Museum Artifact: Deering Cast Iron Tractor Seat, c. 1920s
Made By: International Harvester Company, Deering Works, Clybourn and Fullerton Avenue, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Andrew Clayman
U.S. Automatic Pencil Sharpener by APSCO, c. 1911
Automatic Pencil Sharpener Co., 35 Randolph Street., Chicago, IL
While it was initially distributed out of New York City, the U.S. Automatic Pencil Sharpener was actually designed and patented by a Chicago inventor named Essington N. Gilfillan (first patent date, 1906). And after a few short years, it would return home, becoming the first marquee product of the Chicago-based Automatic Pencil Sharpener Company (aka APSCO) under the banner of the Spengler-Loomis Co.
Northwestern Terra Cotta Co., est. 1878
Museum Artifact: Terra Cotta Dog Premium, c. 1920s
Made By: Northwestern Terra Cotta Company, 1701-1711 W. Terra Cotta Place, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Oscar Mayer & Co., est. 1883
Museum Artifact: “Little Oscar & The Bandit” Coloring Book, 1962
Made By: Oscar Mayer & Co., Inc., 1241 N. Sedgwick St., 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.
A.L. Hansen MFG Company, est. 1920
Museum Artifact: Hansen Tacker / Stapler, c. 1940s
Made by: A. L. Hansen MFG Co., 5037 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL
The vintage Hansen Tacker pictured above looks and functions much like the manual staple guns of today—it’s spring-loaded, uses tough wire staples (also made by Hansen), and has an upturned squeeze-trigger handle for one-handed efficiency. It was used for the same sorts of handyman tasks,
Central Waxed Paper Co., est. 1915
Museum Artifact: Original Bread Wrapper Wax Proof Sheets, 1920s
Made By: Central Waxed Paper Co., 5659 W. Taylor Street, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
B. F. Cummins Co., est. 1887
Museum Artifact: “Chicago” Check Perforator, c. 1900s
Made By: The B. F. Cummins Company / Cummins Perforator Co., 4740 N. Ravenswood 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,
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.
Elgin National Watch Company, est. 1863
Museum Artifact: Elgin Pocket Watch, 1926
Made By: Elgin National Watch Company, 107 National Street, Elgin, 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,
Addometer Co. / Reliable Typewriter & Adding Machine Corp.
Museum Artifact: Addometer, c. 1930s
Made By: Reliable Typewriter & Adding Machine Co., 303 W. Monroe St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Johnson Publishing Co., est. 1942
Museum Artifact: Jet Magazine MLK Memorial Issue, 1968
Made By: Johnson Publishing Co. Inc., 1820 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Dexter Pencil Sharpeners by APSCO
Museum Artifacts: (1) Dexter sharpener, 1920s; (2) Dexter No. 2 sharpeners, 1930s; (1) Dexter No. 3 sharpener, 1940s
Made By: Automatic Pencil Sharpener Co. / Spengler-Loomis MFG Co., 58 E. Washington St., Chicago, IL . Factory: 2415 Kishwaukee Street, Rockford, IL.
These three lovely APSCO Dexters were donated to the museum by patron Ken Matejka. Many thanks!
You can read our complete history of the Automatic Pencil Sharpener Company here.
General Television & Radio Corp., est. 1932
Museum Artifact: General Tube Radio 19A5, c. 1947
Made By: General Television & Radio Corp., 2701 N. Lehmann Ct., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Arnold, Schwinn & Co., est. 1895
Museum Artifact: Schwinn “Hollywood” Bicycle, c. 1970
Made By: Arnold, Schwinn & Co. / Schwinn Bicycle Company, 1718-1740 N. Kildare & 1856 N. Kostner Ave., Chicago, IL
The last Chicago-built Schwinn bicycle rolled off the assembly line in 1982, and while the brand name is still embossed on the badges of various Chinese imports, anybody who buys a new one is bound to hear the inevitable cranky lament from a passerby: “they don’t make ‘em like they used to.”
The Schwinn in our own collection is a “campus green” Hollywood model,
American Shoe Polish Co., est. 1900
Museum Artifact: Eagle Brand Suede Powder, c. 1920
Made by: American Shoe Polish Co., 1956 S. Troy Street, Chicago, IL
“Wherever footwear is worn and shoes are shined, the American Shoe Polish Company, of Chicago, have made their ‘Eagle Brand’ dressings known”—this according to a 1913 article in that much beloved periodical, Shoe and Leather Facts.
“Through a harmonious co-operation between the manufacturing and selling forces,
Page Boiler Company, est. 1905
Museum Artifact: Chicago Stadium Boiler Room Blueprint, c. 1940s
Made By: Page Boiler Company, 815-819 W. Webster Avenue, Chicago, IL
In 2015, the Page Boiler Company shut down its last Chicago plant at 2348 N. Damen Avenue in Bucktown, and I guess I can say I attended the funeral.
After 110 years of designing, building, installing and repairing the finest water-tube boilers in the Midwest,
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.
Hedman MFG Co. & The F&E Check Writer, est. 1914
Museum Artifact: F&E Check Writer, 1920s
Made By: Hedman MFG Co., 1158 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago, IL
First developed in 1914, the F&E Check Writer was more of a hi-tech defense weapon than a mere piece of office equipment. It was designed, as a number of other similar machines were in the early 20th century, to combat what was then considered “one of the gravest and most widespread of all menaces against our nation’s business”—check forgery.