Andrew Clayman

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.

Hanson Scale Company, est. 1888

Museum Artifact: Hanson No. 24 U.S. Family Scale, c. 1900

Made By: Hanson Bros. Scale Company, 427 W. Randolph St. / 525 N. Ada Street, Chicago IL

“Judging from the large increase in orders reported by the Hanson Bros. Manufacturing Company, 18-30 Randolph street, dealers and jobbers are finding the U.S. family scale a very profitable, quick-selling article to handle. The Hanson Brothers manufacture a high grade family scale,

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,

Art-Rite Products Co., est. 1958

Museum Artifact: Tarnishproof Tinsel Garlands, 1960s

Made By: Art-Rite Products Co., 1355 Blue Island Ave., Chicago, IL

Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.

Angel Dainty Dye Co., est. 1898

Museum Artifact: Angel Dainty Dyes Color Packets, 1930s

Made by: Angel Dainty Dye Co., 5201 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL

Their fabric dyes were promoted as colorful miracles in a paper packet, but the Angel Dainty Dye Company itself may have been founded on a dastardly fib.

“The Angel Dainty Dye Co., Chicago, have something which everyone wants,” read an ad in an 1899 issue of the American Druggist and Pharmaceutical Record,

C. H. Hanson Company, est. 1866

Museum Artifact: Promotional Paperweight, c. 1920s

Made By: C. H. Hanson Co., 303 W. Erie St., Chicago, IL

Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.

Swedish-American Telephone Co., est. 1899

Museum Artifact: “Hercules” Telephone Box, c. 1908

Made By: Swedish-American Telephone Co., 5235 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL

There aren’t a lot of Swedish things left in Chicago’s original Swedish neighborhood these days. In just the past few years, Andersonville has lost its beloved Swedish Bakery, along with Ann Sather’s restaurant, Erickson Jewelers, Erickson’s Deli (no relation), and even the old iconic neighborhood water tower—painted for decades in the blue and gold of the Motherland (a facsimile has since been installed).

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.

Wm. E. Pratt MFG Co., est. 1893

Museum Artifact: “Little Giant” Ratcheting Screw Jack, c. 1917

Made By: William E. Pratt Manufacturing Co., 35 W. Lake St., & 190 N. State St., Chicago, IL , Foundry in Joliet, IL

On the great Venn diagram of Chicago industry, at the sliver-sized intersection of Model T Fords, decoy ducks, and the atomic bomb, you can find the unique domain of the Wm.

Slingerland Drum Company, est. 1912

Museum Artifact: Slingerland Tempo King Bass Drum Pedal, 1960s

Made By: Slingerland Drum Company, 6633 N. Milwaukee Ave

Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.

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.

Chicago Electric MFG Co., est. 1902

Museum Artifact: Sterling Desk Fan, c. 1940

Made By: Chicago Electric MFG, Co., 6333 W. 65th Street., Chicago, IL

Some time in the early 1970s, the singer/songwriter Gram Parsons—pioneer of the genre later known as “alternative country”—was hanging out with his buddy Keith Richards, talking about song ideas.

“I’ve been writing about a guy that builds cars,” Parsons said—this according to Richards’ own account in his 2010 memoir,

W. M. Welch Scientific Company, est. 1880

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.

Chicago Mail Order Co., est. 1889

Museum Artifact: Chicago Mail Order Shoe Horn, c. 1930s

Made By: Chicago Mail Order Co., S. Indiana Ave & E. 26th St., Chicago, IL

Following on the heels of their Chicago neighbors Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck (pun intended considering the item on display here), the Chicago Mail Order Co. enjoyed a lengthy run of success of its own from the turn of the century well into the 1970s–although much of that was accomplished under its second name,

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.

National Washboard Company, est. 1903

Museum Artifact: The Universal No. 134 Washboard, c. 1920s

Made By: National Washboard Co., 72 W. Adams Street, Chicago, IL

Long before “upcycling” and “repurposing” became part of the antiquing lexicon, it was the washboard that practically invented re-invention—evolving from a contrivance of laborious laundering practices into a peppy and versatile musical instrument.

The artifact in our own museum collection,

Wm. Meyer Co., est. 1906

Museum Artifact: Eagle Speed Salon Hair Dryer, c. 1930

Made By: The Wm. Meyer Co., 1644 N. Honore Street, Chicago, IL

Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.