1896 - Seedsman F.B. Mills: Bird's Eye View Mills' Rose Hill

Before you read a glowing biography of Mr. Mills and his business acumen below,  have a look at these samples of his 1896 and 1901 catalogs.  

 I am a sucker for any bird's eye view and this one is a lot of fun.  

"His is strictly a mail-order business, and its requirements were such that the government, on November 5, 1895, established Rose Hill post-office with F. B. Mills as postmaster. "

The illustrations of all the departments of his business is fascinating to look at as well.  They are relatively inexpensive catalogs, in that there is no color in 1896 and only the cover in 1901.

The 1901 catalog:

Of added interest to me is the engraver and possibly artist of some of these engravings.  Albert Blanc of Philadelphia is an artist I really admire for his horticultural engravings.  Check out his signature...it is a sort of "Where's Waldo?" hunt on many engravings when you are looking for a signature, but Blanc is usually easy to spot.

FRANK B. MILLS

FRANK B. MILLS, was born in the town of Marcellus, Onondaga county, August 3, 1866, and is a son of George C. and Eliza Mills, who reside on a fine farm at Rose Hill, in the southern part of the town. His early life was passed on the homestead, where he developed a decided inclination for producing and classifying the seeds of various plants and vegetables, at which he became an expert while yet a mere lad. 

His spare time from work and school was spent in the garden, where be thoroughly familiarized himself with every plant that chanced to meet his notice. By the time he had finished his education he had acquired a wide and practical knowledge of almost every seed grown, not only in this country, but in the world, and he at once determined to apply that knowledge to production and distribution. This proved to be the beginning of a business scarcely equaled elsewhere in the State, a business, in fact, that ranks high among the largest concerns of the kind in the country. 

He had become the possessor of a small hand printing press capable of printing an ordinary page at each impression, and with this, at the age of less than twenty-one, he began, in 1887, to print his first catalogue. He did all the work alone, from setting the type to mailing the modest book, of which about 8,000 copies were issued and sent out. During that year be secured 118 customers. From this small commencement the business has steadily and rapidly increased in volume and extent until it now forms one of the largest and most complete establishments of its character in the United States. He has now over 400,000 customers, whose orders come from every habitable part of the globe—from Canada, South America, and Europe, from Asia, Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, -—requiring about half a million catalogues annually for distribution. 

Mr. Mills has a number of large and convenient buildings and several greenhouses devoted exclusively to the business, and all have been erected within the last four or five years. To these and especially to the greenhouses he is constantly adding; each year is increasing the extent and magnitude of an already mammoth concern. He has a large seed farm, of which several acres are devoted entirely to testing every variety of seed he sells, and nothing is shipped away until it is thoroughly tried and fully equals every requirement. In this way Mr. Mills has established a name and business which ranks him among the few great seedsmen of the United States.

 It is doubtful if a concern of equal magnitude has ever sprung into existence in the short time in which his has been prosecuted, and all this is due to the indomitable energy, the systematic methods, and the close personal supervision of the proprietor. He is the founder of a business of which not only Onondaga county but the State of New York may be well proud. 

As an auxiliary to his adopted calling, and as a means of disseminating valuable and practical knowledge among the thousands of gardeners and horticulturists throughout the country, Mr. Mills established in December, 1894, an illustrated monthly entitled “Success with the Garden," which has begun what promises to be an auspicious career. 

His is strictly a mail-order business, and its requirements were such that the government, on November 5, 1895, established Rose Hill post-office with F. B. Mills as postmaster. He resigned this position in 1897, and was succeeded by his brother William E. Mills. 

His residence, the finest in the town and one of the handsomest in the county, was completed in 1893, and with all his other buildings is pleasantly located on Fairview Farm at Rose Hill in the south part of Marcellus. 

Mr. Mills was married, June 16, 1892, to Miss Grace Ackles, daughter of Samuel Ackies, 0f Spafford.

Onondaga's Centennial: Gleanings of a Century, Volume 2, 1896