Wright-Dalton-Bell-Anchor Store Co. Business Letter, 1918
Business correspondence from Dalton's of Poplar Bluff, May 15, 1918
Scan of the original 1918 business letter on Wright-Dalton-Bell-Anchor Store Co. letterhead
About This Document
A May 15, 1918 business letter from the Wright-Dalton-Bell-Anchor Store Co. of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, to the Southern Mattress Co. of Little Rock, Arkansas. The correspondence concerns a $2.35 credit memorandum for a mattress pad that the Poplar Bluff company subsequently located. The printed company letterhead identifies officers of the business and advertises its hardware, furniture, housewares, shoes and other retail departments.
Speaker / Author
Wright-Dalton-Bell-Anchor Store Co.
Date
May 15, 1918
Details
- Date:
- May 15, 1918
- Creator:
- Wright-Dalton-Bell-Anchor Store Co.
- Recipient:
- Southern Mattress Co.
- Recipient location:
- Little Rock, Arkansas
- Place created:
- Poplar Bluff, Missouri
- Format:
- Typed letter on printed company letterhead
- Document type:
- Business Correspondence
- Language:
- English
- Pages:
- 1
- Era:
- 1910s
- Condition:
- Original document exhibits fold lines, edge wear, discoloration, small tears and other age-related wear.
Southern Mattress Co.,
Little Rock, Ark.
Gentlemen:—
We wish to acknowledge receipt of your favor of the 9th inst., with credit memorandum enclosed for $2.35, covering one mattress which we wrote you was short.
We are pleased to advise that we located this pad and have therefore marked your credit memo void.
Trusting that we have handled the matter satisfactorily and thanking you for your kindness in this matter, we are
Yours very truly,
WRIGHT-DALTON-BELL-ANCHOR STORE CO.
HHH
The Letterhead
The printed letterhead is, archivally, perhaps the most valuable element of this document. It identifies five officers of the Wright-Dalton-Bell-Anchor Store Co. as of May 1918:
- G. W. Dalton — President & General Manager
- G. A. McKenzie — Secretary
- J. L. Dalton — Chairman of the Board
- N. B. Henry — Treasurer
- H. D. Mathews — Director
The letterhead also advertises the company's retail departments — hardware, furniture, queensware (dishes), shoes, stoves, sporting goods, mill supplies, carpets, rubber footwear, and a "Mammoth 5 & 10c. Store" in the basement — offering a snapshot of the breadth of Dalton's operations in downtown Poplar Bluff during the late 1910s.
The Correspondence
The letter itself is ordinary commercial ephemera: a brief acknowledgment that a missing mattress pad had been located, rendering a $2.35 credit memorandum void. Yet such routine correspondence is exactly the kind of primary source that helps reconstruct the day-to-day operations and supply relationships of a major early twentieth-century retailer.
People & Organizations Mentioned
Related Historic Sites
Source & Provenance
Scan and transcription courtesy of Historic Poplar Bluff. Available for personal research, education, and historical study.
Download & Use
A high-resolution scan of this document is available for personal research, education, and historical study.
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