Hunter & Co.'s Special Circular to Agents, Dealers, Peddlers, And all who wish to Make Money

Hunter & Co., Hinsdale, NH, ca. 1869. Single broadsheet, 9.75 x 5.75 inches. With original postal cover featuring Hunter & Co.'s all-over stamped designs, a 3-cent stamp, and two wavy name stamps of Governeur J. Tompkins. Envelope torn along the edge, leaving about 1/4" loss to the promotional preamble on the back, else VG; The letter is addressed to G. J. Thompson of Salt Point, Dutchess Co., New York, but we presume it to been for Tompkins (1856-1939), whose personal correspondence is preserved at the University of Michigan, though he would have been a teenager at this time and does not have a particularly notable biography.

Hunter & Company, Publishers and Booksellers, established 1860, motto, "No Entertainment so cheap as reading. No pleasure so lasting."  OCLC show books with the firm's imprint from around 1865-1871, but variety wholesaling was a major part of their operation--cheap books, stationery and albums, as well as small novelties like a magic comb, watches, and even a Morgan & Clapp single-shot pistol. They sold directly to sales agents on a cash basis, rather than commission on sales or subscriptions. The circular heavily promotes Medical Common Sense and fountain pen.