Posted on by bunnyhugger

Custer Ave., Minnis & Ewer, 1911

Earlier today I was talking to my mom on the phone and mentioned my frustration that Minnis & Ewer didn’t date their stamps (and neither did V. D. Minnis on his own). I knew they were likely older stamps, as Minnis sadly died young in 1919, but I would have liked to know how old. Well, tonight on my walk…

(Sorry again for having to take this with a flash. It’s quite a bit clearer in person. You can even make it out pretty well in Google Street View!)

I found this slab on the west side of Custer, between Jerome and Vine (just north of the intersection with Jerome). As with other Minnis & Ewer work, both the slab and the stamp are in fine condition. The year is clearly “11.” Amusingly, the first half-formed thought that crossed my mind was “that can’t possibly be right” followed by “oh… nineteen eleven.” The only trouble is that what I presume to be the month is illegible. It is something rounded on both sides, a single digit. It is so worn in the center that there is no telling what. My immediate impression was 9, but I suspect some psychological bias in that. It could be 6 or 8.

As often happens with my best finds, I had already taken a picture I intended to use for today’s entry when I saw this. Because of that I almost didn’t pay attention to it. It was on the street I was passing rather than in my direction of travel, and I glanced at it, thinking, “Oh, another Minnis & Ewer stamp; if only it were dated.” But for some reason I gave it a second glance and saw something was stamped below the logo, and I stopped short, and saw that it was a date.

This raises some interesting questions. Did Minnis & Ewer start out dating stamps, then abandon that practice? Or was it the other way around? If I knew which it was, this could have some bearing on resolving the question of whether V.D. Minnis was on his own before or after working with Ewer, because Minnis’s company didn’t date stamps either.

Posted on by bunnyhugger

Kalamazoo St., Minnis & Ewer, undated

This Minnis & Ewer stamp is on East Kalamazoo Street between Jones and Holmes. There are several of these in the area and I’ve always admired them. The border and curved lettering add a touch of eye appeal. They’re a good size and have deep and clear impressions.

Unfortunately it is undated, as are all of the Minnis & Ewer stamps I have found. I find a listing for Minnis & Ewer in a 1908 Lansing city directory which identifies the proprietors as Verner D. Minnis and Edward C. Ewer. They also have a sideline ad in the directory which reads, “MINNIS & EWER | Contractors and Builders of CEMENT SIDEWALKS AND FLOORS / Bell 1113-L. Citizens 1188 / 725 PINE STREET NORTH.” Oddly, 725 N. Pine St. is a residence built in 1891, implying that Minnis & Ewer operated out of a home, which doesn’t quite make sense to me.

One of my goals is to find the oldest stamp I can. Since Minnis & Ewer were active in 1908 it’s possible this is older than the oldest date I’ve found so far (1929, and more on that in a later post no doubt). There’s no way to know short of doing a bit more research than I’m prepared to right now, but if I get invested enough in this blog, maybe someday I will.