Murdock is well known for 2 specific Reasons. One is as a patent holder and the other is as a manufacturer. Murdock is believed to always have done business in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati is a true crossroads on the Ohio river bordering Covington, Kentucky. It is believed that James Murdock Junior took over the firm of Murdock and Spencer.
The Murdock patent is for a reversible check that is folded back onto itself. These checks are obvious because of two protruding rivets (on both front and reverse) next to the lower strap opening. In a reversible pair the bag check is always thicker than the duplicate (customer) check. The patent date is August 22nd, 1865.
Another nice characteristic of a Murdock check is the fancy hallmark sometimes found on the back of the duplicate checks. There are a couple of versions of this hallmark. The older of the two says, "Stamps and Burning Brands". This version clearly states an address of 139 West 5th Street. The later version is more ornate and lists more diversity in: Seal Presses, Stamp Cutting, Engraver, Die Sinker, etc.
From a collecting perspective a huge cache of 4 1/2 five gallon buckets
of baggage checks was found in the 1970s. Almost all of these checks have
the town of Montgomery somewhere on them. Many of these checks were made
by Murdock. All of these checks date to 1895 or earlier. This may seem
like a "flooding" of the market, however, this was/is a great opportunity
to acquire different shapes, hallmarks, interline road names and destinations.
Several Murdock examples follow.
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