Museum Artifact: Charlie Chaplin Collectible Postcard, Essanay No. 1 , 1915
Made By: Essanay Film MFG Co. / Essanay Studios, 1333 W. Argyle St., Chicago, IL
On a quiet, tree-lined street in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, just north of the old St. Boniface Cemetery and around the corner from the Green Mill jazz club and the long-shuttered Uptown Theatre (once one of the world’s great movie palaces),
Museum Artifact: Floorene Varnish, c. 1910s
Made By: The American Varnish Co., 1138 N. Branch Street, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Hibbard Spencer Bartlett & Co., State Street Bridge
The Made-in-Chicago Museum has a couple different relics from the warehouses of Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co.—the hardware dealer that became one of the country’s wholesale giants for the better part of a century. You can read the full company history over on our main Hibbard, Spencer & Bartlett page (which features an old Hibbard railroad lantern),
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.
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.
Museum Artifact: Dainty Luxury Bread Sign, c. 1916
Made By: Schulze Baking Co. / Schulze Advertising Service, 40 E. Garfield Blvd., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Rand McNally & Co.’s New Street Number Guide & Complete City Railway Directory of Chicago (w/ Foldout Map), 1914
Made By: Rand McNally & Company, 536 S. Clark Street, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Vitalogy: Encyclopedia of Health & Home, 1919
Made By: M. A. Donohue & Co., Donohue Building – 711 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Sargent Metal Clamp, c. 1910s
Made By: E.H. Sargent and Company, 165 E. Superior St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Burke & James, Inc., 240-258 E. Ontario St., Chicago, IL
The Ingento No. 7 was Burke & James’ custom-made guillotine / trimming board for 5×7″ photographic prints. The “Ingento” brand, like the “Rexo” and others, was used liberally across a lot of the Burke & James product lines, including some of the actual cameras themselves. As the advertisement below indicates, there were at least seven other Ingento paper cutters by 1919,
Museum Artifact: Decorative Bronzing Liquid, c. 1910s
Made By: Illinois Bronze Powder Co., 162 W. Randolph St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Oliver Typewriter Company, 159 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL. Factory: Woodstock, IL
“The Oliver Typewriter No. 5, which is now being placed on the market, is the ‘last word’ in typewriters—a Symphony in Steel. It is scientific in principle, flawless in construction, accurate in adjustment, splendidly efficient in operation.”—Oliver Typewriter Co. catalog, 1908
Produced between 1907 and 1914, the Oliver No. 5 was also the last offering from Thomas Oliver himself,
Museum Artifact: “One Hundred and One Best Songs” Songbooks, 1910s
Made By: Cable Piano Company, 57 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
