File:Burpee's farm annual - garden, farm, and flower seeds (1886) (20516543211).jpg

Title: Burpee's farm annual : garden, farm, and flower seeds
Identifier: burpeesfarmannua1886watl (find matches)
Year: 1886 (1880s)
Authors: W. Atlee Burpee Company; Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection
Subjects: Nursery stock Pennsylvania Philadelphia Catalogs; Flowers Pennsylvania Catalogs; Vegetables Pennsylvania Catalogs; Seeds Pennsylvania Catalogs
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : W. Atlee Burpee Co.
Contributing Library: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library
Digitizing Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library

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BURPEE'S SEED WAREHOUSE, located at Nos. 475 and 477 North Fifth Street, extending through to Nos. 476 and 478 York Avenue, is the largest in the city of Philadelphia, and, for the conducting of an extensive mail seed business, is pronounced, by all who have examined the various departments, to be the most admirably arranged in this country. It occupies four building lots; is five stories high, besides base- ment, and has a wide frontage on both Fifth Street and York Avenue—both broad streets—thus giving ample light and venti- lation. Customers visiting Philadelphia are cordially invited to call, and can reach our warehouse conveniently from any .station ; tne Fifth Street cars pass every minute or two. That our cus- tomers at a aistance may appreciate our facilities for the prompt and cart-ful execution of orders, we give illustra- tions of some of the departments, which we will briefly describe. THE MAIL ORDER DEPARTMENT, shown above, occupies the entire sec(<nd flof r, and is devoted entirely to the filling of orders for seeds, postpaid by mail, and to the Flower Seed Department. Here are filled many hun- dreds of orders every working day in winter and spring. The seeds are already done up, by the vtillton 0/packages, in packets,ounces, quarter pounds, pounds, pints, and quarts, and can readily and quickly be selected on order, from the thousands of compartments, drawers and bins, all distinctly labeled and numbered. After the orders are filled, they are carefully examined by expert employees, whose entire time is devoted to this work, to see that no mistake has occurred; they are then passed to men standing at large tables, to be wrapped and tied, when they are taken, by the elevator, to the stamping room, on the first floor, and thence carted, in sacks, to the post office. OPENING THE MAIL. The mail office, adjoining the private office, is the scene of quiet but busy work, the entire time of several persons being required to open and assort the mail; by continued practice they have become very expert, as may be judged trom the fact that, in the busy season, our mail nutnbers several thousand letters a day. THE BUSINESS OFFICE is located on the first floor, entrance from Fitth Street. Here the books are kept, and the orders received are arranged on reversible files, with the address tag or label attached to each order, and are then recorded in order books, of which there is a separate book for every State in the Union. Here also most of the correspondence is conducted. All the office work is completed on the orders the day they are received; they are then ready to be filled the day following, and the manager of each department thus knows early in the morning exactly what amount of work he has to map out for the employees. THE MANAGER'S OFFICE is located on the second floor, where direct supervision is had of all the clerks in the Mail Order Department. Here also the manager of the Flower Seed Department has a desk. This office is placed in instant communi- cation with all parts of the building by electric bells and speaking tubes.

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