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Draft:Harriet B. Shaw

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  • Comment: The subject could well be notable, but the sources cited are insufficient to establish this. Findagrave is non-reliable, and ref #3 doesn't provide any meaningful coverage of the subject. We need more like #2. See WP:GNG and/or WP:BIO for the relevant notability guidelines. DoubleGrazing (talk) 10:15, 5 January 2023 (UTC)

Harriet Butler Shaw (June 26, 1842 - December 21, 1933)[1] was a pioneer of the mail-order business.[2] Historians generally credit Aaron Montgomery Ward with having pioneered the mail-order business in North America.[2]

Harriet Butler Shaw
Born(1842-06-26)June 26, 1842
Sanford, Maine
DiedDecember 21, 1933(1933-12-21) (aged 91)
Alfred, Maine
Other namesHat Shaw; H.B. Shaw

Harriet B. Shaw started a mail-order business from her home in Alfred, Maine (known as the "Brickends").[3] Going by the name "H.B. Shaw" to disguise her gender, Shaw sold medicines and other products from 1865-1881.[4] Products included a "$1 sewing machine" (actually a needle, thimble and a spool of thread), and a "foolproof flyswatter" (actually two blocks of wood)[4]. Buyers wrote from across the United States, but also Brazil, Canada, Germany, and Peru.[4] Shaw suspended her operations when she came under scrutiny by the United States Post Office for fraudulent business practices.[4] In the 1920's, a stamp collector purchased Shaw's collection of envelopes she had received while doing business.[2] Shaw's envelopes account for as much as 5-10% of the known 1869 issue stamps known today, and are considered collectors items.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Harriet Butler Shaw (1842–1933) - Find a Grave..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  2. ^ a b c ""North by East" piece about Harriet B. Shaw, of Alfred, who historian and stamp". Maine News Index - Down East Magazine. 1995-11-01.
  3. ^ "Shaw Homestead, Alfred, ca. 1900". Maine Memory Network. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  4. ^ a b c d e Rose, Jon W. (February 1993). "The Postal History Legacy of Miss Harriet Butler Shaw" (PDF). The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues. 45 (1): 45–50.