In 1921 the seed company was named The Mangelsdorf Seed Company, changed from Mangelsdorf Bros in 1917.

Family members, including many of co-founder Ernst August’s seventeen children, played a role in the company. He had retired from the seed company in 1912, but worked in local government and on the Board of Directors, Atchison Exchange National Bank.

August F. Mangelsdorf was Vice President, Frederick Wilhelm was Secretary, Charlotte Dorethea was Cashier, Ernst Andres was in charge of the greenhouses (by 1921 located at the Homewood Estate, the family home since 1911), and Franz Heinrick the Treasurer.

We have yet to uncover Albert John Mangelsdorf’s job title. We picked this letter to post because the stationary is so nice and interesting. We’ve been debating if the buildings shown are sketches of the actual Atchison warehouse and offices, or simply approximations in print-plate form the stationary company used when a client requested “agricultural warehouse” for their stationary header and business cards.

Rachel notes Mangelsdorf is misspelled in the cable address and wonders if this is just because limited characters were allowed, or maybe Mangelsdorf was the cable address of one of the family homes and so a different spelling was needed for the business.

The back of the letter has a sketch—presumably for a marketing flyer or poster or display.