Last updated January 7, 2025 19th Century Billheads, Receipts, Bills of Lading, etc.

Number of Pieces: 36

Billheads are wonderful pieces of ephemera, at the same time both functional and pieces of advertising, from an era long past. This site is dedicated to my collection of 19th century billheads and other similar-sized documents (bills of lading, receipts, etc.). While my primary focus is revenue-stamped billheads of the Civil War tax period, I am interested in all billheads of the 19th century.

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State	City	Year	Business Name	Business Type	Document Type	Notes	Inv. #
Kentucky	Louisville	1865	New York Central Railroad	Allen Butler, General Western Passenger Agent	Receipt	Cancel is Tolman N-11NN.	23
Maryland	Baltimore	1868	Frank F. Horner & Co.	Wholesale Dealers in Boots, Shoes, Hats, Caps, &c.	Billhead		3
Maryland	Baltimore	1865	The New Line, Baltimore and Richmond Steamers		Bill of Lading		16
Massachusetts	Boston	1870	A. M. Davenport & Co.	Upholsterers and dealers in all kinds of furniture, mirrors, drapery, curtains, window shades, mattresses and feathers	Receipt	Variant of T15 major double transfer.	26
Massachusetts	Boston	1867	Ames Plow Company	Successors to Nourse, Mason & Co. Manufacturers of agricultural implements and machines, dealers in grass, field, garden and flower seeds, fertilizer &c.	Billhead		32
Massachusetts	Boston	1866	Jones & Farley	Dealers in Foreign Fruits	Billhead		7
Massachusetts	Boston	1866	Pecker, Brickett & Page	Importers of wine, brandies, gins, cigars, &c.	Billhead	Attractive illegal use of 3-cent George Washington (Scott #65) postage stamp with a socked-on-the-nose handstamp cancel.	36
Massachusetts	Boston	1866	Providence Railroad Corporation		Bill of Lading		17
Massachusetts	Boston	1868	Ware & Bundy	Importers and wholesale dealers of Straits, Bank, Shore, Neatsfoot, and Sod Oils	Billhead		4
Massachusetts	Boston	1869	Weed Sewing Machine Co.		Billhead		14
Massachusetts	Chicopee	1871	Matoon & Blaisdell (Successors to George Matoon)	Dealers in All Kinds of Cotton, Cotton Waste, and Paper Stock	Billhead	Purchased by Boston & Providence Railroad.	18
Massachusetts	Leicester	1868	A. White & Son	Manufacturers of Machine, Stripping, and Diamond Point Card Clothing, of Every Description, for Cotton and Woolen Machinery	Billhead		15
Massachusetts	Winchendon	1866	E. Murdock & Co.	Manufacturers of Wooden Ware	Bill of Lading		10
Missouri	St. Louis	1866	The Collier White Lead and Oil Co.	Manufacturers of White Lead, Litharge, Red Lead, Castor and Linseed Oils.	Billhead		22
New Jersey	Newark	1866	Newark Ice Company		Receipt		6
New Jersey	Paterson	1869	Rogers Locomotive & Machine Works		Receipt	Receipt for locomotive engine cylinders.	11
New York	Albany	1864	National Varnish & Oil Co.	Manufacturers of coach varnishes and lubricating oils, fine oils for locomotives and engines, always on hand	Bill of Lading		30
New York	Albany	1868	New York Central Railroad	Railroad	Receipt	Cancel is Tolman N-11C.	24
New York	Brooklyn	1869	Dayton & Carter	Dealers in House-Fusnishing Goods, Furnaces, Ranges, Stoves and Heaters. Manufacturers of Tin, Sheet-Iron and Copper Ware	Billhead	Attractive rendering of a stove in red on the reverse.	21
New York	New York	1869	Brunjes, Ockershausen & Co.	Sugar Refiners	Billhead		19
New York	New York	1865	H. D. Stover	Army and Naval Stores, Machinists' and Railroad Supplies	Billhead	Receipt for payment for a wood lathe.	35
New York	New York	1868	Hudson River Railroad Company	Railroad	Other	Statement of claim. Cancel is Tolman H-8D.	25
New York	New York	1865	John T. Wilson	Ship Bread and Cracker Baker	Billhead		5
New York	New York	1868	L. G. Tillotson & Co.	Manufacturers and Dealers in Railway and Telegraph Machinery and Supplies	Billhead		8
New York	New York	1863	Merritt & Walcott	Railroad Supplies and every article used in constructing and operating railroads; Steamship Supplies, engineers stores & tools, Telegraph Materials	Billhead	Unusual dual-purpose billhead with separate vignettes.	34
New York	New York	1865	Neptune Steamship Company		Bill of Lading		9
New York	New York	1866	Pennsylvania Railroad Co.	Railroad	Bill of Lading		29
New York	New York	1869	The Wilkes-Barre Coal & Iron Co.		Billhead	Stamp shows extreme sulphurization, presumably from having been stored in close proximity to sulphur coal.	20
New York	Troy	1868	G. V. S. Quackenbush & Co.	Dealers in all kinds of fancy and staple dry goods, carpetings, oil cloths, rugs, &c.	Billhead		27
New York	Troy	1869	Torrance & Merriam	Manufacturers of Malleable Iron Castings	Billhead		2
New York	Yonkers	1868	A. S. Radcliff	Dealer in beef, pork, mutton, lamb, veal, hams, poultry, game, lard...	Billhead		13
Ohio	Uncertain	1866	Cleveland & Toledo Railroad Co.	Railroad	Other	Wood roll (payment for wood).	28
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	1867	Jacob B. Ritter	Importer of bolting cloths	Billhead	This may very well be the largest ornate handstamp cancel I have ever seen, on a billhead from Jacob Ritter, 'importer of bolting cloths'. The branding in the cancel text matches the branding at upper left on the billhead, although interestingly the spelling is different. Gorgeous!	33
Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh	1870	Coleman, Rahm & Co.	Duquesne Iron and Steel Works	Billhead	Meticulous manuscript monogram cancel.	1
Rhode Island	Providence	1866	Knight, Cutler & Co.	Millers and Dealers in Flour and Grain	Billhead		12
Unknown	Unknown	1865	Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway	Railroad	Bill of Lading		31