1904 LETTERHEAD & MAP, 1904 ST LOUIS WORLDS FAIR SIMMONS HARDWARE CO KEEN KUTTER

Description

1904 LETTERHEAD & MAP, 1904 ST LOUIS MISSOURI WORLDS FAIR SIMMONS HARDWARE CO KEEN KUTTER.
E. C SIMMONS WAS AN ICONIC HARDWARE WHOLESALER OUT OF ST. LOUIS. THE WERE BY FAR THE LARGEST AND BEST KNOW ACCOUNT OR MANY DECADES FROM THE 1800S TO MID 1900S. KEEN KUTTER/SIMMONS ITEMS ARE VERY COLLECTIBLE.
SIMMONS WAS A MAJOR SPONSOR OF THE 1904 WORLD'S FAIR
WORLDS FAIR MAP ON THE BACK SIDE
900 SPRUCE ST.
FAMOUS SAYING: "THE RECOLLECTION OF QUALITY REMAINS LONG AFTER THE PRICE IS FORGOTTEN"
E. C. SIMMONS: CEO'
W D SIMMONS: PRESIDENT
J E PILCHER: VP
E H SIMMONS: ASST SECY
A W DOUGLAS:SECY
J E SMITH: VP
G W SIMMONS: GENERAL MANAGER
FROM WILLIAM ENDERS SALES MANAGER
WRITTEN TO R H NORRIS HARDWARE CHILDRESS TEXAS
RARE PIECE OF SIMMONS, WORLD'S FAIR, ST LOUIS HISTORY
Edward Campbell Simmons was born in Maryland in 1839 and moved with his merchant father to St. Louis, Missouri in 1846 At the age of seventeen he began his career in the wholesale hardware business on the bottom rung of the ladder as a cleaner/stocker for Child Pratt and Company.
1859 he entered the firm Wilson Levering and Waters as a clerk. This hardware business eventually evolved into E.C. Simmons and Co.
He successfully developed the Simmons Hardware Company into one of the most extensive corporations of its kind with divisions in Wichita, Sioux City, Ogden, Toledo, New York, Minneapolis, and St. Louis. By the turn of the century warehouse space occupied over 1,500,000 sq feet. The company's tool plants were in New Hampshire, and its pocket knife plant in New York was the largest in the U. S. They had their own saddlery factories as well. Mr. Simmons retired from active participation in 1898, but he still took a great interest in the business.
Simmons capitalized on the overwhelming customer demand for his Keen Kutter items by using the KK format on many different types of products. The Simmons line included King Koaster children's wagons; Klipper Klub ice skates; Korn and Koffee Krushers; Karpet King sweepers; Kool King ice boxes; Klear Krystal lamp chimneys; Kar King accessories; King Kord tires, Keen Klipper lawn mowers; even Klicher mousetraps and locks.
Items stamped or labeled Keen Kutter or those from the KK line rank most popular with collectors, followed by those marked Simmons Hardware or S.H.Co. Many collectors include items from the company's registered lines such as Polly Prim, Run Easy, Blue Brand, Oak Leaf, Delmar, Sterling, American, Delft, Van Dyke, or Wonder.
It was no accident that customers were impressed by the Keen Kutter line and asked for it by name. The company had a well-organized marketing strategy, unparalleled in its day. Simmons put its stamp on everything the retailer could possibly require or use in his business.
ORIGINAL, LETTERHEADS, BILLHEAD, BILLHEADS, HARDWARE.