Billheads of Distinction

"Telephonic connection"

This kind of wiry, loose lettering is typical for the late 1880s to early 1890s.

Beautiful combination of lettering and scrollwork reminiscent of stock and bond designs.

Possibly one of my favorite item lists of all time.
"Dixon's Plumbago" has a wonderful ring to it.

This forlorn hulk is all that's left of the New York Architectural Terra-Cotta Co., and it sits in the shadow of the 59th Street Bridge, in LIC. It it the small building on the right in the vignette above.

Virtuoso lettering! 

Outrageous exaggerations of scale! 

Innumerable smokestacks belching forth prosperity! 

Curious products touted with sincerity and grandiloquence!

Find them here:

"The Biggert Collection of Architectural Vignettes on Commercial Stationery"
Avery Library at Columbia University