Album Business Cards from Alan Mays

Red Lion Hotel, Mount Joy, Pennsylvania

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 04:22:02 +0000

This business card for the Red Lion Hotel likely dates to the 1870s or 1880s. The hotel proprietor, John B. Shelly (1827-1889), worked as a “merchant” in 1860, according to the U.S. Federal Census, but by 1870 it listed his occupation as “keeps hotel” and in 1880 he was an “innkeeper.”

The background design reminds me of a moiré pattern.

Red Lion Hotel

Opposite the Railroad Station,
Mount Joy, Pa.

J. B. Shelly, Proprietor.

Good Accommodations and Moderate Charges.

S. W. Solenberger, Proprietor of the Guilford Herd of Short-Horn Cattle, Chambersburg, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 03 Nov 2024 02:50:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

S. W. Solenberger, the name printed on this nineteenth-century business card, is listed as Solomon Wingert Sollenberger (1838-1906) on Find a Grave (note the extra "l" in the last name).

Solenberger's farm was located in Guilford Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and he used the township's name for his herd of Shorthorn cattle.

S. W. Solenberger

Proprietor of Guilford Herd of Short-Horns.
Breeder of Thorough-bred Red Short-Horn Cattle.

Chambersburg, Franklin County, Penna.

"Red Rose."

[HBT?] L.L.S.Journal
Chicago

Prof. George Roch, Music Teacher and Tuner of Organs and Pianos, Lebanon, Pa., 1885

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 03:01:35 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

This is a bright orange nineteenth-century business card for George Roch (1852-1913). A number of directories list him as a music teacher or musician, usually with an address in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, rather than Lebanon. John H. Long (1850-1925) was a carpenter and organ manufacturer in Lebanon.

Prof. Geo. Roch,

Music Teacher and Tuner of Organs and Pianos,
at J. H. Long's Organ Factory,
Lebanon, Pa.

174 Instruments tuned between February 1, 1885, and September 7, 1885.

The Museum, Skinner, Day & Co., Keene, New Hampshire, ca. 1870s

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 02:52:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"The Museum" was the name of Skinner, Day & Co.'s store in Keene, New Hampshire.

For similar cards with a red or pink background illustration, see Eugene O. Chase, Second Leading Hoseman, Danielsonville, Conn., and Fireman Calling Card.

Museum. Skinner, Day & Co.,

Jewelers, Dry Goods, Carpets,
Fancy Goods and Everything
Keene, N.H.

E. Oettel, Philadelphia Reliable Fancy Bakery and Confectionery, Lancaster, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 03:33:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

An elaborate business card printed by David Bachman Landis of Pluck Art Printery (later known as Landis Art Print).

The wavy, wiry vertical lines that Landis used to separate the "Special Attention" section on the left from the main "E. Oettel" portion of the card come from a set of "Capital Ornaments" dated 1891 that was available from the Barnhart Brothers & Spindler (BB&S) type foundry. Landis also used these separators in a number of other printed pieces. See, for instance, the following examples:

-- Charles S. Frantz, Graduate Ophthalmic Optician, Watchmaker, and Jeweler, Lancaster, Pa.
-- A. H. Herr, Mill Creek Dairy, Lancaster, Pa.
-- J. M. Trout, Fire Sand Quarries, Landisville, Pennsylvania, ca. 1890s

BB&S also sold a set of "Brownies" characters that included the tiny owl in the upper left-hand corner.

Typefaces: Duerer ("Fancy Bakery and Confectionery"), Pynson ("All kinds of Cakes, Pies, Creams, Water Ices, and"), Hansard ("Home Made Bread"), Dante ("No. 506 Manor Street, Lancaster, Pa."). The unidentified typeface used here for "E. Oettel" appears to be the same as the one selected for "J. M. Trout" on the J. M. Trout, Fire Sand Quarries card.

E. Oettel, Philadelphia Reliable Fancy Bakery and Confectionery.

All kinds of Cakes, Pies, Creams, Water Ices, and Home Made Bread.

No. 506 Manor Street, Lancaster, Pa.

Special attention given to wedding and party orders.

Stands at Eastern, Central, and Southern Markets.

Clara Bull, Music Teacher, Andover, Kansas, ca. 1880s

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 03:26:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Clara Bull of Andover, Kansas, used this business card to advertise the music lessons she offered in the early 1880s. Her name appeared in various newspapers during that time (see below).

Clara Bull,

Music Teacher, Andover, Kansas.

Terms: $10 for Term of Twenty-four Lessons.

"Miss Ota Johns of Pleasant and Miss Clara Bull of Sedgwick county were entertaining callers Saturday. Miss Bull has been teaching music in Pleasant."
—Augusta Republican (Augusta, Kansas), Wed., Sept. 20, 1882, p. 3.

"Miss Clara Bull, Andover" was one of the "Successful Teachers" in a "list of successful applicants at the teacher's examination of July 31st and August 1st."
—El Dorado Republican (El Dorado, Kansas), Aug. 22, 1884, p. 3.

"Miss Clara Bull will instruct the youth of Alhambra this winter. We hope she will be as successful in this as she has been in music teaching."
—Augusta News (Augusta, Kansas), Oct. 9, 1884, p. 8.

Typefaces: Ringlet ("Clara Bull"), Lady Text ("Music Teacher"), and Program ("Andover, Kansas").

Thanks to Florian Hardwig for identifying and dating the typefaces (see his discussion of Clara Bull, Music Teacher business card at Fonts In Use). Since Lady Text was issued in 1884, Clara Bull's card must date to that year or later.

Henry Swartz, Dealer in Dry Goods, York, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 18 May 2020 02:31:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A late nineteenth-century business card for Henry Swartz's dry goods store in York, Pennsylvania.

The typeface used for "Henry Swartz" is Antique Extended. Thanks go to Florian Hardwig for the identification.

Henry Swartz,

Dealer in Dry Goods, Groceries, Notions, Queensware, &c., &c., &c.
No. 229 South George Street, York, Pa.

Experience in the business and strict attention enables him to render general satisfaction.

Country produce bought and sold.

Dry Goods. Gazette, Pr.

W. H. Michael, Headquarters for Southern Fruits and Vegetables

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 02:50:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

For the front of this business card, see W. H. Michael & Son, Commission Merchants, Philadelphia, Pa..

W. H. Michael. 114. Foreign and domestic fruits, nuts, etc., wholesale and commission. Headquarters for southern fruits and vegetables.

W. H. Michael & Son, Commission Merchants, Philadelphia, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 02:50:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

For the back of this business card, see W. H. Michael, Headquarters for Southern Fruits and Vegetables.

W. H. Michael & Son, commission merchants and wholesale dealers, foreign and domestic fruits, &c., No. 114 Dock St., (West Side), Philadelphia, Pa. Wm. H. Michael. A. W. Michael. Established 1868. Represented by G. C. Sanderson.

Henry Weill, Dealer in Horses, Lancaster, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 04:29:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Henry Weill (1860-1929) was a well-known horse dealer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This business card was printed for him by David Bachman Landis.

For similar cards by Landis that feature text printed over a background illustration, see:

-- Chas. O. Ursprung, Horse Collar Manufacturer, Lancaster, Pa.
-- W. R. Cheney, Carriage Builder, Lancaster, Pa.
-- William C. Myers, Practical Artesian Well Contractor, Salunga, Pa.

Henry Weill,

Dealer in Driving, Heavy Draft, and Fine Coach and Saddle Horses.

Sale and Exchange Stables, 200 to 216 West Orange St., Lancaster, Pa.

Presented by ________

Acclimated and western horses always on hand.

Telephone connection.

J. H. Hain, Manufacturer of Saddles, Harness, Whips, Reading, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 03:57:10 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A cameo card for Jacob Haak Hain (1823-1891), who was a saddler in Reading, Pennsylvania. For a brief biography of Hain, see History of the Hain Family: Descendants of George and Veronica Hain (Reading Eagle Press, 1941), p. 65:

"Jacob Haak Hain. . . born 1822 [or 1823, according to his gravestone], died 1891. On December 9, 1845, he married Mary Ann Goodhart, daughter of Jacob and Mary Ann (Beidler) Goodhart. She was born 1825, died 1898. He carried on a harness making business at 321 Penn Street, Reading and was Chairman of the Democratic Standing Committee, 1863-64; Clerk of the Court of Quarter Sessions of Berks County, 1872-75. Jacob, his wife, and their three children are buried in Charles Evans Cemetery."

Another of Hain's business cards (not a cameo card, however) is available as part of the Library Company of Philadelphia Digital Collections. See Jacob H. Hain, Manufacturer of Saddles, Harness, Bridles, Collars, Covers, Whips. No. 321 Penn Street, Reading, Pa.

For additional examples of cameo cards, see Best Boiler Works, Lancaster, Pa., and Eagle Marble Works, Monuments, Tombs, Gravestones, Reading, Pa.

J. H. Hain,

Manufacturer of Saddles, Harness, Whips, Collars, Fly Nets, Covers, &c.

No. 321 Penn Street, Reading, Pa.

McClement Bros.

John Matthes, American House, Lebanon, Pa., ca. 1864

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 22 Oct 2019 05:06:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

John Matthes (1834-1894) was the proprietor of American House, a hotel in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. It's likely that this business card dates to around 1864, when Matthes ran a newspaper ad for American House. A later advertisement indicates that he was operating a wine and liquor store by 1873 (see below for the ads).

American House

Lebanon, Pa.

Market Street, half-square south of Market House and one and a half squares from Court House.

John Matthes, prop'r.

The table is supplied with the best of edibles. The bar with the choicest of liquors.

Extensive new stabling attached to the house.

Handwritten name and year on the other side of the card: "Allen Longenecker, 1864."

--------

Advertisement printed in the Lebanon Advertiser (Lebanon, Pa.), July 20, 1864, p. 4:

AMERICAN HOUSE,
Market Street, Lebanon,

JOHN MATTHES,
Proprietor.

The proprietor of this old established and popular HOTEL would respectfully inform the public that it will be conducted at all times to the comfort and convenience of its guests. It has been thoroughly refitted and renovated, and no pains will be spared to make the Table and the Bar, at all times, equal to any in the county.

The STABLING and Yard are superior too, and more extensive, than any other in Lebanon. A new SHED is also in the course of erection, which will be completed in a short time. The patronage of the Farmers and the Traveling public generally is respectfully solicited.

PLACE--West side of Market street, and half a square south from the Market House.

JOHN MATTHES.

Lebanon, April 6, 1864.

--------

Advertisement in the Lebanon Daily News (Lebanon, Pa.), Jan. 9, 1873, p. 4:

"John Matthes' Wholesale and Retail Wine & Liquor Store, No. 33 North 8th Street, Lebanon, Pa."

J. M. Trout, Fire Sand Quarries, Landisville, Pennsylvania, ca. 1890s

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 09 Aug 2019 03:56:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

J. M. Trout

Owner and operator of fire sand quarries. Also loam beds. Landisville, Penna.

G. H. Thomas, western sales agt., Latrobe, Penna.

Pluck Print.

David Bachman Landis, who designed and printed this business card, wrote about J. M. (Jacob M.) Trout (1858-1935) and his father, Jacob S. Trout, in "Mineral Deposits and Works of the Hempfields," an artilce that appeared in the Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, v. 8, no. 8 (June 3, 1904), p. 247:

" . . . Jacob S. Trout discovered a valuable bed of silica or 'fire' sand, in 1870. Experiments with this sand demonstrated its superior value in the construction of furnaces and the manufacture of steel and iron. Mr. Trout shortly after opened a large trade for his sand, and regularly shipped from Landisville station many carloads of it to the great works of the Pennsylvania Steel Company, at Steelton, and other steel and iron works in Central Pennsylvania. . . . Since the death of Jacob S. Trout, in the year 1893, his son, J. M. Trout (who resides in the village of Landisville at the present time) has taken up the silica sand business and has been shipping thousands of tons to different iron workers, as far West as Chicago, Ill., and East to Massachusetts."

Compare the wiry borders in the design of this card with those used in the return address on an envelope for Charles S. Frantz, Graduate Ophthalmic Optician, Watchmaker, and Jeweler, Lancaster, Pa.

Littlefield and Hosmer, Dealers in Foreign and Domestic Fruits, Boston, Mass., 1880s

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 03:29:58 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Littlefield & Hosmer

Dealers in foreign and domestic fruits, butter, eggs, beans, &c.

Oranges, lemons, bananas, and apples a specialty.

Country produce sold on commission.

No. 9 North Market Street, Boston.

W. E. Littlefield, Chas. B. Hosmer.

A book about the Leading Manufacturers and Merchants of the City of Boston (1885), p. 203, provides a history of this business, which operated under the name of Littlefield & Hosmer beginning in 1881:

Littlefield & Hosmer, Dealers in Foreign and Domestic Fruits, No. 9 North Market Street. — The business conducted by this firm was established in 1866, and during the nineteen years of its career it has enjoyed a large measure of success. It was founded under the firm style of Littlefield & Enslin, and it was conducted under this title for fifteen years. On the retirement of Mr. Enslin, however, in 1881, he was succeeded by Mr. Charles R. Hosmer, and the style of the house was then changed to its present one of Littlefield & Hosmer. The firm occupy the basement floor, which is 20x40 feet in dimensions, and this is stocked with very choice selections of foreign and domestic fruits of every description. The firm makes a specialty of oranges, lemons, bananas, and apples, the former of which are shipped to them from the most celebrated producing districts of Jamaica, Central America, Florida, etc., and in these classes of fruits they conduct a good trade. They sell on commission all kinds of fruit, and prompt sales and liberal advances are made if required. All foreign fruits and vegetables are procured direct from the ship at their ultimate points of destination. The house enjoys a large city and suburban trade. The individual members of the firm are Mr. W. E. Littlefield and Mr. Charles B. Hosmer, both of whom were born in Maine, the former in 1837 and the latter in 1840.

Slaymaker, Barry and Company, Lancaster, Pa., ca. 1890s

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 15 Jul 2019 04:57:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A business card for Slaymaker, Barry and Company (later Slaymaker Lock Company). Printed by D. B. Landis of Pluck Print, probably sometime in the 1890s.

Slaymaker, Barry & Co.

Manufacturers of Shelf Hardware

Self Locking Scandinavian Pad-Locks

Lancaster, Pa.

John J. Kane

John B. Martin, Bicycle Trick Rider, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, ca. 1903

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 04:40:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

The Lancaster City Directory for 1903 listed John B. Martin (1875-1906) as a bicycle repairer and gave his address as 421 N. Prince Street, so it seems likely that this business card with the same information dates to about the same time.

I haven't uncovered any information regarding Martin's career as a trick rider, nor have I found any reference to the athletic grounds and banked bicycle track that he operated on Prince Street.

Martin died on March 19, 1906. He was only 30 years old and left behind three young daughters.

David Bachman Landis of Pluck Art Printery printed Martin's business card.

J. B. Martin, Wheels to Hire

Martin the Trick Rider.

First-Class Bicycle Repairing. Athletic Grounds in the Rear.

Come and see the new banked Bicycle Track.

421 N. Prince St., Lancaster, Pa.

Half square north of the P.R.R. freight depot.

J. W. Benneman, Manufacturer of Our Principal Cigars, Millersville, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 04:43:22 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"J. W. Benneman, manufacturer of Our Principal 5 cent cigars, Millersville, Pa."

A business card printed by D. B, Landis, Pluck Print, Lancaster, Pa.

Crescent Electric Company, Electric Motors and Fans, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, ca. 1895

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 04:43:30 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

The business card for James D. Brinser, who was the superintendent of the Crescent Electric Company in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The card was printed by D. B, Landis, Pluck Print, Lancaster, Pa.

I relied on listings and ads in various publications for the approximate date of 1895. The Annual Report of the Factory Inspector for Pennsylvania in the year 1894, for instance, gives the location of the Crescent Electric Company as 117 East Chestnut in Lancaster, as printed on the card. In 1896, however, Brinser assigned an Electric-Motor Fan patent to the Marietta Manufacturing Company in Marietta, Pa., which suggests that fans were no longer manufactured in Lancaster by that time. By 1898, the ads for Crescent Electric Fans indicated that the Marietta Manufacturing Company made them.

The Crescent Electric Co.

Manufacturers of Electric Motors and Fans

111 to 117 East Chestnut Street, Lancaster, Pa.

Electrical and general machine repairing.
Armature and magnet winding a specialty.
New and second-hand motors in stock.

Prompt attention. Obliging service. Reasonable prices.

James Brinser, superintendent.

Telephone.

Hipple Bros. & Co., Inc., Leaf Tobacco, Philadelphia and Lancaster, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 04:40:08 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

For other tobacco dealer cards, see S. N. Mumma and Co., Packers of and Dealers in Leaf Tobacco, Landisville, Pa., and Benj. H. Brubaker, Dealer and Packer of Pennsylvania Seed-Leaf Tobacco, East Petersburg, Pa.

Hipple Bros. & Co., Inc.

Leaf Tobacco

Main Office, 151 N. Third St., Philadelphia

Packing Warehouse, Cor. Duke & Chestnut Sts., Lancaster, Pa.

A. H. Herr, Mill Creek Dairy, Lancaster, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 21:18:12 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A late nineteenth- or early twentieth-century business card printed by David Bachman Landis, who operated Pluck Art Printery, which was later known as Landis Art Print.

I haven't uncovered any reference to a "Mill Creek Dairy," but it's possible that "A. H. Herr" was Aaron H. Herr (1880-1940), a farmer who lived in Manor Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

A. H. Herr, Mill Creek Dairy.

Pure milk and cream.

Lancaster P.O., Pa.