Showing minor signs of age, wear and handling. Expected fold creases from posting. Has 2 fastening holes near the top edge. Elsewhere, no major issues to note. Eye-catching bold header typefaces / fonts. Overall, in good condition. Will display well in your collection. You will receive the exact sheet shown in the photos. It measures approx. 8 3/8" x 10 7/8"

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California Wine Association – San Francisco, California – February 28, 1917 – Pre-Prohibition Wine Industry – Federal Revenue Tax Correspondence Original typewritten business letter dated February 28, 1917, on the ornate printed letterhead of the California Wine Association, San Francisco, California. Addressed to the Bateman-Switzer Company, 406 Central Avenue, Great Falls, Montana, the correspondence concerns reimbursement of federal Internal Revenue assessments involving the California Wine Association and the San Francisco wine firm Lachman & Jacobi. The attractive letterhead features a large, elaborately engraved-style banner displaying the California Wine Association name, surrounded by decorative scrollwork and ornamental borders. The company's headquarters are identified as the Grape Growers Building, corner of Pine and Battery Streets, San Francisco, with district sales offices in New York, Chicago, and New Orleans. The letterhead also lists several commercial telegraph codes and the cable address "CALWA," reflecting the association's extensive national business operations. Historical Background – California Wine Association Established in 1894, the California Wine Association became one of the largest and most influential organizations in the American wine industry during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The association was formed through the consolidation of California wine producers and commercial interests, with the objective of stabilizing prices, coordinating production, improving distribution, and expanding markets for California wines. Its operations included the purchasing, blending, aging, storage, and marketing of wines produced throughout California's principal grape-growing districts. The organization developed an extensive distribution network serving wholesalers and retailers across the United States. One of its most important facilities was Winehaven, established at Point Molate on San Francisco Bay near Richmond, California. Developed during the early twentieth century, Winehaven became a major wine storage, aging, bottling, and shipping complex. The association was particularly important in establishing California wines as serious competitors to imported European wines during the years preceding National Prohibition. By 1917, the American wine industry faced increasingly complicated federal taxation requirements, expanding state and local restrictions, and growing pressure from the national prohibition movement. Contents of the February 28, 1917 Letter The correspondence concerns the settlement of two federal Internal Revenue assessments involving wine shipments and associated tax obligations. The California Wine Association advises Bateman-Switzer that it has enclosed two checks: - $87.43 – California Wine Association account. - $27.05 – Lachman & Jacobi account. The combined amount of $114.48 represents credits covering Internal Revenue assessments previously documented on forms supplied by Bateman-Switzer. The letter requests that the Montana company apply the payments to the respective accounts, thereby settling the outstanding assessments. The correspondence is signed in ink by the association's Assistant Secretary, whose signature appears immediately beneath the typed company name. Additional handwritten pencil notations near the bottom of the sheet repeat the two payment amounts and their combined total, apparently representing bookkeeping calculations or verification of the credits. The letter provides an interesting example of the accounting and administrative responsibilities involved in the interstate wholesale wine business during the period. Federal Revenue Taxation and the Pre-Prohibition Wine Trade During the 1910s, the federal government introduced increasingly complex taxation and reporting requirements affecting alcoholic beverages. The Emergency Revenue Act of 1914 and subsequent federal legislation expanded taxes and administrative obligations associated with the production and distribution of wines and spirits. Wholesale dealers were required to account for applicable taxes, maintain detailed records, and comply with federal revenue stamp regulations. These requirements could become particularly complicated when merchandise crossed state lines or when responsibility for tax payments was divided among producers, distributors, and retailers. The payments documented in this letter illustrate how California wine suppliers and their Montana wholesale customers reconciled federal tax assessments through commercial credits and reimbursements. The mention of Lachman & Jacobi is also noteworthy. This established San Francisco wine business was associated with California wine production and distribution during the industry's formative commercial period. Its inclusion demonstrates the business relationships connecting major California wine interests with wholesale liquor distributors in the western United States. The letter dates from 1917, less than three years before National Prohibition took effect in January 1920, when the legal American wine and spirits trade underwent a dramatic transformation.

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