single original and collectible antique c.1890's ephemera associated with the northwestern terra cotta company in chicago, il. a folded card or stationary features detailed black and white lithographed illustraions of a stonework facade, and of a scene labeled as the "main office & works cor. clybourn & wrightwood aves. / city offic 1118 rookery bldg". the company name is displayed in ornate font with surrounding ornament and a shadow effect outlining the lettering. the upper corners of the paper lis g. hottinger and h. rothkam as president and vice president respectively, as well as the treasurer and secretary. a line of text with blanks for filling in reads, "chicago, ___189___". accompanying this promotional material is a monthly statement from the company, dated april 29, 1895 to the hennen bldg in new orleans. the page includes a company header above graphed lines of cursive penned handwriting detailing costs. this sheet bears the same intricate lithograph of the company's main headquarters, depicting a block of buildings emitting stacks of smoke and surrounded by a train, and various street life. the main building rendered has signage with the company name stretching across the facade. both illustrations have diminutive text directly below, reading "goes lith.co.chicago". the statement has a company header "in account with / the north western / terra-cotta co. / office room, 1118 rookery bldg. / works, co. clybourn & wrightwood aves. / branch works, cor. w. 15th & laflin sts.". the delicate paper remains intact and in good condition considering age. the northewestern terra cotta company was founded in chicago in 1877 by a group of investors that included john r. true. the company became a major producer of terra cotta trimmings used by the construction industry. by the beginning of the 20th century, architectural terra cotta was firmly established as america's premier material for detailing commercial structures, especially the new, steel-framed skyscrapers then rising in chicago and new york city. after the devastating chicago fire of 1871, the fireproof qualities of this ancient, baked-clay form propelled its acceptance as a less expensive and lightweight alternative stone. to direct both production and installation, the studio’s draftsmen transformed architectural blueprints into comprehensive "shop drawings" that identified exactly where and how each puzzle-like piece would be secured to its supporting structure. favored by such international architectural luminaries as louis h. sullivan, daniel burnham, frank lloyd wright, and albert kahn, the company ultimately contributed to thousands of buildings across the country in a wide array of styles. by the early 1890s, when northwestern terra cotta employed approximately 500 men, annual sales approached $600,000. it was during this era that the company successfully recruited european craftsmen to join the firm as sculptors in its modeling shop. these highly skilled artists could earn three or four times as much as a less skilled laborer at the same factory. by 1910, its large plant at clybourn and wrightwood avenues covered 24 acres and had about 1,000 workers. the popularity of placing terra cotta moldings on building facades peaked in the 1920s, with northwestern terra cotta leading the way, in chicago and around the country. around this time, the company opened plants in st. louis and denver. from the nineteenth century on, prominent chicago architects had extensive contracts with the company; included among the many landmark chicago buildings for which northwestern supplied extensive decorative moldings were the civic opera house, the chicago theater, the wrigley building, and the randolph tower. northwestern terra cotta targeted its client base by advertising in trade journals such as american architect and they wasted no time promoting its involvement in the construction of the distinctive wrigley building—the first skyscraper completely clad "from sidewalk to searchlight" in terra cotta. not only was the gleaming white-enamel office tower chicago's tallest structure at that time, it was the first of a series that inaugurated new development north of the chicago river. northwestern's operations in chicago declined alongside the construction industry during the great depression, and was eclipsed by modernist curtain walls of glass, exposed steel, and concrete. in 1965, northwestern terra cotta co.'s only remaining plant in denver closed.