Museum Artifact: Komic Kamera Film Strip Viewer, 1934
Made By: Allied MFG Co., 1338 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL
Once upon a time, during a fleeting moment of optimism smack dab in the solar plexus of the Great Depression, an 18 year-old kid named Harold B. Shapiro applied for a patent on a device he called a “film exhibitor”—a small bakelite box intended for the “direct viewing of scenic or other picture films .
Museum Artifact: Marvelous Perfume – Gardenia, c. 1930s
Made By: J. E. McBrady & Company, 1047 W. Van Buren St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: J. W. A. Ground Cinnamon Special – 5 LB Container (1930s) and Metal Baking Supply Pail (1940s)
Made By: J. W. Allen & Co., 110 N. Peoria St., Chicago, IL
“Our building in Chicago has come to be known as the acknowledged ‘Bakers’ Headquarters.’ We carry in stock and ready for immediate delivery practically everything required for the Baking Industry.
Museum Artifact: Tailor’s Measuring Tape, c. 1930s
Made By: Kling Bros. & Co. Inc., 2300 W. Wabansia Ave, Chicago, IL
“Garments that combine character and charm with lines that are clean cut, comfortable, and correct. . . . Are you one of the ten thousand dealers who know the immeasurable satisfaction to be found in KLING-MADE clothing specialties?”—1920 ad for Kling Bros.
Museum Artifact: Bambino World’s Fair Baseball Board Game, 1933
Made By: The Bambino Products Co., 103-105 S. Jefferson St., Chicago, IL
George Herman “Babe” Ruth—the Great Bambino—was arguably the most famous person in the United States in 1933. Even in the twilight of his baseball career, at age 38, he was literally and figuratively a larger-than-life character; a celebrity as much as a sportsman.
Museum Artifact: Princess Pat Duo-Tone Rouge, c. 1931
Made By: Princess Pat, Ltd., 2709 South Wells Street, Chicago, IL
“She is exquisite, this woman of today. She is frank—too vivid and intense for pretense. She revels in luxury . . . Color, line, softness, she perceives and strives for. She does not fear her mirror.” —excerpt from Princess Pat sales booklet,
Museum Artifact: Knights of Columbus Ceremonial Sword, c. 1930s
Made By: T. C. Gleason MFG Co., 325 W. Madison St., Chicago, IL
A Knights of Columbus sword, as you might presume, is made for symbolic, decorative use—not for combat. That being said, the sword in our collection, likely dating from the 1930s, is just sharp enough—and rusty enough—to at least pose a minor threat of tetanus.
Museum Artifacts: (1) “U.S. Automatic” Pencil Sharpener, 1908; (1) “Giant,” (1) ‘Gem,” (2) “Chicago” (1920s), and (4) “Dexter” sharpeners, 1930s
Made By: Automatic Pencil Sharpener Co. / Spengler-Loomis MFG Co., 58 E. Washington St., Chicago, IL . Factory: 2415 Kishwaukee Street, Rockford, IL.
For many of us, the sight of an old desk-mounted, mechanical pencil sharpener brings back some sensory-charged childhood memories—the thrilling turn of the crank,
Museum Artifact: Bersted Electric Toaster No. 74, c. 1932
Made By: Bersted MFG Co., 5201 W. 65th St., Chicago, IL
The toaster of the future! The toaster for all times! The apex of toasterdom!
Looking like a miniaturized attraction from the “Century of Progress” World’s Fair, this majestic creation by Chicago’s Bersted MFG Company was actually a bargain basement brand for its day;
Museum Artifact: Monophone 1A – Desktop Rotary Telephone, c. 1930s
Made By: Automatic Electric Company, 1001 W. Van Buren St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Justrite Cleaning Fluid, c. 1930
Made By: Walgreen Company, 4720 S. St. Louis Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Mrs. Snyder’s Candy Tin, c. 1930s
Made By: Mrs. Snyder’s Home Made Candies, 1813 W. Montrose Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Peppy Thrill Punch Board Game, 1939
Made By: Chas. A. Brewer & Sons, 6320 S. Harvard Avenue, Chicago, IL
“One out of every three adults plays a punchboard or slot machine. More people do this than play church lotteries, the horses, and numbers games—all three combined.” —Samuel Lubell, Saturday Evening Post, 1939
Produced the very same year as the article quoted above,
Museum Artifact: Cracker Jack Cocoanut Corn Crisp Tin, c. 1930
Made By: The Cracker Jack Company, 4800 W. 66th Street, Chicago, IL
“You can eat as much as you like!” That’s how the Cracker Jack Company marketed its new Cocoanut Corn Crisp to America in 1928, assuring all snackers that these “luscious lumps of goodness” were “healthful, pure, and wholesome.” Not being a doctor or nutritionist,
Museum Artifacts: Bunte “Fine Confections, “Diana,” “Stuft” and “World Famous Candies” Tins by Bunte Brothers, 1910s-1930s
Made By: Bunte Brothers Candy, 3301 W. Franklin Blvd., Chicago, IL
Which industry best exemplified the spirit of Chicago at its manufacturing zenith? The steel mills? The Union Stock Yards? The railroads? Architecture?
Nope. It was definitely candy—sweet, delectable, teeth-rotting candy.
For the thousands of Chicago factory workers employed in the confectionery trade,
Museum Artifact: Oldsmobile F36 Glove Box Clock 6V, 1936
Made By: Geo. W. Borg Corporation, 469 E. Ohio Street, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Lincoln Electric Clock, c. 1932
Made By: Electric Clock Corp. of America, 500 S. Throop St., Chicago, IL
What’s in a name? I suppose a 20th century Shakespeare might have said that an electric clock, under any brand name, would still tell the same time. To Henry T. Schiff, however, the name was the thing.
In the mid 1930s,
Museum Artifact: VAL-A Egg Scale, c. 1930s
Made By: VAL-A Company, 700 W. Root St., Chicago, IL
Weighing a hundred eggs one-by-one on a galvanized metal doohickey might seem crazily inefficient, if not entirely unnecessary. But for any humble farmer / chicken coop owner of the early to mid 20th century, egg scales like this one were must-have tools of the trade. Today, they can pass for intriguing modern art pieces.
Museum Artifact: Sonja Henie Paper Dolls Cut-Out Book, 1939
Made By: Merrill Publishing Company, 14 N. Peoria St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Century of Progress Playing Cards, 1933
Made By: Arrco / Arrow Playing Card Co., 734-54 Mather Street (W Lexington St.), Chicago, IL
A promotional tie-in with Chicago’s “Century of Progress” World’s Fair in 1933-34 also marked a major point of progress for the city’s Arrow Playing Card Co., as it introduced its new identity as ARRCO—a name that would soon be familiar to amateur magicians,
Museum Artifact: Denoyer-Geppert Cartocraft Globe, 1938
Made By: Denoyer-Geppert Company, 5235 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL
“You now have one of the best globes made,” L.P. Denoyer wrote in the preface to his 1931 guide book, A Teacher’s Manual for Cartocraft Globes, “but we are not satisfied with simply having made the sale, for we want you to get the greatest possible value from your purchase.”
Well,
Museum Artifact: Atlas Shoe Polish – Tan, c. 1930s
Made By: Morrison-Atlas Products, Inc., 10160 Franklin Ave., Franklin Park, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Box of Blue Steel United Blades, c. 1937
Made By: United Razor Blade Corporation / United Blade Co., 222 W. Adams Street, Chicago, IL
Like the warm analog tone of a vinyl record, sometimes a bit of obsolete technology comes back around again and proves its worth to the modern age. The good old double-edge safety razor blade might be another such example,
