History and Purpose of Letterheads

[Lindsey B]

Hello all!
I am currently conducting a research project on letterheads, with a particular emphasis on the use of bird's eye view maps as letterheads.
It's hard to know where to start! It is difficult to find any sources discussing the history of letterheads or a detailed description of their purpose. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
Thank you!
-Lindsey

[Dave Dubé]

Lindsey,

Properly, they aren't really maps but rather 'bird's eye views' of particular places, although I don't think you can preclude the use of a map as a guide for the production of the bird's eye view. I've looked at (literally) thousands of pieces of letterhead and am always amazed at the excellence of the vignettes incorporated into the letterheads themselves, especially those that are views from above which predate manned flight! I've attached one example of a 'letterhead' (this one is from a bill head, but I'm certain they used the same vignette for both purposes) which I believe is a natural extension of the architectural rendering of buildings common in vignettes around the turn of the century. I hope this helps!

Dave

[ExileBibliophile]

Honestly, not much has been done on letterheads. I too would love to hear of anything! There has however been some work on bird's eye maps. Isn't breaking new ground exciting?

[Lindsey B]

Thanks, Dave! It is a lovely image. My project was spurred by some interesting letterheads featuring BEV images of the city of Hamilton, Ontario. These images were created by the New York lithographer, Charles Magnus, who has also done some interesting civil war letterheads. Certainly interesting!

I'm also interested in the fact that your example comes from an actual bill-- the examples that I am working from are blank. I am interested in seeing letterheads/billheads that include the actual text of the letter/bill in order to discern the contexts in which these letterheads were used.

Dave Dubé said:

Lindsey,

Properly, they aren't really maps but rather 'bird's eye views' of particular places, although I don't think you can preclude the use of a map as a guide for the production of the bird's eye view. I've looked at (literally) thousands of pieces of letterhead and am always amazed at the excellence of the vignettes incorporated into the letterheads themselves, especially those that are views from above which predate manned flight! I've attached one example of a 'letterhead' (this one is from a bill head, but I'm certain they used the same vignette for both purposes) which I believe is a natural extension of the architectural rendering of buildings common in vignettes around the turn of the century. I hope this helps!

Dave

[Lindsey B]

Yes! Much of my research so far has been fairly fragmented. I am hoping to be able to compile enough info to create a cohesive document.

ExileBibliophile said:

Honestly, not much has been done on letterheads. I too would love to hear of anything! There has however been some work on bird's eye maps. Isn't breaking new ground exciting?