Museum Artifact: Vagabond “120” Camera, c. 1951
Made By: United States Camera Co. / Pho-Tak Corporation, 17 N. Loomis St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
1950s
J. F. Kerns Company, est. 1951
Museum Artifact: Liquisan Paint and Varnish Stripper, 1950s
Made By: J. F. Kerns Company, 350 W. Ontario Street, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Lady Esther, Ltd., est. 1913
Museum Artifact: Lady Esther Face Powder Boxes, c. 1950s
Made By: Lady Esther, Ltd., 7171 W. 65th St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Bowman Dairy Company, est. 1874
Museum Artifact: Bowman Cottage Cheese container, c. 1950s
Made By: Bowman Dairy Company, 140 W. Ontario Street, Chicago, IL + Numerous plant locations
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Thor Power Tool Co. & Speedway MFG Co., est. 1886
Museum Artifact: Thor Speed Drill, type 201, c. 1956
Made By: Speedway Manufacturing Co. (division of Thor Power Tool Co.), 1834-1875 S. 52nd Ave. (Laramie Ave.)., Cicero, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Rival Packing Co., est. 1923
Museum Artifact: Rival Dog Food Coin Banks, 1950s
Made By: Rival Packing Co., 4500 S. Tripp Ave., Chicago, IL
Gimme Ri-val Dog Food, Arf Arf, Arf Arf!
Gimme Ri-val Dog Food, Woof Woof, Woof Woof!
Your Dog’s Eyes Will Shine—Coat Look Fine
On Nourishing Ri-val Dog Food,
Reliable Paste Company, est. 1917
Museum Artifact: Reliable Cold Water Wall Size Paste, c. 1950s
Made By: Reliable Paste Company, 3560 S. Shields Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Card Shuffler by Nestor Johnson MFG Co., 1951
Nestor Johnson MFG Co., 1900 N. Springfield Ave., Chicago, IL
Skillfully shuffling a deck of cards, much like stoically smoking a pack of cigarettes, was a universal method of establishing one’s coolness in 1950s America. The risks of the manual shuffle, however—much like the cigarette smoking—were numerous and potentially deadly. And I’m not just talking about the carpal tunnel and paper cuts. If an amateur card shark failed to evenly redistribute his hearts and clubs,
Curtiss Candy Co., est. 1916
Museum Artifact: Baby Ruth Display Box, c. 1950s
Made By: Curtiss Candy Company, 337 E. Illinois St., Chicago, IL
“There was never a crack in the integrity of Otto Schnering.”
In 1953—right around the same time the vintage Baby Ruth display box in our collection was made—radio host and author Henry J. Taylor went on the air and delivered a stirring speech / eulogy for the man they used to call the “Candy Bar King.” Taylor was a former business associate and longtime friend of Otto Schnering,
Lincoln Logs Company, est. 1916
Museum Artifact: Original Lincoln Logs Set 1C, c. 1958
Made By: Lincoln Logs, 1750 N. Lawndale Ave., Chicago, IL
“When I completed the design for ‘Lincoln Logs’ toy construction blocks, their success encouraged me, and making wooden objects became my temporary source of income. Marshsall Field’s bought all I could make.” –John Lloyd Wright, from his memoir My Father, Frank Lloyd Wright,
Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co., est. 1848
Museum Artifact: Brunswick Black Scoring Crayons, c. 1950s
Made By: The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co., 623-633 S. Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Zenith Radio Corporation, est. 1918
Museum Artifacts: Super-Triumph Tube Radio (1951, pictured above), Model 4R Long Distance Receiver/Amplifier (1923), Model 808 Tombstone Radio (1934), Model 6D-2620 Radio (1942), Colsol-Tone H511 (1951), Royal 500 Transistor Radio (1960), Model F508V Radio (1964)
Made By: Zenith Radio Corporation, 6001 W. Dickens Ave., Chicago, IL
“You’ve had your last tussle with howling radio static once you tune in this terrific performer. Reaching far beyond the usual FM range,
Motorola Inc., est. 1928
Museum Artifact: Motorola Volumatic AM Car Radio, 1956
Made By: Motorola Inc. / Galvin MFG Corp., 4545 W. Augusta Blvd., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Chicago Specialty MFG Co., est. ~1932
Museum Artifact: 3-in-1 Closet Spud Wrench, c. 1960s
Made By: Chicago Specialty MFG Co., 2954 W. Lawrence Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Jays Foods Inc., est. 1927
Museum Artifact: Jays Potato Chip Tin, 1950s
Made By: Jays Foods, Inc., 825 E. 99th Street, Chicago, IL
For over 75 years, Chicagoans have voraciously chomped away on handfuls of Jays Potato Chips—sharing in the communal assumption that some guy named Jay must have invented the salty snack for them back in the proverbial day. If you give it a closer look, however, the familiar Jays logo—with its conspicuous lack of an apostrophe—raises some questions.
Portable Tube Radio Model 5P31A by Motorola Inc., 1957
Motorola Inc. / Galvin MFG Corp., 4545 W. Augusta Blvd., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Archived Reader Comments:
“This radio is a Motorola Roto-tenna portable radio, Corsair model 5P31A, circa 1957. The case is metal, covered in Grey Tweed Miracle Fabric; with maroon plastic trim. The rotating handle, an exclusive Motorola design,
Western Fluorescent Light Co., est. 1950
Museum Artifacts: Chelsea Hotel “Fire Escape” Lighted Sign and Lighted “Exit” Sign, c. 1950s
Made By: Western Fluorescent Light Co., 3242-4 W. Roosevelt Rd., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Exit Sign by Western Fluorescent Light Co., 1950s
Western Fluorescent Light Co., 3242-4 W. Roosevelt Rd., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Metal Moss MFG Co., est. 1937
Museum Artifact: Two-Bat Table Tennis Set, 1954
Made By: Metal Moss MFG Co., 2215 S Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL [South Loop}
While ping pong is perhaps most simply described as a miniaturized, parlor room version of tennis, I prefer to look at tennis as an inefficiently over-sized adaptation of ping pong. Beyond being the greatest test of hand-eye coordination (and cunning) yet devised by mankind,
Compco Corp., est. 1940s
Museum Artifact: Compco 8mm Film Reel & Can, c. 1950s
Made By: Compco Corp., 1800 N. Spaulding Ave.
In the middle of the 20th century, home-made 8mm movies weren’t thought of as fuzzy sentimental keepsakes of long-ago family memories. They were hip technology—the Youtube of the times, giving millions of middle class folks the chance to see themselves (and maybe their kids, too,
Simonsen Metal Products Co., est. 1940
Museum Artifact: Simonsen Metal Toolbox / Tackle Box, c. 1950s
Made By: Simonsen Metal Products Co., 4444 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL
Edward H. Simonsen was born in Racine, Wisconsin, in 1891, the son of Danish immigrants. From there, his life unfolded in typical “American Dream” fashion—or at least that’s the nuts and bolts version we’re left to infer. He moved to Chicago in his youth,
Acro-Flash Miniature Bakelite Camera by Herold MFG Co., 1950s
Herold MFG Co. / Utility MFG / Spartus Corp, 711-715 W. Lake St. and 2110 W. Walnut St., Chicago, IL
The Acro-Flash is one of more than a dozen bakelite minicams in the museum collection, all produced by the same manufacturer. Jack Galter’s Spartus Corp. famously operated under about 50 other names between 1939 and 1960. In this case, we can date the Acro-Flash to the early 1950s, when Spartus sales manager Harold Rubin was handed the reins of the company and briefly rechristened it Herold Products Co.