Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Building Letterheads VIII

In July 1914, the Louisiana Abstract Company purchased the Perrin Building, a ten-story Favrot and Livaudais skyscraper that had been constructed by W.T. Carey & Brothers in 1907 for an estimated $350,000. When the building was christened in October 1907, The Daily Picayune reported that the opening event "was an interesting as well as a notable one, and unique in that it is the first of the big buildings constructed here in recent years that has had this touch of sentiment attached to its completion."(1)

The newly formed Louisiana Abstract Company was able to acquire the structure for $325,000 in a transaction that allowed for a reduced mortgage in exchange for stock options. Meyer Eiseman spearheaded the negotiations, touting the new company as a means of expediting real estate transactions.(2) Shortly after the Perrin property transfer, the building was renamed the Louisiana Abstract & Title Guarantee Building. The company brandished its building on its letterhead by 1919.

(1) "Perrin Building Named with Ceremony." The Daily Picayune 4 October 1907, p. 4.

(2) "Perrin Building is Transferred to New Company." The Times-Picayune 7 June 1914, p. 40.

Image above: A. Lippman, letter to Walter J. Seghers, 13 October 1919, Guy Seghers Office Records, "District 6 Square 606," Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

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