PLEASE READ BEFORE BUYING!  I sell ONLY ORIGINAL items and NOT ANY reproductions.

This sale is for ONE 

advertising billhead 

(or statement, whatever you would like to call it)

from the

SMITH-MOORE-WILLIAMS COMPANY 

located in

 BONHAM, TEXAS 

in the year 1922.  

They sold groceries, hardware and implements.  

The upper left corner illustrates the "E. C. Simmons KEEN KUTTER" logo in red.  Logo notes cutlery and tools which were likely sold at this store.

The content of this statement request that a past due account be paid.

The person who was addressed with the delinquent account was 

George McCullough 

of   Gober, Texas.  

At the bottom of this statement, George McCullough hand wrote a response, signed his name and mailed the statement back to the Smith-Moore-Williams Hardware store.  

Historical Notes:  This store opened in 1901 and closed its doors in 2011.  They were open for 110 years. this Item comes from their archive.

Historical Notes found on line:  By 1880, the Simmons Hardware Company applied the name to all of the company’s top-of-the-line cutting tools including axes, hatchets, saws, knives, scythes, adzes, bill hooks, shears, scissors, files, stones & razors. By 1900, the Keen Kutter catalogue included every conceivable type of tool & hardware item needed by carpenters, mechanics, gardeners, farmers & handymen of any discipline. Keen Kutter tools were manufactured by the company, and are now collectibles. The book Keen Kutter Planes lists over 800 items from the brand.

The company had used an aggressive system of business where it aimed to buy up its suppliers so that it had the choice of best machinery and they could give priority to their needs. The company would then sell off the excess capacity in these companies. Their Keen Kutter brand advertised nationally, and the KK initials were used for several of their other brands. In 1902 they bought the Walden Knife company in Walden New York. This was of interest when the Winchester Repeating Arms Company decided to include knives among their products. They merged with the Simmons Hardware Company, and moved the Walden machinery from New York to their base in Connecticut. The Winchester and Keen Kutter brands flourished during the 1920s but in 1929 they agreed to separate and Simmons returned to their core business.  

Condition: The condition of this billhead: It has normal letter folds, some toning on left side and it in good condition.  The "EBAY ITEM" thing is just a loose piece of paper that is not attached to the billhead.  

The Approximate size of the billhead is 8 1/2" X 5 1/2".