Although worn a little battered, this c. 1890 paperweight is still an effective advertising piece for the long-vanished firm of Lewis C. Slade, a dealer in white pine lumber.
The company is described in J.W. Leonard’s The Industries of the Saginaws; historical, descriptive and statistical published in 1887:
“Lewis C. Slade – Wholesale Dealer in Rough and Dressed White Pine Lumber; Office and Yard, Atwater street, between Jefferson and Franklin street, East Saginaw.-This business was established three years ago by the firm of Stephens & Slade, by whom it was conducted until April, 1887, when Mr. Slade purchased the interest of his partner, since which time he has carried on the business as sole proprietor. He has yards in connection with the F & P. M. R. R. Co. with a capacity for holding between 5,000,000 and 6,000,000 feet of lumber, and is a heavy wholesale dealer in rough and dressed white pine lumber of all descriptions, which he sells in carload lots, handling from 5,000,000 feet per annum. Mr. Sade recently sold a piece of ground near his office to Benson & King, who have erected a planing mill upon it, and that firm, being nearby, do most of his dressing. Mr. Slade has on hand at all times a large stock of assorted lumber, and is prepared to till orders in carload lots in a satisfactory and prompt manner. He enjoys a large business, shipping lumber to points in New York, all through New England. Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, Ohio, etc., and has built up a large and profitable trade, by close attention to every detail of his business. He gives employment to a large force of men, and conducts his affairs upon strictly accurate and reliable methods. Mr. Slade is an old and highly esteemed citizen of East Saginaw, having come to this city in 1867 as a boy, and received his education here. He is a pushing, enterprising and representative man, and is highly esteemed by his fellow citizens. He is now filling the office of Alderman, representing the Fourth ward, and in that, as in every other pursuit in which he engages, his course is marked by earnestness and industry. Correspondence solicited.”
When Lewis C. Slade passed away in 1925, the Saginaw News Courier, noted: “Though he retired from active business 14 years ago, Mr. Slade continued to live in Saginaw until about four years ago, when he moved to Pasadena, which had since been his home.”
(While cataloguing the piece, we couldn’t help but note that it still serves well as a paperweight.)