GAINESVILLE ICE & COLD STORAGE COMPANY (FLORIDA) ICE HOUSE CORRESPONDENCE c1941

Description

WHAT'S INCLUDED꞉
ONE Gainesville Ice and Cold Storage Company ice coupon booklet number 1661, circa 1940s; one [watermarked “US”] embossed envelope, canceled July 28, 1941; and one piece of correspondence signed by the plant's manager J. L. George dated July 28, 1941.
ADDRESS꞉
1201 N. Grove Street.
CITY, COUNTY & STATE꞉
Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida.
BOOKLET PRINTED BY꞉
Weldon, Williams and Lick of Fort Smith, Arkansas.
DATE꞉
Circa 1941 making it approximately 81-years old.
PURPOSE OF COUPON BOOKLET꞉
Prepayment booklet for blocks of ice.
TYPE OF DOCUMENTS꞉
Block ice coupon booklet, envelope and correspondence.
COUPON BOOKLET GENERAL COLOR꞉
Cover is an off-white with red and black inks.
BOOKLET MEASUREMENTS꞉
5" x 2½" (12,7 cm x 6,4 cm).
COUPON BOOKLET NUMBER OF PAGES꞉
6 pages (1 "Agreement" page, five-pages of coupons).
NUMBER OF COUPONS꞉
20, (five-pages with four 25-pound coupons totaling 500 pounds).
ICE COUPON BOOKLET SERIAL NUMBER꞉
1661.
ENVELOPE MEASUREMENTS꞉
6¾" x 3¾" (17,2 cm x 9,6 cm).
CORRESPONDENCE MEASUREMENTS꞉
8½" X 11” (27,9 cm x 21,5 cm).
REDACTIONS:
The name of the recipient has been digitally redacted from the listing's photographs out of respect for the recipient and their descendants.  That individual's name will appear on the envelope and correspondence you receive.
CONDITION꞉
The coupon booklet is in absolutely superb condition.  When we acquired these ice coupon booklets, they were in their original Weldon, Williams and Lick shipping container - thus, no dust, dirt, smudges, etc.  The envelope and correspondence are in very good condition, some browning from age as would be expected.
HOLES, TEARS, DAMAGE꞉
The booklet is in superb condition, looks like new (as it's been stored in its original shipping box for decades). The envelope and correspondence are in very good condition, some browning from age . Envelope was cut open with a letter opener along the right side.
GENERAL DISCLAIMER꞉
Due to the documents' age, they MAY display some minor discoloration, pen or pencil marks, stains, soiling or "browning."
ABOUT THE ICE COUPON BOOKLET꞉
Ice coupon booklets were intended to be purchased in advance from the ice company (at their "current market price").  When ice was delivered, the homeowner (or business owner, such as grocers) would tear out the appropriate number of coupons to "pay" for the poundage of ice that was delivered.  This served several purposes꞉  The ice company received their money "up front" -and- the coupons kept the drivers from having to handle money or make change.  In the United States, ice booklet coupons were typically in printed in denominations of 10, 25, 50 and 100 pounds.  In this particular booklet, each coupon was good for 25-pounds of ice.
ABOUT THE GAINESVILLE ICE and COLD STORAGE CO꞉
We discovered there were a number of ice houses that had operated in Gainesville during the 20th Century.
Page 2 of the June 15, 1903 Gainesville Daily Sun mentioned the Success Ice Company had "iced four refrigerator cars" several days before (as a test) using their new "process ice."  The Success Ice Company was making their product with what is known as the "compressed process" (as opposed to the condensed process).
We came across an article in a trade-magazine called "Cold Storage and Ice Trade Journal." In its October 1905 edition, it reported: "H. F. Watts has purchased the building, plant, etc., of the Success Ice Company and will install a new 10-ton can plant. The name of the company has been changed to the Gainesville Ice Company."  An article on Page 8 of the September 25, 1905 edition of the Gainesville Daily Sun shared the following observation regarding The Success Ice Company (on West Main Street S):  "As is well known, the Success Ice Company proved anything but the name it suggests... proved nothing but a continued round of experiments, having passed into several hands within the three years of its existence."
The 1907 Gainesville City Directory listed two ice companies operating in the city that year: The Diamond Ice Company and the Gainesville Ice Factory.
We viewed approximately fifty-editions of the Gainesville Daily Sun from 1906, 1907, 1908 and 1909 - and could find absolutely no advertising for either the Success Ice Company -or- the Gainesville Ice and Cold Storage Company during those years.  Inasmuch, we are not sure if they were the same company, different companies or both went out of business.  In addition, our research puts the two names at two different addresses approximately 30-years apart.
In the October 13, 1934 edition of "Tulane at Gainesville" football program, an advertisement for the GI&CSC appears on Page 30 advertising Hickory Smoked, Meat Curing, and Sugar Cured.  Their phone number was listed at 1067.
The 1938 Gainesville City Directory lists only the Gainesville Ice and Cold Storage Company owned by John Lear George.  John Lear George was born in Mendon, Utah and later came east as a railroad employee and resided in Waldo.  Eventually he moved to Gainesville and entered into the ice and cold storage business.
In the 1940's, the Gainesville Ice and Cold Storage Company was located at  1201 N. Grove Street, Gainesville, Florida.  At the time, their phone number was 1067.  As automatic telephone switching equipment was installed, their phone number became 375-5505.
A 1940's Gainesville city map showed the GI&CSC on the map.  It's placement showed it was bordered by Grove Street to the west, Cypress Avenue to the south, Hampton Avenue to the north -and- Pleasant Street to the east. It also had convenient access to railroad tracks less than a block away.
On July 1, 1950, for some reason, Gainesville got rid of all of their "home town" street names.  North Grove Street became NW 4th Street.  The other streets also became numbered with directional points of a compass.
The last Gainesville City Directory that references “Gainesville Ice Company” was the 1975 directory.
One customer reached out to us and advised us that after two-years of renovation, the  Gainesville Ice and Cold Storage Company building was beautifully renovated, reopening in 2017 as the Cypress & Grove Brewing Company at 1001 NW 4th Street.
ABOUT THE COUPON BOOKS' PRINTER꞉
Weldon, Williams and Lick was a ticket and coupon booklet printer located in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
In 1898, Chauncey A. Lick, then an owner of Thrash-Lick, sold  his interest in that firm and then, with O. D. Weldon and George T. Williams, established the firm of Weldon, Williams & Lick.
SHIPPING COST꞉
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