1883 BURLINGTON IOWA GRANGER & CHITTENDEN FURNITURE ADV. LETTERHEAD H.W.

Description

PLEASE READ BEFORE BUYING:
I sell ONLY ORIGINAL items and NOT ANY reproductions.
This sale is
for
one historical!
advertising
LETTER
HEAD
from
GRANGER & CHITTENDEN
FURNITURE
Mouldings Mirros Cabinets, & Hardware
located at
100, 102, 104, 106, 108 South Third Street
in
BURLINGTON, IOWA
during the year
of
1882
.
Very nice vignette of the building with horses and carriages!
Names at the top:
L.G. Granger & H.W. Chittenden
This
letter
is
hand written
and is
signed by
H.W. CHITTENDEN
Company History:
The Formative Years: 1866- 1882
Chittenden & Eastman prides itself on being one of the world's oldest continuously owned furniture companies. Indeed, the company dates back to 1866, when Andrew Johnson was president of the United States and the nation had scarcely entered the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. That year,
a writer and politician named G.M. Todd and a dentist named H. Bailey formed H. Bailey & Co. Located in a three-story brick building on Burlington's Washington Street, complete with a 20-foot storefront, the new company was devoted to furniture jobbing and retailing.
Prior to adopting the name Chittenden & Eastman, a number of ownership changes occurred. When Bailey went back to his dentistry practice, H. Bailey & Co. was re-named G.M. Todd & Co. Another name change happened in 1873, when the company assumed the name of Todd, Pollock & Granger. At this time the company erected the first part of a facility on Third Street, which it would continually expand to accommodate growth. Two years later, a traveling salesman named Henry W. Chittenden, a native of Keokuk, Iowa, joined the enterprise. Upon Todd's retirement in 1877, Chittenden became a partner in the business, which was renamed Pollock, Granger & Chittenden.
Amidst the continual changes in ownership, the company became involved in furniture manufacturing and introduced its Square Brand of mattresses in 1880. According to the November 20, 1995,
Hawk Eye
, these mattresses were marketed as "the cleanest, most healthful and most luxuriant mattresses ever made," requiring "only an occasional sunbath to make them last a lifetime." A dealer network--which included independent furniture retailers, as well as morticians also interested in selling furniture--was eventually established. The company enjoyed steady growth from settlement-bound westward travelers who came through Burlington in covered wagons. Many of these pioneers settled on farms and returned to Pollock, Granger & Chittenden when it was time to furnish their new homes.
Pollock eventually withdrew from the company, which then became Granger & Chittenden. When Granger died in 1882, Chittenden suddenly found himself alone at the company's helm, which bore his name only. According to an 1882 publication entitled
The Leading Business Houses of Burlington, Iowa
, by this time the enterprise had evolved into one of the city's most influential companies and was "the largest exclusively jobbing business in furniture throughout the entire west, not excepting either St. Louis or Chicago."
At this time, H.W. Chittenden had annual sales of 0,000 and 24 employees. Operations were conducted in two buildings, one six stories in height and the other two stories. Together, these structures provided 46,800 square feet of space, which almost always held an inventory valued at 0,000. In addition to Iowa, three salesmen served customers in Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, and Illinois.
Progressing Toward 100: 1883-1966
An Ohio bookkeeper named Edward P. Eastman, who had joined the company in 1877 at the age of 17, became H.W. Chittenden's new business partner in January 1883. Chittenden & Eastman was thus born, and in 1899 the firm was officially incorporated under the name Chittenden & Eastman Company, which it would retain through and beyond the next century. With Henry Chittenden as president and Edward Eastman as vice-president and general manager, the company set upon a successful course.
Chittenden & Eastman published its first mattress catalog in 1891, and by 1915 had annual sales of approximately million. Products were marketed in a 700-page catalog, and the company's motto was "the best goods for the money." Two years later, a 48,000-square-foot showroom opened in downtown Burlington. In
History of Des Moines County Iowa and its People
, Chittenden & Eastman was described in glowing terms: "The company manufactures an exceedingly tasteful and well made line of upholstered goods, for which they have won an enviable reputation. No factory in the country can excel their mattress department, for the building has been especially designed for the purpose for which it is used and is perfect in its convenience and sanitary arrangements. Carrying an immense stock on hand, the company is ready to meet any order at almost a moment's notice."
In January 1923, Chittenden & Eastman announced plans to build a six-story building on the corner of Third and Division Streets in order to consolidate the manufacture and storage of chairs. At the time, this process was scattered among various other buildings and warehouses. Around this time, the company also sold its warehouse on Third and Elm streets to Burlington Buick.
Although Edward Eastman died in 1925, Chittenden & Eastman carried on and continued to prosper. In 1927, the firm established a sales office in St. Paul, Minnesota, to serve the growing northwestern United States. The branch benefited from a seven-story "sample room" to showcase its offerings to customers. By 1928, Chittenden & Eastman was recognized as a catalyst for Burlington's economic prosperity. It was around this time that the company was responsible for bringing a new plant to the city. In September 1928, Dahlin Brothers and Davis Manufacturing Co., which made frames for chairs and davenports, announced that it would build a 0,000 plant in Burlington to serve Chittenden & Eastman, which at the time was Dahlin Brothers' largest customer.
As the 1930s approached, Chittenden & Eastman offered a truly startling array of products to retailers via sales offices in Burlington, Chicago, and Minneapolis. In addition to virtually every imaginable piece of furniture for homes, offices, hospitals, and hotels, the company sold such items as picnic baskets, birdcages, ironing boards, breadboards, carpet sweepers, humidors, refrigerators, baby strollers, playpens, electric vacuum cleaners, tapestries, and rugs. In fact, a full-page ad in the 1928-29 directory
American Manufactured Furniture
touted the contents of Chittenden & Eastman's 748-page hardcover catalog, claiming: "It has been aptly described as a veritable encyclopedia of the furniture industry, for there are few items that a dealer needs which he will not find illustrated in this unusual catalog."
CONDITION:
Normal letter folds, toning and in very good conditi
on!
The "EBAY ITEM" thing is just a loose piece of paper that is not attached to the item that is for sale.
Approximate size is
8 1/2" X 11".
TERMS & CONDITIONS:
Payment to EBAY upon purchase.
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THANK YOU VERY MUCH and GOOD LUCK TO YOU!