Tuttle & Company ad cover 1870s

Last week, a Japanese bookstore trade label got my attention and a Vermont publisher/bookseller got dragged into a brief exploration of bookstores in post-war Japan. That Vermont publisher was of the Tuttle & Company family of Rutland, Vermont.

I knew I had one of these ad covers in my collection, but forgot to include it in the other post, so it gets its own spotlight in this post. Researching the 3-cent Washington on the cover, I'd date this early 1870s.


Booksellers, Stationers, Printers, Publishers... What didn't they do? Flip the cover over for more. Job Printing, Blank Books, Paper Hangings, Curtains, Wrapping Paper, Paper Bags, Twine, etc., etc.



What about ministers? Somebody wrote out a doomsday message on the inside of the envelope announcing that the end was near. Tuttle's message to the addressee on the envelope? More likely it was Alvah F. Sherman (A.F. on the envelope) who scripted the dire warnings. He was a druggist in Ludlow, Vermont, as well as a dealer in books, pianos and a wide range of various and sundry things. And I've found several pages on the Internet that list his name and have something to do with Vermont Baptists. As a druggist, he had a product called Essence Hemlock (bottles and labels referenced on the Net). The Socratic cure for what ails you?

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