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George H. Hale and Company : Original Billhead - George H. Hale and Company, Boston, Massachusetts

Original billhead on blue paper with printed text and handwriting in black ink. Datelined June 11, 1853 in Boston, Massachusetts. 7 3/4" x 5." Billhead is very clean and intact. Paper has a few horizontal and vertical fold lines. A Fine copy. The handwritten portions include the name of the buyer, the item(s) purchased, the price of the item(s), and acknowledgment of the buyer's payment. A bed of some sort measuring 5' x 2' was purchased. The printed text reads, "[Customer] Bought of George H. Hale & Co., Manufacturers and Dealers in All the Varieties of Rubber Goods, No. 12 Bromfield Street." George H. Hale & Company was one of many manufacturers and dealers who made and sold rubber products following the invention of vulcanized (stabilized) rubber in the 1830s and the establishment of the first U.S. rubber company, The Roxbury India Rubber Company, in 1833. This "George H. Hale" is likely one of four sons of Aaron and Mary Ann (Dean) Hale. Aaron Hale had already established his own rubber manufacturing company, and it is known that three of his sons, Alfred, George, and David (1833-1900), went into the family business. Given the name and type of business, it is likely this "George H. Hale" on the billhead is the same George Hale who took up his father's business. If this is the case, his brother Alfred had a separate company named Alfred Hale & Company, which was a well-respected in its time known for its sale and manufacture of rubber products and diving gear. (It is possible also that Alfred Hale & Co. was the successor to George H. Hale & Co.) The buyer, P. Whitin & Sons, was a cotton manufacturing company in Northbridge, Massachusetts. Paul Whitin (1767-1831) was a pioneering businessman and blacksmith who helped establish the Northbridge Cotton Manufacturing Company in 1809. The Whitinsville village of Northbridge is named after him. Paul and his relatives founded another cotton manufacturing company in 1815 called Whitin & Fletchers. Paul gained sole ownership of Whitin & Fletchers in 1826, and together with his sons Paul, Jr. and John, renamed the company P. Whitin & Sons. After the passing of their father in 1831, Paul, Jr. and John bought the Northbridge Manufacturing Company. Paul's two other younger sons, Charles and James, would later join P. Whitin & Sons. In 1864, the four brothers dissolved P. Whitin & Sons and sold the company store to their cousin, Paul Whitin Dudley, which was renamed P. W. Dudley & Company. Paul, Jr., John, Charles, and James went on to form their own companies. P. Whitin & Sons had also manufactured cotton machinery. James had invented a cotton picker machine that outperformed previous models. This invention helped propel his business, Whitin Machine Works (WMW), into prominence as one of the world's largest textile machinery companies. WMW, or "The Shop" as known to locals, was a mainstay in Whitinsville until 1966 when it was sold to White Consolidated Industries (WCI; formerly White Sewing Machine Company). In 1986, WCI was acquired by Electrolux, which operates to this day as a leading appliance manufacturer.. Ephemera. Book Condition: Collectible-Fine. Binding: No Binding

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