Baker & Hamilton invoices and receipts

Title: Baker & Hamilton invoices and receipts

Dates: 1879-1892, 1949

Collection Number: MS 494

Creator/Collector: Baker & Hamilton

Extent: 1 half box

Repository: California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Abstract: The collection consists of sample invoices and receipts issued by both the San Francisco and Sacramento offices between 1879 and 1892, and a 1949 history of the firm.

Language of Material: English

This collection is open for research at our off-site storage facility with one week's notice. Contact Library & Archives staff to arrange for access.

Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Baker & Hamilton invoices and receipts. California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Gift of Bill and Florence Gardner, 2001

BakerLivingston Low Baker (1827-1892), Robert Muirhead Hamilton (1830-1893) and James Lloyd Lafayette Franklin Warren (1805-1896) joined together in 1849 on Mormon Island to sell provisions, tools, and general supplies to those seeking fortune in the gold fields. Their first establishment was a canvas tent. In the fall of 1850 the partners moved to Sacramento City where they opened a store, Warren & Company, at the foot of J Street (11 J Street), convenient to the Sacramento River. In October or November 1853, Warren sold his interest in the store to his partners, and focused on the publication of a newspaper, the California Farmer. The new firm, Baker & Hamilton, concentrated on agricultural implements and general hardware. In 1856 it expanded to 9 J Street. In December of 1867 the firm opened a branch in San Francisco at 13 to 19 Front Street. In 1868 Baker & Hamilton established a factory in San Leandro to manufacture farming implements. The first Baker & Hamilton catalog appeared in 1874. In January 1880 the factory was moved to Benicia where it occupied a former Pacific Mail Steamship Company plant. In 1882, having outgrown the original San Francisco Front Street headquarters, B&H moved into a new building at the junction of Pine, Market and Davis Streets.

The collection consists of sample invoices and receipts issued by both the San Francisco and Sacramento offices between 1879 and 1892, and a 1949 history of the firm. The Library also has several editions of the Baker & Hamilton catalog in its trade catalog collection. Please inquire as to our holdings.