Postcard of C. B. Haynes and Co. store, Edison Phonograph dealer, 603 E. Main St., promoter of Polk Miller and His Old South Quartette, dated April 30, 1908.

C. B. Haynes and Co., 603 E. Main St., Richmond, Virginia
Click for larger view.

 
C. B. Haynes headed a company in Richmond that was the chief distributor in Virginia for Thomas Edison's National Phonograph Company. Haynes's company sold and distributed Edison records and phonograph players to local dealers for all of Virginia and the Carolinas. Haynes was also instrumental in getting Richmond's Polk Miller and His Old South Quartette to be recorded by the Edison Phonograph company. This post focuses on the postcard and Hayne's business in Richmond. A second post will discuss Haynes' work with Polk Miller. 

A few weeks back a friend sent me a link to an Ebay sale where this postcard was up for auction. It sold for some $300. It is a very rare card. This kind of postcard is called a real-photo postcard. They were popular in the early 20th century. These were photographs developed onto photo paper with a postcard backing. They let "anyone" make a postcard. But only a few real-photo postcards of any particular scene or person were produced.

Luckily, a good quality image of the front and back of the card was posted online on Ebay. That was all I really needed. My friend sent the Ebay link to me knowing that I like rare Richmond postcard views but also because I'm interested in the Edison records company. I grew up in Menlo Park, New Jersey were Thomas Edison invented the light bulb and the phonograph. In fact for the first year of my life I lived in a house my father built that was only about half a city block from where Edison's original laboratory buildings stood. The Edison Tower now occupies that spot. We lived right behind the tower.

This is the back of the postcard. It was addressed to "Miss. E. Hawkins" of Dixfield, Maine. The person sending it writes that he is the person standing in the image of the front of the postcard with his hat off. Looks like a Mr. Beveridge signed the card. I checked the Richmond city directories  and the 1908 directory lists "Willard N. Beveridge" working as a clerk for C.B. Haynes and Co. His home address was 507 W. Clay St. Other records - including census information - helped confirm that he is Willard Newton Beveridge, born in 1889 and died in 1974. A lifetime resident of Richmond, Beveridge is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery.

 Image from the 1908 Richmond City Directory.

 Here is his obituary:

As for C. B. Haynes... from census records, state records, and city directories, I determined that he is Charles B. Haynes and was born in 1856 and died in 1934.

The 1920 census states that he was he was born in Michigan and lists his occupation as "Music Dealer" and the industry as "Music House." His Virginia "Certificate of Death" - a copy I found on Ancestry.com - lists his birthplace as Detroit, Michigan and his age as 77 years old. His died December 23, 1934 in Grace Hospital. It states that he is married to "Mary L. Haynes."  He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in the Elks Section.

Image from Find A Grave.com 

His obituary from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Dec. 24, 1934.

From what I can find in newspapers on Chronicling America, Haynes began selling Edison records in November of 1906 at his first store which was located across the street at 602 E. Main St. The company moved to their 603 E. Main St. location (the one in the postcard image) in June of 1907. The Edison Phonograph Monthly of August, 1907 noted that:

C. B. Haynes &; Co., Edison Jobbers, of Rich- 
mond, Va., who by buying out Magruder & Co., 
of that city, in the latter part of last year, be- 
came the only Edison Jobber there, have just 
moved into their new quarters at 603 E. Main 
street. The ground floor, devoted to retail trade 
exclusively, is fitted up with two sound-proof 
testing booths. The second floor is given over to 
the wholesale stock of Edison Records, accom- 
modation being made for 75,000. The third 
floor is used for storing machines, and also for 
the receiving and shipping departments. C. B. 
Haynes & Co. have one of the best fitted stores 
in the South, and are rapidly extending their 
business. 

From newspaper accounts we learn that Haynes moved his store to four other locations. in the downtown area of Richmond. By March of 1910 the company moved to 5 N. Seventh St.; in June of 1911 they are located at 121 W. Broad; by 1916 the store is at Broad and Second; and in February of 1920 Haynes opened a large store at 19 and 21 W. Broad St. 

In late 1920 he retired from the business. 

An image of his store building appears in the March 15, 1909 issue of The Talking Machine World magazine. But I doubt that was the "real" building:

Here's a larger view:

The building pictured makes it look like its on a corner but the two buildings that it might be (603 E. Main St. or  5 N. Seventh St.) did not sit on corner lots. Maybe they used this imaginary view so one could see the "entire" building. 

Mr. Haynes' career is documented in other issues of The Talking Machine World including these profiles:

The image above lists Haynes as standing in the last row second to the last man on the far right.

Is the second man in the postcard image Haynes?

Hard to tell - but those pointy ears seem similar.  

Haynes retires but the company continues operating

under the name "C.B. Haynes Co., Inc." of Richmond for a few more years.

Click on the image for a larger view. It gives great details of the record industry.
More news on the record distribution trade in Richmond, Virginia. 

Haynes advertised in Richmond newspapers on a regular basis. Here are just a few of those advertisements: 

 Nov. 23, 1913 in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

 Dec. 16, 1913 advertisement in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

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Coming soon - part two: Richmond's Charles B. Haynes and Polk Miller and His Old South Quartette recordings by Edison Records, 1909-1910.

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Thanks to Richard Bland for sending me that

postcard image of the Haynes 1908 store on E. Main St.!

- Ray