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:         Mead, Edgar E., 1852-1927   

Title:               Papers

Dates:             ca.1910-1950.

Call No.:         Col. 711

Acc. No.:        03x155

Quantity:        63 items

Location:        34 J 4

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

Edgar E. Mead was a “dealer in antique furniture, repairing & polishing” in Springfield, Massachusetts, ca. 1915-1940.   Apparently, he took over the business of his brother George W. Mead after George died in 1915.  After Edgar Mead’s death in 1927, his wife Hattie continued to run the business. 

 

The Mead brothers were born in Vermont, Edgar in 1852, George in 1853, the sons of Truman D. Mead.  Their mother was either Sarah Brow or Catherine Beebe.  Before taking over his brother’s business, Edgar E. Mead was listed in census records as a house painter; he was even so listed in the 1910 census, although the collection has a bill dated 1908 on his stationery as an antiques dealer.   He married Hattie Amelia Washburn in 1881.  They had three children: Rollin Edgar (born 1884), Ethel L. (1885-1906; married Harry Robinson), and Gertrude Eunice (1891-1960, married Waldemar Thornton Packard; he worked at a sawmill).

 

Hattie Amelia Washburn was born in 1859, the daughter of Eliza Jane Lackore and Oscar Fitzland Washburn.  In the 1860 census, her father was listed as a watch maker.  In the 1880 census, Hattie Washburn and George and Edgar Mead were all listed as boarders in the same house.  Her occupation was servant, and both the Meads were painters.  Hattie died in Goshen, Mass., in 1938.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

A small collection of letters, bills, and auction advertisements pertaining to the businesses of Edgar and George Mead.  The Meads sold and restored antique furniture and mirrors.  There are several letters regarding shipment of goods; bills for items sold; a list of items sold in 1921; a copy of Hattie A. Mead’s will (1929); a bill for brass furniture handles purchased by Mead for use in his repair work; descriptions of items offered for sale (one list in on the stationery of E.E. Mead, housepainter and hard wood finisher, working in Springfield in the 1880s); and an undated inventory from the estate of Gertrude E. Mead Packard.  Mrs. Packard’s estate included a number of old cars and trucks, a sleigh, sap buckets, saws, lumber, pipes, thresholds, and a corn cutter; values are given.

 

Also included in the collection is the work record book for 1915 of Ernest C. Molinder, who repaired and cleaned furniture for Edgar Mead.  He did not record the specific work done, but noted the number of hours he spent on such tasks as “repair of 1 bandgou clock and 1 cherriton washstand.”  Often the customer’s name is noted, but sometimes the work was done “for the boss,” i.e. Mr. Mead.  Another little memorandum book includes notes on a sermon and notes about wallpaper. The collection includes auction notices, antique dealers’ catalogs, and book advertisements.  Lastly, there is a scrapbook with articles from ca.1915-1930s about glassware, manuscripts, hooked rugs, and other such items.  A 1925 clothes catalog from Filene’s Department Store was used for the scrapbook.

 

           

ORGANIZATION

 

The items are arranged by type, and then mostly chronologically.

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in English.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

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

           

 

PROVENANCE

 

Purchased from Peter L. Masi.

           

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

            People:

                        Mead, George W., 1853-1915.

                        Mead, Hattie Amelia Washburn, 1859-1938.

                        Molinder, Ernest C. (Ernest Conrad), 1875-1942.

                        Packard, Gertrude E. Mead, 1891-1960.

                        Margolis, Nathan, 1873-1925.

 

Topics:

            Advertisements – Antiques.

Antique dealers – Massachusetts - Springfield.

            Antiques - Repairing.

            Wills - Massachusetts.

            Inventories of decedents’ estates - Massachusetts.

            Vehicles.

            Auction catalogs.

Bills.   

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 34 J 4

 

 

All accession numbers begin with 03x155.

 

 

Folder 1: memorandum books

 

.1         on cover: “Memoranda for your purse or pocket”; with notes on a sermon and notes about wallpaper, whitewashing, red damask (only 5 pages of notes)

 

.2         “Memorandum book on work done to Edg. Mead’s shop on 171 Hancock St., Springfield, Mass., by Ernest C. Molinder, ano 1915”

                        Many of the entries have the names of the customers (Mrs. Stevens, Mercy Hospital, Mr. H. Huck), while others were “for the boss E.E. Mead.”  Mr. Molinder recorded what he did, and often gave a description of the item worked on (“repair of 1 cherry serving table scraping and sandpapering” or “putting in locks to a swell front bureau”), and gave the amount of time spent on each project.

 

 

Folder 2: letters, bills, etc.

 

.3a-c    stationery (three pieces): “Edgar E. Mead, dealer in antique furniture, repairing & polishing,” printed to be used in 1920s

 

.4         letter to Mead from Mrs. A. J. Shores, Hotel Marie Antoinette, New York City [bur written on stationery of Curtis Hotel, Lenox, Mass.], no date: about shipping a melodeon;

                        With notes added by Mead about the shipment, Oct. 16, 1920 [see also .24]

 

.5         to Mead from Henry M. Wriston, Middletown, Conn., no date: about a bill received from George W. Mead, which was dated Oct. 15, 1914; bill was for mahogany bed, repairs to chairs, and rush seats for chairs.

                        On stationery of Department of History, Wesleyan University;

                        On back: something about Mrs. Hurlbert

 

.6         bill from George W. Mead to Charles Parsons, 191-, for side board, Chippendale chairs, bureau, plain post and fluted post beds, a bureau polished, and two mirrors;

                        Printed billhead: dealer in antique furniture, furniture repairing and polishing

 

.7         bill from George W. Mead to Mr. Write, 191-, for mirror frame, tip talbe, rocker, Japanese stand, labor, and a mirror plate;

                        Printed billhead: dealer in antique furniture, furniture repairing and polishing;

                        On back: calculations

 

.8         bill from Edgar E. Mead to Charles M.[?] Bosworth, 1908, for bureaus, inlaid table, mirrors;

                        Printed billhead: dealer in antique furniture, furniture repairing and polishing;

the stationery was printed for use in 191-, but the bill is dated 1908; it is possible that this was something that was generated in the process of clearing up George Mead’s estate

 

.9         letter from Nathan Margolis, Hartford, Conn., May 20, 1910, to Edgar Mead: first time he has seen bill for the work done, which was very satisfactory;

                        Printed letterhead: designer and contractor of furniture in all periods, choice antique models reproduced; importer of silver, china, glass, furniture and wall coverings, oriental and domestic rugs and carpets

 

.10-.11             letter (.10) from Stadden’s Art Shop, Springfield, Mass., May 23, 1911, to George W. Mead: encloses list of goods on consignment at the shop;

                        List (.11) of goods on consignment, including tables, low boy, mirrors, tip table, gate leg table, chairs, card table, sideboard, high post bed, fall leaf writing desk, etc. (Sheraton, Chippendale, Hepplewhite, Empire styles are mentioned)

 

.12       bill from George W. Mead to Mr. Sauter, Nov. 1, 1914, for secretary and bureau polished;

                        Printed billhead: dealer in antique furniture, furniture repairing and polishing;

 

.13       bill from Edgar E. Mead to R. F. McElwan of Holyoke, Mass., Feb. 1914: for repairs to mirror;

                        Printed billhead: fine house painting in all its branches;

 

.14       bill from Edgar E. Mead to Mrs. W. B. Bigelow, March 9, 1915, for finishing rocking chair;

                        Printed billhead: dealer in antique furniture, furniture repairing and polishing;

 

.15       from Richter Furniture Co., New York, Aug. 30, 1915, to Edgar Mead: about order for chairs to sell in Springfield;

                        Printed letterhead: makers of fine mahagony [sic] chairs, sofas, beds, etc., reproductions in all classic styles

 

.16       bill from Edgar E. Mead to Mrs. J. Damon, Sept. 7, 1915, for repairs to secretary; apparently work was done in Oct. 1914;

                        Printed billhead: dealer in antique furniture, furniture repairing and polishing; billhead was altered: “George W.” was crossed out, and “Edgar E.” was written in;

                        On back: a list of goods, dated July –August 1913, including secretary, table, sideboard, beds, bureau, mirrors, stool, book case, etc. with note “paid in full Dec. 9, 1914”

 

.17       letter from W. G. Soule, Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Boston, Nov. 19, 1915: what kind of mirror plates are wanted, French or German?

                        Printed letterhead: glass, mirrors, paints, brushes

 

.18       bill from Edgar E. Mead to Mrs. Charles Parsons, Dec. 23, 1915, for beds, telephone table, palm stand, muffin stand;

                        Printed billhead: dealer in antique furniture, furniture repairing and polishing

 

.19       short letter from W. B. Houghton, Brattleboro, Dec. 25, 1917, to Mr. Mead: was check received?

 

.20a-c  letter, with envelope, from Florence L. Church (Mrs. Howard E.), Atlantic City, N.J., March 12, 1918: apology for delay in sending check;

                        On illustrated letterhead stationery of Craig Hall, a hotel in Atlantic City, with view of the hotel; also the hotel’s envelope, decorated with thistles

 

.21       envelope addressed: “For the successor to the Mead dealer in antiques and dealer of reproductions, Hancock Street, Springfield, Mass.” with return address of E. T. Slocum, Providence, R.I., postmarked Oct. 27, 1918

 

.22a     letter, to Mrs. Mead, from S. W. Simpson, New York, Jan. 3, 1920: sending her a check because cannot remember lawyer’s name;

                        With drafts of Mrs. Hattie A. Mead’s reply: check received;

 

.22b     letter [probably a draft], to Mr. & Mrs. S. W. Simpson, from Hattie Mead, Springfield, March 17, 1920: about selling some property; it’s snowing; well but not yet strong;

                        Written on back of printed billhead of Edgar E. Mead, dealer in antique furniture, [etc.]

 

.23       deposit slip: Edgar Mead deposited into the Chicopee National Bank, Springfield, April 20, 1920: several checks (includes names and amoutns)

 

.24       short letter from Mrs. J. Julian McGie[?], Oct. 5, 1920, to Edgar Mead: about shipment of Mrs. A. J. Shores’ melodeon to Chicago  [see also .4]

 

.25       bill from The E. Howard Clock Company, Boston, Dec. 28, 1920, for movements with dials, pendulums, weights and hands; dial doors with glasses; side brackets and door latches;

                        Printed and illustrated billhead: “Finest Tower Clocks in the World,” with illustration of a street clock

 

.26       short letter from The E. Howard Clock Company, Boston, Dec. 30, 1920: check received and shipment will be soon;

                        Printed letterhead: makers of best clocks for three quarters of a century

 

.27a-b  letter, with envelope: Harriet C. (Mrs. John D.) Barrows, Brattleboro, Vermont, April 27, 1921, to Mead: hopes to be able to remove her furniture from his business about May 1: rush bottomed chairs, mahogany chairs, and a small table; also, does he have a small chest of drawers for sale?

                        On back of envelope is a name and telephone number

 

.28       short letter from Harriet C. (Mrs. John D.) Barrows, Brattleboro, Vermont, no date: check enclosed

 

.29       list of amount sold in 1921; gives names and amounts (almost $2000 for the year);

                        On printed billhead of Edgar E. Mead, dealer in antique furniture, [etc.]

 

.30a-b  letter, C. W. Ives, New Haven, Conn., June 3, 1824, to Mead: offering items for sale: plates, pipe tongs, prints (Currier & Ives mentioned), glass, furniture (describes pieces), decorated trays, and “various other items”

 

.31       bill from A.H. Eaton, Collinsville, Conn., Aug. 23, 1924; for jamb hooks, complete ovals, head posts, plate, bails, posts;

                        Printed billhead: manufacturer of brass reproductions for colonial furniture, any style old handle duplicated to order

 

.32       circular letter from E. Guerin, The French Antiques Co., Inc., New York, Feb. 26, 1929: list of items for sale, chiefly furniture, also andirons, silk, mirrors, coffee set, and doors

 

.33       list labeled as “what Edgar Mead inventory of 1926 Oct. 28 1923 antiques stored at R. E. Mead,” mostly furniture, with two mirrors and one silver candlestick; values given for all except the candlestick;

                        Written on stationery of Raymond R. Bill & Co., West Springfield, Mass., but no reason to think the list has any relation to that company

 

.34       typed copy of will of Hattie A. Mead, dated Feb. 15, 1929, with bequests to grandson Harold W. Robinson [son of Ethel Mead Robinson], son Rollin E. Mead, and daughter Gertrude E. Packard

 

.35       bill from Paul B. Volk & Sons, Boston, no date but payment received Nov. 21, 1944, to Mrs. W. T. Packard, Williamsburg, Mass., for a 1872 California gold half dollar

                        Printed billhead, with seals of Boston Numismatic Society and American Numismatic Association

 

.36       list: “dishes with Dr. Syntax,” no date;

                        On printed billhead of E.E. Mead, house painter and hard wood finisher, graining, glazing, kalsomining and papering

 

.37       notes about Mrs. S. C. Hamilton, Newark, N.J. –what she wants, whom she knows

 

.38       list: “estate of Gertrude E. Packard,” not dated; included 4 or 5 Stanley Steamers and a bus, a 1924 Essex, a sleigh, sap tanks and buckets, merry-go-round and band saws, two junk Oldsmobiles, an old Ford pickup, lumber, mowing machine, corn cutter, pieces of cast iron sewer pipe and thresholds, etc.

 

.39       list of flasks, calabash 0r pear shaped bottles, and odd bottles, no date

 

 

 

Folder 3: publications, advertisements, and dealers’ lists

 

.40a-b  Advertising Antiques, issued April 1925 by Antiques, Inc. [publisher of Antiques, the magazine], with postcard to use for an advertising contract

 

.41       “Auction: Antiques and Fine Home Furnishings in the home of Miss Matilda K. Orr, Amherst, Mass., July 24-25,” no year (but during a time when daylight saving time was being used). George H. Bean, auctioneer

 

.42       “Catalogue of Armorial Illuminated Documents, Armorial Seals & Tassie Gems,” for sale by The Century House Antique Galleries, London, no year

 

.43-.45             three illustrated pamphlets about auctions to be held by L.J. Gilbert, auctioneer, in Lebanon, Pottstown, and Reading, Penn., April, May, and Oct. 1928

 

.46-.47             two illustrated pamphlets about auctions of estate of L. J. Gilbert, in Lebanon, Penn., May 1944 and June 1949

 

.48       flyer: “How to Become A Coin Collector,” issued by Guttag Brothers, New York

 

.49       flyer: “To Collectors of Rare Prints,” issued by Warren A. Weaver, as advertisement for his book Lithographs of N. Currier and Currier & Ives

 

.50       flyer: advertisement for the book American Pewter by J. B. Kerfoot

 

.51a-b  invitation from Import Antique Corporation, New York, to Mrs. Hattie A. Mead, to visit the company’s galleries; envelope is postmarked Sept. 13, 1930

 

.52a-i   advertising flyer of Lewis, Son  & Munves, New York, with loose pages of photos of some of the business’ stock

 

.53       envelope printed for The Magazine Antiques, New York

 

.54-.56             lists of antiques from stock of Martha Jane’s in Marcellus, New York; .54-.55 are not dated, .56 is dated march 2, 1931; .54 is two pages and notes that the store also sold chocolates

 

.57       advertisement, with photos, for Pavel, Lindemann & Co., New York City, no date

 

.58       advertisement for auction of collection of Mrs. R. G. Trask of Springfield, Mass, to be held June 2, 1915; from auctioneer C. A. Terry

 

.59-.62             lists of furniture, prints, and other antiques available from Whitlock’s Book Store, New Haven, Conn.;

                        .59a-c: dated Oct. 10, 1929;

                        .60a-c: dated Feb. 24, 1930;

                        .61a-g: not dated, but is for a “removal sale”;

                        .62: not dated, page 5 only of the original list

 

 

Folder 4: scrapbook

 

.63       scrapbook, with articles from ca.1915-1930s, about glassware, manuscripts, hooked rugs, and other such items. 

A 1925 clothes catalog from Filene’s Department Store was used for the scrapbook.  Most of the pages are completely, or almost completely, covered with the articles so little of the original catalog can be seen.