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1882 Perkins Institution Blind Earle & Prew's Express Bill CA Rowell Legislator:
$169.95
Original Earle & Prew’s Express domestic bill of lading dated Boston, May 9, 1882. The receipt records “one package” received from the “Institution of the Blind” and marked to “Mr. Clarence A. Rowell, c/o Ladd & Davis, Prov. R.I.”
The sender was Boston’s Perkins Institution and Massachusetts School for the Blind, the oldest school for blind students in the United States. This document was issued during Michael Anagnos’s directorship, while Anne Sullivan was a Perkins student and Laura Bridgman still lived and worked at the institution. Neither Sullivan nor Bridgman is named on or directly associated with this particular shipment; that connection is period context only.
The addressee is identifiable with unusually strong period evidence. The 1882 Providence directory lists “Rowell Clarence A., clerk, 213 Westminster, bds. 90 South.” The same directory places H.W. Ladd & Co., successor to Ladd & Davis, at 213–215 Westminster.
Clarence Albert Rowell (1859–1931) later worked as a European buyer for Lord & Taylor, became a Philadelphia department-store proprietor, and represented Philadelphia County in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1915–1916. His C.A. Rowell department store became a Germantown landmark. The store later entered another important chapter when Curtis Sisco Sr. acquired it in 1974, creating what has been identified as the first African American-owned department store in the United States. This receipt is addressed to Rowell but is not signed by him.
Ladd & Davis was the Providence dry-goods firm co-founded by Herbert Warren Ladd, who later served two nonconsecutive terms as governor of Rhode Island.
Perkins actively marketed goods produced through its workshops during this period, including mattresses, cushions, door mats, and other articles. Because Rowell was working for a dry-goods concern, a commercial shipment is plausible; however, the receipt does not identify the package’s contents.
Earle & Prew’s Express was a regional private express and parcel-forwarding company serving Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It operated from approximately the late 1860s until its absorption by Adams Express around 1910 and is also known to collectors for its private parcel labels.
Handwritten portion reads approximately:
Boston, May 9, 1882
Received of Institution of the Blind
One package
Marked Mr. Clarence A. Rowell
c/o Ladd & Davis, Prov. R.I.
Value: looping mark, with no amount written
Company-agent signature appears to read “D. Moran,” uncertain
The printed form has a bold Earle & Prew’s Express masthead, extensive transportation terms, vertical “READ YOUR RECEIPT,” and printer/form code dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">Approximately 8 1/2 by 4 inches.
Condition: Original used paper document with general age toning, scattered light soiling, old vertical and diagonal folds or creases, softened corners, and minor edge wear. Printing and pencil manuscript remain legible. Reverse is blank apart from show-through and a small handwritten mark. No major missing section observed. Please examine all photographs for the complete condition.
Category: Collectibles & Art > Collectibles > Paper > Ephemera > 1800–99
Type: Domestic Bill of Lading / Express Receipt
Date: May 9, 1882
Time Period Manufactured: 1850–1899
Company: Earle & Prew’s Express
Sender: Perkins Institution and Massachusetts School for the Blind
Recipient: Clarence A. Rowell
Associated Business: Ladd & Davis / H.W. Ladd & Co.
Cities: Boston, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island
Country of Origin: United States
Material: Paper
Language: English
Approximate Size: 8 1/2 x 4 inches
Signed: Company-agent signature; identity uncertain
Modified Item: No
Themes: Private Express, Transportation, Postal History, Education of the Blind, Perkins Institution, Department Stores, Political History
Condition: Used