Museum Artifact: Bakelite Galvanometer, 1960s
Made By: W. M. Welch Scientific Co., 1515 N. Sedgwick St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
1960s
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.
William Cooper & Nephews, Inc., est. 1852
Museum Artifact: Pulvex Products – Flea & Lice Powder, Analgesic Tablets, and Kitty & Cat Flea Powder, 1930-1960
Made By: William Cooper & Nephews Inc., 1909 N. Clifton Ave., Chicago, IL
You might not guess it by looking at the cutesy packaging, but the 1961 bottle of Pulvex “Kitty & Cat Flea Powder” pictured above represents an important crossroads in the history of pet-care pesticides.
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.
Northwestern Beverage Co., est. 1920s
Museum Artifact: Northwestern Beverage Co. Shipping Crate, c. 1960s
Made By: Northwestern Beverage Co., 3691 W. Grand Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Archived Reader Comments:
“Northwestern Beverage Company was in business from approximately 1930 through 1985. It was a family-owned soft drink bottling company featuring 30 different varieties of soda pop.
Cadaco Inc., est. 1935
Museum Artifact: All-Star Baseball Board Game, 1968
Made By: Cadaco Inc., 310 W. Polk St., Chicago, IL
Half a century before “fantasy baseball” gave every Joe Sixpack the illusion of running his own Major League ballclub, the seeds of that multi-million dollar industry were planted inside colorful cardboard boxes like this one. “All-Star Baseball,” which first appeared in 1941, actually predated similar stats-based games like “American Professional Baseball Association” (1951) and the famous “Strat-O-Matic” (1961).
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,
Peter Hand Brewing Co., est. 1891
Museum Artifacts: Peter Hand “Old Chicago” Dark Beer & “Old German” Style Beer Cans, c. 1970
Made By: Peter Hand Brewing Co., 1000 W. North Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Bremner Biscuit Company, est. 1871
Museum Artifact: Bremner Wafers Tin, 1960s
Made By: Bremner Biscuit Company, 901 W. Arthington St., Chicago, IL
The Bremner Biscuit Company was once about as authentically Chicagoan as deep dish pizza and the blues. Unfortunately, the 1980s showed little mercy for such cherished local institutions (even a lot of blues men started recording with synthesized harmonicas), as Bremner abruptly ended its century-long tenure in the city and relocated to Denver—still the company headquarters today.
Western Electric Co., est. 1869
Museum Artifact: Western Electric Model 500 Phone, 1960
Made By: Western Electric Co., Hawthorne Works, 22nd St. and Cicero Ave, Cicero, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Ideal No. 2 Postal Scale by Triner Scale & MFG Co., 1963
Triner Scale & MFG Co., 2714 W. 21st St., Chicago, IL
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This curvaceous postal scale from the Triner Scale & MFG Co. has a copyright of 1963 on the dial, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the scale itself was built that year. By the mid-century, Triner was equipping its “Ideal” and “Superior” U.S. mail scales with replaceable plastic dials. That way, when the government decided to go nuts and increase postal rates,