Bloomington Illinois 1908 J E Humphreys Wholesale Grocers Billhead 7 x 5.5

This 1908 billhead from J E Humphreys Wholesale Grocers in Bloomington, Illinois documents a regional wholesale grocery transaction during a period of expanding Midwestern distribution networks and commercial agriculture.

Wholesale grocers in early twentieth-century Illinois operated as key intermediaries between rural producers and small-town retailers, coordinating bulk shipments of staple goods such as beans, flour, and preserved foods. Firms like J E Humphreys & Co. relied on standardized printed billheads that combined bold typographic branding with functional accounting space, presenting the company name prominently while organizing transactional details in a clear commercial format.

The billhead features a strong blue letterpress masthead reading J E Humphreys & Co. Wholesale Grocers, with Bloomington, Ill. printed beneath and a stamped date of October 17, 1908. Handwritten entries record the sale of 20 bags of navy beans with pricing calculations carried across the page, reflecting active commodity trade. A red stamp and pencil notations appear in the lower portion, adding layers of business processing marks. The verso includes printed terms in red ink, typical of period billing documents. The piece measures 7 x 5.5 inches and presents a clean, well-preserved example of early twentieth-century wholesale grocery ephemera.

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