The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, Delaware  19735

Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:         Pennsylvania Reform School.

Title:               Bills

Dates:             1882-1904.

Call No.:         Col. 686

Acc. No.:        02x176

Quantity:        23 items

Location:        34 J 4

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

The Pennsylvania Reform School was located in Morganza, Washington County, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh).  The school opened in 1850 and was originally called the House of Refuge of Western Pennsylvania.  It located to Mrganza in 1872, and in 1876, the name was changed to Pennsylvania Reform School.  In addition to teaching the children school subjects, they worked on the school farm and helped maintain the buildings and grounds.  Other name changes, and changes in the school itself, took place in the 20th century.  It was finally closed, all the buildings torn down, and the land put to other use.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

A small collection of bills for purchases made by the Pennsylvania Reform School.  Purchases included locks, baseballs and rugby footballs, flour, jute carpeting, pots and pans for the kitchen, macaroni, napkins, sugar, Listerine, iodine, paraffin, paint, paint brushes, and pharmaceutical products.  Some of the bills are illustrated with the products being sold: a tubular wheelbarrow, a lock, barrels and bags of flour, a revolving bookcase, a small table or pedestal, kitchen stoves, a coffee urn, and a warehouse truck or cart.  Several others are illustrated with the buildings in which the businesses were located.  The building for the Jas. W. Grove store, which sold toys and notions, appears to have a large front wheeled bicycle in its window.  Horse-drawn vehicles, trolley cars, and pedestrians may also be seen.  One of the documents is not a bill, but rather a letter responding to a complaint from the school, about finding weevils in a shipment of macaroni.  Most of the bills are from Pittsburgh stores.

 

           

ORGANIZATION

 

The items are in chronological order.

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in English.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

Collection is open to the public.  Copyright restrictions may apply.

           

 

PROVENANCE

 

Purchased from America West Archives.

           

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

Topics:

            Balls (Sporting goods).

            Bookcases.

            Coffeepots.

            Drugs – Prices.

            Food prices - 19th century.

            Kitchen utensils - Prices - 19th century.

            Locks and keys - Pictorial works.

            Reformatories - Pennsylvania.

            Stoves - Pictorial works.

            Wheelbarrows.

            Billheads.

            Bills.

           

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 34 J 4

 

 

 

All accession numbers begin with 02x176.

All bills are addressed to Pennsylvania Reform School.

 

 

Folder 1 of 1:

 

.1         bill from Joseph Woodwell & Co., Pittsburgh, March 9, 1882: for button hole scissors, tailor shears, and a drawer lock and two keys; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” And with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed and illustrated billhead: dealers in hardware, every kind of wire, tubular iron barrow; and illustrated with a picture of a wheelbarrow

 

.2         bill from Logan, Gregg & Co., Pittsburgh, Jan. 3, 1884: for a door lock; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” And with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed and illustrated billhead: dealers in hardware, illustrated with a lock

 

.3         bill from William Wilkens & Co., Baltimore, June 30, 1884: for bale of rice root; “Brush Shop” added in pencil; with the steward’s stamp;

                        Printed and illustrated billhead: steam curled hair and bristle manufacturers, [etc.], with illustration of the company’s buildings, and various wagons and carriages traveling on the roads

 

.4         bill from Collins, Heyl & Co., Pittsburgh, Aug. 14, 1885: one dozen professional baseballs; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” And with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed billhead: American, English, French and German fancy goods, notions, toys, [etc.], manufacturers of all kinds of brushes;

 

.5         bill from Lang & Shepard, Pittsburgh, Aug. 29, 1886: for twine; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.,” “approved W.B. Lupton, Chr.,” and with the steward’s stamp.  Also noted as being for Shop.

                        Printed billhead: manufacturer of the celebrated Union Brooms and Brushes, and proprietors of the Union Cigar Factory, also dealers in paper, paper bags, wood and willow ware, and all kinds of brushes

 

.6         bill from Marshall, Kennedy and Co., Pittsburgh, Dec. 12, 1889: apparently for two brands of flour; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” And with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed billhead, illustrated with barrels and sacks of flour:

 

.7         bill from Pittsburg Beef Company, Pittburg [sic], Oct. 14, 1892: for butterine; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” And with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed and illustrated billhead: commission dealers in Friedman and Swift’s Fine Butterine, illustrated with a bull

 

.8         bill from Oliver McClintock & Co., Pittsburgh, Jan. 26, 1893: for yards of jute stripe; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” And with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed billhead, with decorative motifs: carpeting, furniture, upholstery, curtains, &c.

 

.9         short letter from John Danner Mfg. Co., Canton, Ohio, June 25, 1894, to J. A. Quay, Supt.: enclosing catalog of stools;

                        Printed and illustrated letterhead: Danner’s Patent Revolving Book Case, with picture of said bookcase, and of a stand

 

.10       bill from Demmler & Schenck, Pittsburgh, Aug. 28, 1894: for waffle iron, cake trimmer, pudding pans, dish pan, coffee and tea pots, steamer, skillets, etc.; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” And with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed and illustrated billhead: Tremont stoves, ranges and furnaces, house furnishing goods, tin and copper ware, refrigerators, [etc.], illustrated with a kitchen range;

                        Twice, a hole punch reading PAID was used on this bill

 

.11       letter, Columbia Mf’g and Importing Co., New York, Feb. 28, 1895, to J.M. [sic] Quay: seldom have trouble with bugs or weevils in macaroni, but do occur occasionally; can just sift them out;

                        Printed and illustrated billhead: with picture of label for Columbia Macaroni

 

.12       bill from Columbia Mf’g & Importing Co., New York, March 12, 1896: for barrels of broken Mezzani; with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed billhead: manufacturers of … macaroni, vermicellis, spaghetti and all other Italian Pastes; [etc.];

                        Hole punch reading PAID was used on this bill

 

.13       bill from Pittsburgh Supply Co., Limited, Pittsburgh, June 24, 1898: for brass ells, tees, unions, and bushing; bolts, etc.; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” And with the steward’s stamp.

                                    Printed and illustrated billhead: wrought & cast iron pipe, … plumbers’, gas and steam fitters’ tools and supplies; illustrated with various of the company’s products

 

.14       bill from Arbuthnot Stephenson & Co., Pittsburgh, Feb. 9, 1899: for napkins; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” And with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed and illustrated billhead: dry goods & notions, with illustration of company’s building; wagons and trolley car in street

 

.15       bill from Jas. W. Grove, Pittsburgh, Oct. 30, 1899: for rugby footballs and #5 footballs; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” And with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed and illustrated billhead: toys, notions & fancy goods [with list of other goods], illustrated with view of the company’s building; carriages on street, baby carriage on sidewalk; in the store window is what might be a bicycle with a large front wheel

 

.16       bill from Iron City Produce Company, Pittsburgh, July 3, 1900: for tomatoes and something else; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” And with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed billhead: wholesale fruits, vegetables, and poultry, with seal of the National League of Commission Merchants of the United States

 

.17       bill from Demmler & Schenck, Pittsburgh, Aug. 1, 1900: for agate kettles, lemon squeezers, milk pans, coffee boilers, colander, sad irons; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” and with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed and illustrated billhead: Tremont stoves, ranges and furnaces, house furnishing goods, tin and copper ware, refrigerators, [etc.], illustrated with a kitchen range [different from that on .10 above];

 

.18       bill from Dilworth Brothers, Pittsburgh, Aug. 29, 1900: for sugar; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” and with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed and illustrated billhead: Sugar Invoice, wholesale grocers; with picture of coffee urn advertising Dilworths Coffee

 

.19       bill from George A. Kelly Company, Pittsburgh, Aug. 24, 1900: for Listerine, iodine resub., paraffin; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” and with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed and illustrated billhead: druggists and dealers in chemicals, dye stuffs, paints, [etc.], surgical instruments and perfumery; illustrated with view of company’s building

 

.20       bill from Jos. Woodwell & Co., Pittsburgh, Aug. 30, 1900: for galvanized wire; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” and with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed and illustrated billhead: dealers in hardware; and illustrated with a picture of a wheelbarrow, a door check spring, and the company’s building

 

.21       bill from John A. Renshaw & Co., Pittsburgh, Sept. 1, 1900, for something;

                        Printed and illustrated billhead: fine family groceries; with picture of building

 

.22       bill from George A. Kelly Company, Pittsburgh, Feb. 25, 1901: for various paints, varnish brush, machine oil, sal Epsom, pepsin, chloral hydrate schl., nitric acid, carb ammonia, sponges, c.h. brushes, hot water bottles, beaker glasses, etc.; stamped “correct J. A. Quay, Supt.” and with the steward’s stamp.

                        Printed and illustrated billhead: druggists and dealers in chemicals, dye stuffs, paints, [etc.], surgical instruments and perfumery; illustrated with view of company’s building

 

.23       short letter from Lansing Wheelbarrow Co., Lansing, Mich., July 30, 1904, to J. A. Quay, Supt.: can supply school with special bread cart; sending catalog;

                        Printed and illustrated letterhead: wareshouse trucks, hand carts, horse pokes, wheelbarrows; illustrated with a pushcart or truck