An Archive of over 600 pieces of Jacob Meck (1859-1930), prominent merchandising entrepreneur, postmaster, and cigar manufacturer, Meckville, Berks County, PA, 1864-1911
- SIGNED
An Archive of over 600 pieces of Jacob Meck (1859-1930), prominent merchandising entrepreneur, postmaster, and cigar manufacturer, Meckville, Berks County, PA, 1864-1911. Jacob Meck, of Pennsylvania, was one of 11 adult children born to Benjamin and Elizabeth Ruth. He operated a grocery store beginning in 1879. He was the postmaster of Meckville, Berks County, PA after being nominated by David McKendree Key (U.S. Democratic Senator from Tennessee and U.S. Postmaster General). The post office was located in the store and the village was named Meckville after him. Meck later expanded his business, opening a liquor store in 1894, a creamery, feed store, and shirt factory in 1902, and then establishing Eagle Canning Company in 1905. Meck began a cigar manufacturing business in 1884 and ran it through 1907 when time restrictions forced him to abandon it. In 1913 he ran for Recorder of Deeds as a democratic candidate.
Above images are small sampling of collection
He married Hettie Esther Becker in 1877 and the couple had seven children. Many personal correspondences are from his sons Walter (1878-1961) and Allan (1886-1977?). Walter opened the Meck and Coldren Mill with D.D. Coldren in 1900 where they manufactured cotton underwear. Walter remained with the business until 1950. Allan became a minister and became a well-respected president of the Lancaster Theological Seminary, where an Allan S. Meck Award honors his memory.
The collection relates to the cigar business and grocery store; including financials, invoices, advertisements, and correspondence. Also postmaster papers, circulars, covers (envelopes), and personal correspondence and documents and includes:
· Financial, business and personal from multiple banks and the Internal Revenue Service and detail amounts of deposit and credits, many are from Myerstown National Bank, including overdraft notices, settlement of bills, bank notices, bank notices, revenue license receipt, etc.
· Post office/post master, 1883-1887 (20 items), others without dates-many ask for names and addresses of residents who may have interested in a particular consumer good or in a particular trade and request information be posted or handed out.
o notes to postmaster
o circulars
o Grocery business (approx. 381 items)
§ Postal Cards, 1879-1888 including notice of payments both due and received, calling cards with dates of vendor visits, advertisements for example for Hardware, Iron, and Oil Merchants, Garden Seeds, Oriental Spice and Coffee Works, Personal notes such as one regarding having Meck’s sign painted and requests for goods to be delivered.
§ Payments received, 1879-1888.
§ Invoices, predominantly from 1879-1887
§ Correspondence, predominantly from 1879-1910 (129 items) of note a letter dated Oct 5, 1886, Meck endorsed a David McCauley where McCauley reneged on his agreement and the company wants to know how Meck will handle the need for payment.
o Circulars (120 items)
§ Pharmacy (7 items)-includes quackery, patented medicines, specimens of cards, of note is a letter head for World Dispensary and Invalids’ Hotel in Buffalo New York
§ Proctor and Gamble (12 items)-notices for advertising including Ivory Soap “Creeping Babies” (a possible reference to the poem “Thoughtful Santa Claus”, also leaflets such as “Town Talk” “Half Moon” “Clean Quick” which have descriptions and prices of goods.
§ Clothing and Shoes (14 items)-notices of auctions and sales, endorsements, price lists, of note 8 page 1881 trade journal for the Goodyear Rubber Company
§ Books (16 items)-order forms and publishers book descriptions, circular letters, a business circular written by a doctor; if a consumption patient fills in answers to questions they receive a book, ad for “New and Splendidly Illustrated Polyglot Family Bible”, newspaper style advertisement for “The History of Christianity” by Rev. John S.C. Abbott D.D., and Denison’s Descriptive Catalogue of Amateur and Standard Plays, Dialogues, Tableaux, Readings, Books for Teachers, Etc.
§ Insurance (5 items)- descriptions and costs of services
§ Agriculture and Farming (17 items)- some circular letters with illustrated letterhead, booklets, ads for fertilizer, scales, animal meal, minerals, oils, and tools, of note “The Wise Farmer” ad for improved butter color.
§ Miscellaneous (1 item)-1883 Kentucky Lottery
§ General Goods (Dry Goods, Household) (39 items)-newspaper style advertisements for tea, silverware, lighting, needles, and other household supplies, watches, mirrors, scales, laundry supplies, and paints, of note ads for an electric battery which gives 5 currents and a Peterson’s Patent Label Maker.
§ Food (6 items)- listing of testimonials, sales, notice of items available, of note an ad for “Poor Man’s Easter Egg Dyes”.
§ Modern Houses (3 items)-sample pictures with descriptions of homes available for building, includes basic pricing
· Cigar Business, run from 1884-1907 (approx. 74 items)
o Postal Cards, 1880-1889, and no date-includes calling cards and types and quantities of cigar orders such as “Lady of Lake” and “Royal Boquet” and “send 1.000 Minnie and 1.000 Gyrrell’s”
o Cigar documents 1886-1887-assortment of topics, of note one letter of Aug 24, 1886 requests a reorder but “under no circumstances do we want any with that binder on that you bought of Frymyer. If you do you will spoil your future trade with us as we cannot possibly handle any segars at any price that do not burn” and a premium for J.R. Mast who is giving away free boots with the purchase of “Boot Plug” tobacco; letters also include:
§ orders
§ references
§ Advertisements-includes Weissinger and Bate’s “Prune Nugget” chewing tobacco and Bausman and Mast’s Seed Leaf and Havana Tobacco
§ correspondence
o Invoices, 1879- 1898-lists the names of cigars, quantity, and pricing
o Covers (envelopes)-return addresses for cigar companies and tobacconists in Pennsylvania
· Personal Correspondence (118 items)
o To Jacob Meck, 1880-1911, no date (98 items)-many addressed to father from Walter and Allan, may be store related but do not have businesses referenced, others are a combination of business and personal, for example Walter discussing orders and his daughter’s health
o other addressees, 1864-1910, no date (20 items)
§ includes letters to/from family members, a number of letters are to Allan
§ 1903 report on “Reformation History of France” by Allan Meck, about 17 years old
· Meck documents (3 items)
o notice of new item available in store (2 copies)
o 1913 letter of introduction, democratic candidate for Recorder of Deeds
· Covers (envelopes)-an assortment of covers, most have stamped postal marks and postage stamps, predominately with advertisements, mostly illustrated or with cameo illustrations, addressed to Meckville, Berks County and Hamlin, Lebanon County, one with Kutztown (there are no circulars or documents included with these).
Above images are small sampling of collection
He married Hettie Esther Becker in 1877 and the couple had seven children. Many personal correspondences are from his sons Walter (1878-1961) and Allan (1886-1977?). Walter opened the Meck and Coldren Mill with D.D. Coldren in 1900 where they manufactured cotton underwear. Walter remained with the business until 1950. Allan became a minister and became a well-respected president of the Lancaster Theological Seminary, where an Allan S. Meck Award honors his memory.
The collection relates to the cigar business and grocery store; including financials, invoices, advertisements, and correspondence. Also postmaster papers, circulars, covers (envelopes), and personal correspondence and documents and includes:
· Financial, business and personal from multiple banks and the Internal Revenue Service and detail amounts of deposit and credits, many are from Myerstown National Bank, including overdraft notices, settlement of bills, bank notices, bank notices, revenue license receipt, etc.
· Post office/post master, 1883-1887 (20 items), others without dates-many ask for names and addresses of residents who may have interested in a particular consumer good or in a particular trade and request information be posted or handed out.
o notes to postmaster
o circulars
o Grocery business (approx. 381 items)
§ Postal Cards, 1879-1888 including notice of payments both due and received, calling cards with dates of vendor visits, advertisements for example for Hardware, Iron, and Oil Merchants, Garden Seeds, Oriental Spice and Coffee Works, Personal notes such as one regarding having Meck’s sign painted and requests for goods to be delivered.
§ Payments received, 1879-1888.
§ Invoices, predominantly from 1879-1887
§ Correspondence, predominantly from 1879-1910 (129 items) of note a letter dated Oct 5, 1886, Meck endorsed a David McCauley where McCauley reneged on his agreement and the company wants to know how Meck will handle the need for payment.
o Circulars (120 items)
§ Pharmacy (7 items)-includes quackery, patented medicines, specimens of cards, of note is a letter head for World Dispensary and Invalids’ Hotel in Buffalo New York
§ Proctor and Gamble (12 items)-notices for advertising including Ivory Soap “Creeping Babies” (a possible reference to the poem “Thoughtful Santa Claus”, also leaflets such as “Town Talk” “Half Moon” “Clean Quick” which have descriptions and prices of goods.
§ Clothing and Shoes (14 items)-notices of auctions and sales, endorsements, price lists, of note 8 page 1881 trade journal for the Goodyear Rubber Company
§ Books (16 items)-order forms and publishers book descriptions, circular letters, a business circular written by a doctor; if a consumption patient fills in answers to questions they receive a book, ad for “New and Splendidly Illustrated Polyglot Family Bible”, newspaper style advertisement for “The History of Christianity” by Rev. John S.C. Abbott D.D., and Denison’s Descriptive Catalogue of Amateur and Standard Plays, Dialogues, Tableaux, Readings, Books for Teachers, Etc.
§ Insurance (5 items)- descriptions and costs of services
§ Agriculture and Farming (17 items)- some circular letters with illustrated letterhead, booklets, ads for fertilizer, scales, animal meal, minerals, oils, and tools, of note “The Wise Farmer” ad for improved butter color.
§ Miscellaneous (1 item)-1883 Kentucky Lottery
§ General Goods (Dry Goods, Household) (39 items)-newspaper style advertisements for tea, silverware, lighting, needles, and other household supplies, watches, mirrors, scales, laundry supplies, and paints, of note ads for an electric battery which gives 5 currents and a Peterson’s Patent Label Maker.
§ Food (6 items)- listing of testimonials, sales, notice of items available, of note an ad for “Poor Man’s Easter Egg Dyes”.
§ Modern Houses (3 items)-sample pictures with descriptions of homes available for building, includes basic pricing
· Cigar Business, run from 1884-1907 (approx. 74 items)
o Postal Cards, 1880-1889, and no date-includes calling cards and types and quantities of cigar orders such as “Lady of Lake” and “Royal Boquet” and “send 1.000 Minnie and 1.000 Gyrrell’s”
o Cigar documents 1886-1887-assortment of topics, of note one letter of Aug 24, 1886 requests a reorder but “under no circumstances do we want any with that binder on that you bought of Frymyer. If you do you will spoil your future trade with us as we cannot possibly handle any segars at any price that do not burn” and a premium for J.R. Mast who is giving away free boots with the purchase of “Boot Plug” tobacco; letters also include:
§ orders
§ references
§ Advertisements-includes Weissinger and Bate’s “Prune Nugget” chewing tobacco and Bausman and Mast’s Seed Leaf and Havana Tobacco
§ correspondence
o Invoices, 1879- 1898-lists the names of cigars, quantity, and pricing
o Covers (envelopes)-return addresses for cigar companies and tobacconists in Pennsylvania
· Personal Correspondence (118 items)
o To Jacob Meck, 1880-1911, no date (98 items)-many addressed to father from Walter and Allan, may be store related but do not have businesses referenced, others are a combination of business and personal, for example Walter discussing orders and his daughter’s health
o other addressees, 1864-1910, no date (20 items)
§ includes letters to/from family members, a number of letters are to Allan
§ 1903 report on “Reformation History of France” by Allan Meck, about 17 years old
· Meck documents (3 items)
o notice of new item available in store (2 copies)
o 1913 letter of introduction, democratic candidate for Recorder of Deeds
· Covers (envelopes)-an assortment of covers, most have stamped postal marks and postage stamps, predominately with advertisements, mostly illustrated or with cameo illustrations, addressed to Meckville, Berks County and Hamlin, Lebanon County, one with Kutztown (there are no circulars or documents included with these).