main gate.

Still in use in 2023.

Deed for cemetary plot at the Evergreen Cemetery:

From The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, November 3, 1898, now the New England Journal of Medicine.  Apparently, official death certificates for use of the state did not require tax stamps.  Those for personal use did require a stamp:

Tax Collector Pays the Tax?

Farmers & Mechanics National Bank of Georgetown $131.00 check to E. G. Davis, the Washington, D. C. Collector of Taxes.  The tax collector canceled the stamp.

COLLECTOR OF TAXES

MAY

23

1900

D.C.

It can't be confirmed that the tax collector paid the 2 cent tax on the check, but we do know that the tax collector canceled the 2 cent federal tax stamp.
 

C. H. Arnold & Company: The Henry Tolman Collection

This post is part of a continuing series documenting the Henry Tolman collection of 1898 proprietary printed cancels. 

C. H. Arnold & Co.

NEW YORK.

1901

Joyce lists only one type on one stamp denomination with only one year date for this company.  So this stamp appears to be all there is for C. H. Arnold.  C. H. Arnold & Company was in the wine business, and is reported to have sold at auction major stocks of Madeira in 1900.  

Malcolm Goldstein, would this be a good subject for exploration?  The Madeira story among southern planters in the US is told in this academic piece, where C. H. Arnold is mentioned:  

American Nineteenth Century History, Vol. 6, No. 2, June 2005, pp. 173–188

Liquid Assets: Madeira Wine and Cultural Capital among Lowcountry Planters, 1735-1900

James H. Tuten

Insurance Agents: E. A. Van Trump of Wilmington, Delaware

E. A. VAN TRUMP.

AUG

1

1900

WIL. DEL.

E. A. Van Trump was a general insurance agent in Wilmington for fire, marine, life & accident insurance.  His office was located at the corner of 6th & Market Streets. The above stamp was likely used to pay the tax on insurance.  Mr. Van Trump was also Secretary for the Wilmington Board of Trade. 

The Delaware connection served the Van Trump family well, as Mr. Van Trump's son, E. A. Van Trump Jr., moved himself out west and became an agent for a rare and expensive car built by du Pont motors in Wilmington, Delaware.  

Abraham & Straus (not Allen & Sharp): The Henry Tolman Collection

This post is part of a continuing series documenting the Henry Tolman collection of 1898 proprietary printed cancels. 

The "A&S" printed cancels in the Joyce/Chapell list are credited to the firm Allen & Sharp Co.  Henry Tolman was unsure that the A&S stood for Allen & Sharp, and handwrote a note on his album page that the firm might be "Abraham & Straus".  With the help of Google and Wikipedia, it was easy to establish that Mr. Tolman was correct, especially because he included a Joyce unlisted variety with a "MACY" handstamp.  

A short history of A&S tells us this:  Abraham & Straus, commonly shortened to A&S, was a major New York City department store.  The store was founded in 1865 in Brooklyn, New York, as Wechsler & Abraham by Joseph Wechsler and Abraham Abraham. In 1893, the Straus family (including Isidor Straus and Nathan Straus), who acquired a general partnership with Macy's department stores in 1888, bought out Joseph Wechsler's interest in Wechsler & Abraham and changed the store's name to Abraham & Straus. 

We know that Abraham & Straus department store was affiliated with Macy's.  Our Rosetta Stone is the bottom and unlisted stamp that Tolman included in his collection.

Collectors of proprietary printed cancels that use the Joyce list as their primary reference should change the identity of the A&S cancels from Allen & Sharp to Abraham & Straus.

"MACY" handstamp over A. & S. 1900 printed cancel

Bill of Exchange Fragments: Grain Merchants -- Hammond & Snyder of Baltimore

 Bill of Exchange fragment for the firm of Hammond & Snyder:

HAMMOND & SNYDER

JUN

27

1900

BALTIMORE

Hammond & Snyder were grain exporters and receivers.  William R. Hammond and John W. Snyder were the partners.

Available in wikimedia commons, The American Elevator and Grain Trade, with its fabulous title art, is a great resource for sorting through the grain firms of the 1898 tax period.  Hammond & Snyder don't show up much, but they do, and just enough to confirm the nature of their business.