Vigo County Historical Society

Historical Treasure Article

Historic Treasure of the Week - July 28, 1985
By Dorothy W. Jerse
Vigo County Historical Society

Letterhead history
Yesteryear's business logos left little to imagination

Graphic designers of today work to produce unique and meaningful logos for their business clients. Such a logo becomes part of the company's image and appears on business stationery.

Business owners of a century ago preferred stationery headed by pictures of their buildings, products and sometimes, of themselves. The pictures and words were printed with colored ink on papers of a variety of colors and conventional white.

Two examples from the large collection of business stationery in the Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley are pictured here.

The receipt written to John Weber on May 8, 1872, for one folding--top Singer Sewing Machine No. 63466 is illustrated with a picture of the product printed in deep red ink. The illustration leaves nothing to the imagination concerning the nature of William R. Nofsinger's and Alanson K. Josselyn's dealership at 76 Main Street, Terre Haute. The receipt for payment in full, in the amount of $90, was signed by R. McCormack.

This particular dealership may have been in business for only a short time. The Terre Haute City Directory does not include the names of Nofsinger and Josselyn; the Singer Sewing Machine Agency is listed at 71 Main Street, with J. A. Marshall as superintendent. However, strangely enough, the R. McCormack who signed the receipt is listed in the City Directory as the Singer Agency bookkeeper.

The "Brown and Schomer" letterhead promotes their vaudeville act in detail. Using red and green inks, the designed included a portrait of each dancer, a photograph of the men appearing as a team and written advertising copy - "Brown and Schomer in a Refined Singing and Dancing Act," "Full Act in One" and the catchy"The Boys with Feet that Talk." This team entertained audiences on the vaudeville circuit for five years before breaking up in 1909.

Schomer opened a dancing school at 1218-1/2 Wabash Avenue by 1910. His daughter, Evelyn Schomer Swalls says, "My father did not want to continue traveling as part of a vaudeville team after the birth of his first child (grace Schomer Coleman). His partner, John Brown, moved on to professional baseball."

The Vigo County Historical Society is interested in expanding its business collection. Contributors of stationary and statements used in the past by Wabash Valley Businesses are welcome additions to this collection.

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday through Friday. For more information, telephone 235-9717 during open hours.