Vintage 1930s Plains Hotel Cheyenne Wyoming Letterhead Chief Little Shield

This vintage Plains Hotel letterhead dates most likely to the 1930s and features wonderful Western-inspired graphic design.  The letterhead was preserved as a souvenir of the historic Plains Hotel of Cheyenne, Wyoming. The top portion displays an image identified as Chief Little Shield alongside Art Deco influenced typography for “The Plains Hotel.”

The Plains Hotel was completed in March of 1911 in response to the growing need in Cheyenne for a quality modern hotel. Over the decades it became one of Wyoming’s best known historic hotels and an important landmark associated with rail travel and the American West.

The paper bears the watermark “Rocky Mountain Bank Note Co.” from the Rocky Mountain Bank Note Company, founded in 1929 and known for printing financial documents and specialty engraved paper goods. The watermark helps date the piece to no earlier than 1929.

The design has a strong Southwestern and Western travel aesthetic, making it an appealing display piece for collectors of hotel ephemera, railroad memorabilia, Wyoming history, Native American themed graphics, or early 20th century advertising paper.

Details

Historic Plains Hotel
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Likely dates from the 1930s–1940s
Watermarked “Rocky Mountain Bank Note Co.”
Western / Native American themed graphic design
Printed on quality watermarked paper stock
Blank unused interior

Measurements

6” by 9 3/4”

Condition

Clean overall with light handling wear. Unused and unfilled. Fold marks visible but not pronounced.

An attractive and scarce piece of Wyoming hotel ephemera with strong Western graphic appeal.