Museum Artifact: Marrow’s Mar-O-Oil Shampoo, 1928
Made By: Marrow’s, Inc. / Marrow MFG Co., 3037 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Tins & Bottles
Gunk Laboratories, Inc., est. 1959
Museum Artifact: Gunk S-C Degreaser Can, c. 1960s
Made By: Gunk Laboratories, Inc. / Gunk Chicago Co., 5829 W. 66th Street, Chicago, 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,
Morrison-Atlas Products, Inc., est. 1932
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.
Andes Candies, est. 1921
Museum Artifact: Andes Candies Tin, c. 1960s
Made By: Andes Candies, Inc., 4430 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Halsey Brothers Co., est. 1871
Museum Artifacts: Amber Glass Apothecary Bottles, c. 1900
Made By: Halsey Brothers Co., 645 N. St. Clair St., Chicago, IL
Chicago brothers Clinton, Tappen, and George Halsey were all accomplished chemists and pharmacists. But from the founding of the first Halsey pharmacy in 1855 (at 94 LaSalle St.) straight on into the 20th century, their success was largely rooted in a very specific belief system.
O-Cedar Corp. & Channel Chemical Co., est. 1906
Museum Artifact: O-Cedar Solid Center Polish Mop No. 15, 1929
Made By: O-Cedar Corp. / Channel Chemical Co., 4501 S. Western Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Case-Moody Pie Corp., est. 1929
Museum Artifact: Case-Moody Pie Pans, c. 1940s
Made By: Case-Moody Pie Corporation, 1807 W. Walnut Street, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Jaques MFG Co., est. 1890
Museum Artifact: K C Baking Powder 10 oz. Can, c. 1900s
Made By: Jaques MFG Co., 1601 S. Canal Street, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Steele-Wedeles Company, est. 1862
Museum Artifact: Savoy Cocoa Tins, c. 1920s
Made By: Steele-Wedeles Company, 312-22 N Dearborn St., Chicago, IL
In 1925—back when these Savoy brand cocoa tins from our museum collection were still sitting shiny and new in someone’s kitchen cabinet—the wholesale grocer that produced them, the Steele-Wedeles Company, made a major announcement.
After more than 50 years at its post-fire headquarters on the corner of South Water and LaSalle Street,
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,
Flavour Candy Company, est. 1925
Museum Artifact: The Original Flavour Chicken Bones (Tin), 1927
Made By: Flavour Candy Co., 3922 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
J. P. Dieter Co., est. 1891
Museum Artifact: Crown Baking Powder Container, c. 1900s
Made By: The J.P. Dieter Company, 60 Waldo Place (Randolph and Desplaines St.), Chicago, IL
Unlike his Chicago contemporaries and rivals over at the Calumet Baking Powder Co., J.P. Dieter’s successful food products company didn’t survive long into the 20th century. This tin of Crown Baking Powder, however, still looks vibrant in its fire-hydrant-red more than 100 years after it was made.
The Anacin Company, est. 1916
Museum Artifact: Anacin Tablet Medicine Tin, c. 1928
Made By: The Anacin Company, 30 E. Kinzie Street, Chicago, IL
The Anacin brand is one of the oldest continuously manufactured commercial drugs in the country, dating back to its invention by a Minnesota chemist named William M. Knight in 1915. Don’t let the product’s longevity and mainstream availability fool you, however.
Like most other pain relievers from its era,
Damon MFG Co., est. 1914
Museum Artifact: 999 Polish for Automobiles, Pianos & Furniture, 1920s
Made By: Damon MFG Co., 325 W. Ohio Street, Chicago, IL
“Oxidation, it is pointed out by the manufacturer of Damon’s 999 automobile and furniture polish, is the reason for loss of luster and deadened appearance in any varnish finish. It is claimed 999 polish keeps the surface waterproof and airtight with pure wax,
Peerless Confection Co., est. 1914
Museum Artifact: Peerless Maid Peermints Tin, c. 1930s
Made By: Peerless Confection Company, 1250 W Schubert Avenue, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
E.C. DeWitt & Co., est. 1886
Museum Artifact: DeWitt’s Foot Powder, 1920s
Made By: E.C. DeWitt & Co., Inc., 1127 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, IL
It probably wouldn’t be fair or accurate to call Elden C. DeWitt a “snake oil salesman.” For one thing, the guy’s been dead for nearly a century, so unless a secret diary surfaces, we’ll never know for sure if he genuinely believed in the quirky patent medicines he peddled.
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.
Fitzpatrick Bros. & Kitchen Klenzer, est. 1894
Museum Artifact: Kitchen Klenzer Scouring Cleanser, c. 1940s
Made By: Fitzpatrick Bros., 1300 W. 32nd Place, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Sprague, Warner & Co., est. 1862
Museum Artifact: Ferndell Brand Crystallized Ginger Tin, c. 1920s
Made By: Sprague, Warner & Company, 600 W. Erie Street, 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.
Armour & Company, est. 1867
Museum Artifact: Lighthouse Cleanser, c. 1930s
Made by: Armour and Company, 1355 W. 31st St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
California Ale & Beverage Co., est. 1920s
Museum Artifact: California Club Seltzer Water Bottle, c. 1930s
Made By: California Ale & Beverage Company, 3006-3030 West Fillmore Street, Chicago, IL
The vintage seltzer bottle above was personally donated to the collection by Marc Schulman, a man known to many Chicagoans as the president of Eli’s Cheesecake and the son of one of the city’s great restaurateurs, the late Eli Schulman.