Museum Artifact: Lubri-Gas 1 Gallon Can, c. 1950s
Made By: Lubri-Gas International, Inc., 221 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Tins & Bottles
J. C. Paul & Co., est. 1885
Museum Artifact: Burnishine Metal Polish, c. 1900
Made By: J. C. Paul & Company., 59 Dearborn St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Sanford Ink Company, est. 1857
Museum Artifact: Sanford’s Ink Eraser by Sanford MFG Co., c. 1910s
Made By: Sanford MFG Co. / Sanford Ink Company, 846-854 W. Congress Street, Chicago, IL
“Have you handled Sanford’s ink eraser yet? Every office needs it and every stationer should carry it in stock. It does the work of erasing ink from paper and stains from cloth perfectly. It is put up in a handsome round corner package and is made by the Sanford Manufacturing Company,
Gold Eagle Products Co., est. 1932
Museum Artifact: Gold Eagle Radiator Seal, c. 1940s
Made By: Gold Eagle Products Co., 1050 W. Kinzie Street, Chicago, IL
In the early 1990s, when a lot of Chicago’s remaining “mom and pop” manufacturing businesses were reluctantly cashing in their chips, the family-owned Gold Eagle Company was bucking the trends—50% annual revenue growth, to be specific, with tailwinds into the 21st century.
Wood Candy Co., est. 1908
Museum Artifact: Wood Candies 3LB Tin, 1920s
Made By: Wood Candy Co., 930 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Claire MFG Co., est. 1913
Museum Artifacts: Jinx Cleaner (c. 1920s) and Moth Crystal Vaporizer (c. 1960s)
Made By: Claire MFG Co., 6742 S. Yale Avenue, Chicago, IL
In 1927, Chicago municipal court judge Theodore F. Ehler—presiding during the height of mob warfare and corruption—made headlines for the unusual sentences he started imposing on a less romanticized element of the city’s criminal underbelly: deadbeat husbands.
Rather than sending these sad sacks off to jail,
Calumet Baking Powder Company, est. 1889
Museum Artifact: Calumet Baking Powder Tin, c. 1913
Made By: Calumet Baking Powder Co., 4100 W Fillmore St., Chicago, IL
This five-pound canister of Calumet Baking Powder might seem like a cute artifact from a old-timey diner or a small town general store, but make no mistake, you’re looking at a relic from a war . . . the Baking Powder War.
Dad’s Root Beer Co., est. 1937
Museum Artifact: Unopened Dad’s Root Beer “Mama” Bottle, 1960s
Made By: Dad’s Root Beer Co., 2800 N. Talman Avenue, Chicago, IL
“It’s a completely new idea! Genuine draft root beer in bottles!”
When Dad’s Root Beer creators Ely Klapman and Barney Berns rolled out their first big national ad campaign in 1941, they did so with an immediate contradiction in terms—a “completely new” thing was also promoted as the “old fashioned” root beer.
DeMet’s Inc., est. 1898
Museum Artifact: Turtles Candy Tin, c. 1960s
Made By: DeMet’s, Inc., 177 N. Franklin St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Walgreen Co., est. 1901
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.
Helene Curtis Industries, est. 1927
Museum Artifact: Helene Curtis “Duchess Machineless Oil Wave,” c. 1940s
Made By: Helene Curtis Industries, div. of National Mineral Company, 505 N. Sacramento Blvd. / 4401 W. North Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Filbert’s Root Beer & Bottling Co., est. 1926
Museum Artifact: Filbert’s Old Time Root Beer Bottles, c. 1965-1975
Made By: Filbert’s Root Beer & Bottling Co., 3033 S. Archer Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Mrs. Snyder’s Candies, est. 1909
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.
Quaker Oats Company, est. 1877
Museum Artifact: Cardboard cans of Quick Mother’s Oats, Quaker Rolled White Oats, and Quaker Best Yellow Corn Meal, c. 1920s
Made By: The Quaker Oats Company, 80 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Wander Company (US), est. 1917
Museum Artifact: Ovaltine “Food Beverage” Tin, 1921
Made By: The Wander Company, 37 S. Wabash Ave. (HQ), Factory at 1 Ovaltine Court, Villa Park
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
The Cracker Jack Co., est. 1871
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,
Sure Seal Products Co., est. 1949
Museum Artifact: Lichten’s Sure Seal Products “Lick Rust” Can, c. 1952
Made By: Lichten Company / Sure Seal Products Co., 1210 N. Hoyne Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Bunte Brothers, est. 1876
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,
Abbott Laboratories, est. 1888
Museum Artifact: Menthol Pill Bottle, c. 1910s
Made by: Abbott Labs / Abbott Alkaloidal Co., 4753 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL
Established during the “Wild West” era of the pharmaceutical industry—when everybody and their brother seemed to have a cure-all potion to peddle—Chicago’s Abbott Alkaloidal Company managed to strike a unique, calculated balance between carnival-barker salesmanship and scientific legitimacy. As a result, even as hundreds of other early drug companies were vanquished during the quackery purges of the 20th century,
Grossman MFG Co., est. 1914
Museum Artifact: Universal Polish Mop, 1920s
Made By: Grossman MFG Co. / Western Steel & Chemical Co., Inc., 4000 S. Cottage Grove Ave., Chicago, IL
No it’s not a Polish mop as “in the style of Poland,” but ’tis instead a polish mop, as in to clean and polish one’s floors. Pre-treated cedar oil mops were routinely sold in tins like this one during the early 20th century,
Libby, McNeill & Libby, est. 1869
Museum Artifact: Libby’s Canned Foods Store Display, 1923
Made By: Libby, McNeill & Libby, 13636 South Western Avenue, Blue Island, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
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.
Schoenhofen Brewing Co., est. 1861
Museum Artifact: Edelweiss Maltine Bottle, c. 1900s
Made By: The Peter Schoenhofen Brewing Company, Canalport Avenue & West 18th Street, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.