1891 H. L. Griffin Co Ogden TLS Price List Sheet & Adv. Cover to S.R. Buford, MT For Sale

Showing only minor signs of age, wear and handling. Minimal edge cover paper loss from a left edge slit-open. Otherwise, no other issues to note. Eye-catching accent header art and bold header typefaces / fonts. Price list on smooth / finished paper stock. Overall, in good to very good condition. Will display well in your collection. You will receive the exact items shown in the photos. The letterhead measures approx. 7\" x 8 1/4\" and the price list, closed, measures approx. 5 5/8\" x 8 3/4\"

**Contents ship safely as found - folded on existing creases & inside the cover**

H. L. Griffin – 1891 Wholesale Produce Letter, Price List & Advertising CoverThis attractive 1891 commercial correspondence group documents the wholesale grocery and produce trade between H. L. Griffin of Ogden, Utah, and S. R. Buford & Co. of Virginia City, Montana. The group consists of Griffin\'s illustrated business letterhead, its matching advertising envelope, and the firm\'s large printed “Price List—Nov. 1, 1891” circular. Most importantly, the pieces can be firmly connected: Griffin\'s letter specifically solicits additional orders for goods “as per enclosed list,” clearly identifying the surviving price sheet as the enclosure sent with the correspondence.The letterhead and envelope are particularly decorative examples of late-19th-century commercial stationery. Their elaborate blue-gray engraved or lithographed design advertises Griffin as a wholesaler of fruits, produce, butter, eggs, lemons, oranges, dried fruits, nuts, fresh oysters, and fish in season, with “Imported Fruits a Specialty.” The stationery states that the business was established in 1881. Griffin\'s accompanying letter emphasizes dried fruits, apples, and especially oysters, assuring Buford that he could give him his “money\'s worth in OYSTERS.” It is signed H. L. Griffin.The enclosed price list provides an unusually detailed snapshot of what a Western wholesale produce house could supply in November 1891. Besides pears, apples, lemons, oranges, grapes, cranberries and vegetables, Griffin offered fresh oysters, nuts, butter, eggs, chickens, honey, salmon, cider, pickles, mince-meat, sauces and dried fruits. An entire additional section lists “Silver Brand Crackers and Biscuits,” ranging from ordinary soda and oatmeal biscuits to macaroons, wafers, lady fingers, ginger snaps and dozens of other varieties. Particularly interesting is Griffin\'s statement that his fresh oysters were received daily from Baltimore and sold under his “Mountain Brand,” illustrating the remarkably long-distance refrigerated and express-food trade already serving inland Western markets by this period.H. L. Griffin was not a fleeting concern. Later Ogden directories identify Herbert L. Griffin as president of the H. L. Griffin Co. and confirm that the firm had been established in 1881. By the early 1900s it was operating as a wholesale dealer in grain, seeds and produce, continuing to advertise imported fruits and “Mountain Brand” fresh oysters. The company was formally incorporated in 1896. A mid-1890s Ogden directory likewise lists Herbert L. Griffin in the commission business at 255 25th Street, providing independent evidence for the firm\'s continuing wholesale operation only a few years after this correspondence.The recipient is also significant. S. R. Buford & Co. was a Virginia City mercantile/grocery concern; surviving financial material identifies the firm specifically as grocers in the late 1880s. Thus this was genuine wholesaler-to-retailer correspondence: Griffin in the regional railroad and distribution center of Ogden was soliciting a repeat order from Buford\'s mercantile business in Virginia City. The price circular supplied Buford with the current wholesale costs from which he could select merchandise for resale.The matching envelope, addressed by typewriter to “S. R. Buford & Co., Virginia City, Mont.”, retains its 2-cent postage and a Virginia City receiving backstamp. Together with the letter and explicitly referenced enclosure, it makes this a particularly complete piece of 1891 Western commercial history—preserving not merely an advertising circular, but the actual sales solicitation, wholesale catalog, and mailing cover that carried them from Ogden, Utah, to Virginia City, Montana.

**Shipped securely in a poly sleeve, with a chipboard backer, inside a small rigid mailer via USPS Ground Advantage service w/ tracking**

Click HERE to see matchbooks I have available.
Click HERE to see transit and trade tokens I have available.
Click HERE to see billheads I have available.
Click HERE to see letterheads I have available.

For U.S. based orders, the shipping cost for the first purchase is $4.00 and no extra cost for additional similar items such as billheads, letterheads, tickets, patches, post cards, trade cards, stock certificates that can safely be shipped in the same package.

I have over 65,000 unique items here on - Click HERE to visit my store & save with combined shipping for multiple buys.

For U.S. orders on a PC, use the \"add to cart\" feature to select multiple items before paying. If the cart does not combine shipping costs, I will refund excess fees as I pack your order the following morning.

I have enjoyed buying and selling vintage collectibles for over 40 years. Unless noted otherwise, all items I offer are original and not reproductions.Please review photos for condition issues (if any) as they are part of the description, and contact me with questions before offerding or buying.

All items are securely packed and shipped via USPS. Please rely on my 25+ yr. 12,000+ 99.9% response rating as a guide to your buying decision.

I hope all is well with you and your family — thanks for stopping by!
– Jerry