1935 - Illustrated letter advertising Shizuoka tea went by a Japanese agent of a major Midwest grocery wholesaler

Shizuoka, Japan: Oakford & Fahnestock, 1935. Envelope or Cover. Very good. This long one-page form letter, approximately 7" x 21", is printed on washi (Japanese plant fiber paper). It was sent by K. Nagashima, an on-site agent of Oakford & Fahnestock in Shizuoka to Mr. Dan L. Wilger, a grocery store owner in Sterling, Illinois. The letter is dated 20 May 1935. The paper features an overall illustration of koinobori (carp-shaped windsock streamers) flying above a house. The letter is enclosed in its original envelope showing Mt. Fuji. It is franked with a green 22-sen Mr. Fuji stamp (Scott #194) canceled with an indistinct machine postmark. In (truncated) nice shape with multiple mailing folds to the exceptionally long lettersheet.

This letter, from the heart of Japan's green tea growing region, announces that

"A large Tea consuming season is approaching now and you have to deal with the Teas in accordance with the contracts you made during the season of 1934. . .. We paid our most careful attention to the selection and preparation of the Teas we shipped you in previous years. . .. Whether you will rather demand the Blue Ribbon Brand, which is our finest selected grade or the Wildfire Brand which is our lowest priced Tea, our careful selection is equally made.

"This is the month of the Boys' Festival in this country. The picture shown on this paper represents the Boys' Festival. Many different colored carp fish banners are hoisted high up in the sky everywhere - this means to bless the growth of the boys as the carp is considered to be the most lively and courageous . . . as it can swim up a waterfall . . . and it never jumps when it is put on a chopping-board."

Koinobori are displayed on Tango no sekku, originally one of five annual Imperial ceremonies that evolved into a day dedicated to the protection and happiness of Samuri's sons and, with time, all Japanese boys. In 1948, Boys' Day was combined with a similar Girls' Day celebration and renamed Kodomo no hi, Children's Day. Oakford & Fahnestock, Incorporated was established in 1868 as a small Peoria grocery store and two years later began to wholesale goods. By the mid-1870s it abandoned retail operations and soon grew-largely on the sales of a popular toasted coffee blend, America's Cup- to become the largest grocery wholesaler in Illinois, outside of Chicago, and services much of the upper Midwest. Interestingly, I could find no information online or elsewhere about its Japanese tea product line or office in Shizuoka.


(For more information see Nussbaum's Japan Encyclopedia, "Aaron Sameul Oakford" at the Genealogical Trails History Group, Tartar's "Peoria's 'Most Useful Citizen' in the November 2023 edition of Peoria Magazine, and "Grandma Holtzman's House" at the Dean-Hay Heritage website.)

Probably the only extant copy. At the time of listing, nothing similar is for sale in the book or philatelic trade, and neither has anything appeared at auction per the Rare Book Hub, ASBA (Auction & Book Sales Archive) and the Stamp Auction Network. OCLC shows no similar institutional holdings. . (Inventory #: 010316)