Collection Guide
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Bulkley (Jonathan D.) Collection of Illustrated Billheads and
Letterheads
priBulkley
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Jonathan D. Bulkley collection of illustrated billheads and letterheads
Creator:
Bulkley, Jonathan D.
Identifier/Call Number: priBulkley
Physical Description:
44.58 Linear Feet
(214 binders)
Date (inclusive): 1758-1952, bulk 1840-1910
Abstract: The Jonathan D. Bulkley collection of
illustrated billheads and letterheads contains about 36,000 billheads, letterheads, flyers,
and other ephemera relating to commerce and industry in the United States from 1758 to 1952,
with the bulk of the items dating from 1840 to 1910. Most of the items are engravings, but
some lithographs are also included. Imagery, logos, and decorative typography on the
documents relate to the history of American and international trade, production, finance,
and printing and graphic design in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Jonathan D. Bulkley collection of illustrated billheads and
letterheads, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Jonathan D. Bulkley, December 2011.
Jonathan Duncan Bulkley (1930-2012) was born in Port Chester, New York and grew up in North
Salem, New York. In 1947, he graduated from Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts.
From 1948 to 1950, Bulkley served in the Marine Corps Reserve, then studied at Yale
University. In 1957, he earned an architecture degree from the Illinois Institute of
Technology, where he studied under the modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. In
1958, Bulkley moved to San Francisco, California, and in 1960, he established Jonathan
Bulkley and Associates, his architecture firm where he specialized in designing commercial
and residential buildings. In the early 1970s, he founded the real estate property company,
Round Hill Pacific and worked as an investor in the San Francisco area where he resided
until his death in 2012.
In addition to being an architect, Bulkley was a prominent collector of prints and
ephemera, an interest developed after receipt of his uncle's personal stamp collection in
the 1930s. From buying at auctions, to antique and ephemera shows, he concentrated on
collecting graphic materials that documented the history of commerce and printing in the
United States. During his lifetime, he amassed a large collection of 19th and 20th century
letterheads, billheads, advertising trade cards, and stamps.
The Jonathan D. Bulkley collection of illustrated billheads and letterheads contains about
36,000 billheads, letterheads, flyers, and other ephemera relating to commerce and industry
in the United States from 1758 to 1952, with the bulk of the items dating from 1840 to 1910.
While most of the items document products or services manufactured by American companies,
countries such as Cuba, France, Great Britain, Germany, and Mexico are represented as
well.
Imagery and text on the materials pertain to the history of production, finance,
consumerism, and advertising. Many of the items include graphic logos, decorative images of
views of storefronts and factories, and detailed representations of the various products
manufactured for sale. Typography on the materials also include visual motifs of varying
text styles and printing techniques. The collection contains items that are both engraved,
as well as lithographed.
Some of the recurrent printers and lithographers of items in the collection include:
Baldwin & Gleason Co.; Geo. D. Barnard & Co.; Britton & Rey; J.H. Bufford's
Sons; Calvert Lithography Co.; Clay & Richmond; Cosack & Company; H.S. Crocker &
Co.; George F. Frauenberger; Fuchs & Lang Manufacturing Co.; A. Gast & Co.; Gies
& Co.; Gillies Lithographing and Printing Co.; Heinecke-Fiegel Lithographing Co.;
Henderson Lithographing Co.; A. Hoen & Co.; Krebs Lithographing Co.; Charles Magnus
& Co.; Mayer & Merkel; W.J. Morgan & Co.; J. Ottmann Lithographing Co.; Henry
Seibert & Brothers; Sage, Sons & Co.; and Sarony, Major & Knapp.
The collection was organized and rehoused by Krystle Satrum in 2018-2019. A preliminary
finding aid was prepared by Krystle Satrum in February 2021. In April 2022, Mari Khasmanyan
completed the finding aid and processing.
Organized in the following series:
- Series 1. United States, 1797-1949, bulk 1840-1910
- Series 2. Other countries, 1758-1952, bulk 1840-1920
- Series 3. Printing-related companies, 1840-1933
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Billheads
Business enterprises
Ephemera
Intaglio prints
International business enterprises --
History
Letterheads
Lithographs
Manufacturing industries
Printing -- History
Printed ephemera