1887 Castle Bros. Teas Spices Coffee San Francisco Payment Receipt Buford* (#7)
$ 10.56
Description
1887 Castle Bros. Teas Spices Coffee San Francisco Payment Receipt Buford* (#7). Historical Significance Castle Brothers exemplifies San Francisco’s rise as the West Coast’s primary import hub in the late 19th century. Castle Brothers was a prominent San Francisco wholesale importing firm active from the mid-19th century into the early 20th century, specializing in spices, rice, coffee, and other tropical food commodities. On quality watermarked laid paper stock. Showing barely any signs of wear, age and handling. Expected fold creases from posting. Eye-catching form typefaces / fonts and bold stylish handwriting. Mostly very clean throughout. Please have a good look at the photos to assess the condition. Overall, in good to very good condition. Will display well in your collection. You will receive the exact sheet seen in the photos. The sheet measures approx. 5 1/4" x 8 1/4" **Wil ship safely folded on one or more existing creases** Castle Brothers was a prominent San Francisco wholesale importing firm active from the mid-19th century into the early 20th century, specializing in spices, rice, coffee, and other tropical food commodities. The firm played a meaningful role in supplying the rapidly expanding markets of California and the American West. Origins and Growth Founded: 1850s (operations firmly established by the early 1860s) Founders: Brothers Samuel Northrop Castle and Amos Starr Cooke Castle Base: San Francisco, California The firm emerged during the post–Gold Rush commercial boom, when demand for imported foodstuffs surged across mining camps, cities, and railroad supply chains. Business Focus Castle Brothers operated as importers and wholesale distributors, handling: Spices (pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, mace) Rice (China, Japan, Rangoon, Louisiana) Coffee (notably Central American origins, including Costa Rica) Tapioca and related staples Their trade routes connected Southeast Asia, China, Japan, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India, and Central America directly to San Francisco’s port. Facilities and Scale The firm often sold “original packages only”, emphasizing bulk wholesale trade rather than retail sales. Commercial Practices Offered samples on request, a common method for courting grocers, hotel suppliers, and institutional buyers. Historical Significance Castle Brothers exemplifies San Francisco’s rise as the West Coast’s primary import hub in the late 19th century. Their operations reflect the globalization of American food supply chains well before the modern era. Such documents are valued today as commercial ephemera, illustrating pricing, grading standards, and global trade networks of the period. S. R. Buford (Samuel R. Buford) (c. 1830s–1890s) Grocer & Early Virginia City Merchant Samuel R. Buford was an early merchant and grocer operating under the firm S. R. Buford & Co., active in Virginia City, Montana during the post-gold-rush stabilization era (1870s–1890s). Buford’s grocery business supplied: Foodstuffs and provisions to miners, freighters, hotels, and boarding houses. Goods shipped in via regional supply routes connecting Montana to Utah and the Midwest. Firms like Buford & Co. were essential to keeping frontier towns viable once placer mining declined and permanent settlement took hold. Buford is listed in period business directories and local records as part of the merchant class that helped anchor Virginia City’s economy after its peak boom years. Historical significance: Buford exemplifies the second-generation merchants who sustained Montana’s early towns beyond the initial gold rush. **Shipped securely in a poly sleeve, sandwiched in chipboard inside a rigid mailer via USPS Ground Advantage service w/ tracking** Click HERE to see postcards I have available. Click HERE to see transit and trade tokens I have available. Click HERE to see billheads I have available. Click HERE to see letterheads I have available. For U.S. based orders, the shipping cost for the first purchase is $4.00 and no extra cost for additional similar items such as billheads, letterheads, tickets, patches, post cards, trade cards, stock certificates that can safely be shipped in the same package. I have over 60,000 unique items here on eBay - Click HERE to visit my store & save with combined shipping for multiple buys. For U.S. orders on a PC, use the "add to cart" feature to select multiple items before paying. If the cart does not combine shipping costs, I will refund excess fees as I pack your order the following morning. I have enjoyed buying and selling vintage collectibles for over 40 years. Unless noted otherwise, all items I offer are original and not reproductions. Please review photos for condition issues (if any) as they are part of the description, and contact me with questions before bidding or buying. All items are securely packed and shipped via USPS. Please rely on my 25+ yr. 11,000+ 99.9% feedback rating as a guide to your buying decision. I hope all is well with you and your family — thanks for stopping by! – Jerry
