General Info

A fancy billhead receipt, dated 1895.

BillHead receipts were common in business transactions from the late 1860s through the early 1940s... and in some cases, they can be found in present day transactions (although it is a less common practice now.)

Many billhead receipts were illustrated and decorated with fancy steel engravings, while others carried no illustrations... in either case the receipt itself was important, as it was your proof of delivery. In general, most billheads contained: The Company Name & Address, A Unique Invoice Number, Payment Terms, Line Items for Products or Services, A Total, and (optionally) handwritten notes.

Vintage Ephemera

Billheads fall under the category of Vintage Ephemera, a modern-day term for 'Collectible old paper.' What makes it collectible is the fun part... Some may collect billheads from a certain State, Region, or Town... while others may base their collection on types of illustrations. In some cases, a family relative or ancestor may have owned the business or even signed the document.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Billhead". Image Credit.

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