On "Carpenter? Paper" watermarked paper stock. Showing minor signs of age, wear and handling - mostly light, if any, toning. Expected fold creases from posting. No major issues to note. Eye-catching header typeface / font and bold legible writing. Mostly very clean throughout. Overall, in good to very good condition. Will display well in your collection. You will receive the exact sheet shown in the photos. It measures approx. 5 7/8" x 9 3/8"

=============================================================== Front of the Letter HOTEL COLLINS HURLEY & STEELE, PROPRIETORS FIRST CLASS BAR IN CONNECTION. RATES $2.50 PER DAY COLLINS, MONT., Feb 1 1910 Bateman & Switzer Sirs Please send us at once One case mixed 3 Bottles Scotch 3 "" Grand dad 3 "" Burbon – Green Valley 3 "" Guckenheimer 1 – 5 Gallon – Good Brandy Yours Hurley & Steele (Note: The lower right features the pencil business processing or ledger notation "O B 274" added by the receiving wholesale house). Historical Background & Collector Context This original handwritten order letter, dated February 1, 1910, stands as an exceptional piece of pre-Prohibition Western Americana. Written on the distinct, stylized corporate letterhead of the Hotel Collins, it provides an intimate look into the exact consumer tastes, top-shelf liquor brands, and wholesale tavern pipelines that fueled frontier hospitality during the peak of the Montana homestead boom. • The Senders (Hurley & Steele — Hotel Collins): This document features the clean commercial banner of the Hotel Collins, listing Hurley & Steele as proprietors. To accommodate the sudden influx of settlers, their stationery proudly advertises room rates at $2.50 per day and boasts a "First Class Bar in Connection." In these infant railroad towns, a hotel bar was much more than a place to drink; it functioned as the political courthouse, the business clearinghouse, and the social anchor for the entire surrounding district. • The "Mixed Case" Menu & Historic Brands: The itemized breakdown provides incredible, precise data for historic bottle, whiskey, and saloon collectors. Instead of ordering a full straight case of a single type, Hurley & Steele request a customized "mixed case" containing a broad variety of premium national brands to stock their back bar: • 3 Bottles of Scotch: Imported malt whiskey to serve high-end travelers and investors. • 3 Bottles of Grand-Dad: The iconic Old Grand-Dad Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. • 3 Bottles of Bourbon (Green Valley): A popular turn-of-the-century regional bourbon brand. • 3 Bottles of Guckenheimer: The legendary, highly celebrated Pennsylvania straight rye whiskey that dominated pre-Prohibition bar rails. • 1 Five-Gallon Keg of Good Brandy: A bulk spirit shipment destined to be decanted or used as a standard well-drink mixer to warm up local patrons during the brutal February winter freezes. • The Recipient (Bateman & Switzer, Great Falls, MT): Operating a massive wholesale empire at 206 Central Avenue, Bateman & Switzer Co. was the premier commercial lifeline for bars, hotels, and general stores across north-central Montana. They imported massive consolidated rail carloads of fine whiskeys and bar glassware from national factories and distributed them out case-by-case to rural proprietors. • The Location (Collins, Montana): Situated along the Great Northern Railway main line in Teton County, Collins was navigating a dramatic population surge as thousands of homesteaders flooded the surrounding plains to claim dryland farming tracts. This 1910 document captures the town's social center operating at full capacity, maintaining a direct economic pipeline back to the major distribution hubs of Great Falls. A spectacular, clean, and highly content-rich archive piece for collectors specializing in pre-Prohibition whiskey history, antique bottle and brand advertising, historic western hotel and tavern ephemera, or early 1900s Montana homestead-era boomtown development.

**Shipped securely in a poly sleeve, sandwiched in cardboard, inside a small rigid mailer via USPS Ground Advantage service w/ tracking**

Click HERE to see matchbooks I have available.
Click HERE to see transit and trade tokens I have available.
Click HERE to see billheads I have available.
Click HERE to see letterheads I have available.

For U.S. based orders, the shipping cost for the first purchase is $4.00 and no extra cost for additional similar items such as billheads, letterheads, tickets, patches, post cards, trade cards, stock certificates that can safely be shipped in the same package.

I have over 65,000 unique items here on eBay - Click HERE to visit my store & save with combined shipping for multiple buys.

For U.S. orders on a PC, use the "add to cart" feature to select multiple items before paying. If the cart does not combine shipping costs, I will refund excess fees as I pack your order the following morning.

I have enjoyed buying and selling vintage collectibles for over 40 years. Unless noted otherwise, all items I offer are original and not reproductions.

Please review photos for condition issues (if any) as they are part of the description, and contact me with questions before bidding or buying.

All items are securely packed and shipped via USPS. Please rely on my 25+ yr. 13,000+ 99.9% feedback rating as a guide to your buying decision.

I hope all is well with you and your family — thanks for stopping by!
– Jerry