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,
Museum Artifact: Redington Counting Machine, c. 1920s
Made By: F.B. Redington Co., 112 S. Sangamon St., Chicago, IL
“Lazy Workmen Weeded Out,” read the tagline of a 1919 advertisement for the Redington Counting Machine—a device that’s still used in factories (in a digital format) nearly 100 years later.
“Find out the lazy workman operating your machines by checking your production.
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.
Museum Artifact: 8″ Steel Pipe Monkey Wrench, c. 1920s
Made By: Armstrong Bros. Tool Co., 317-357 N. Francisco Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Annell’ Typewriter, Model No. 3A, 1922-23
Made By: Annell Typewriter Company, 230 E. Ohio Street, Chicago, IL
Donated By: Chris Patterson
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
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.
Museum Artifact: Wilson Success Mid-Iron Golf Club, c. 1920s
Made By: Thos. E. Wilson & Co. / Wilson Sporting Goods, 2037 N. Campbell Ave., Chicago, IL
Today, a typical set of Wilson golf clubs includes “woods” made of titanium and “irons” machined from flexible steel alloys. But once upon a time, these crooked fairway sticks were exactly what they purported to be—utilizing hickory for the shafts,
Museum Artifact: Industrial Drop Light Cage, 1920s
Made By: Pyle-National Co., 1334 N. Kostner Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Comptometer Calculating Machine, Model H, 1920s
Made by: Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company, 1733 N. Paulina St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: OVB No. 2 Kerosene Lantern, c. 1920s
Made By: Hibbard Spencer Bartlett & Co., 211 E. North Water Street
“Hardware seems to those who sell it to be more human than any other kind of business.” That’s how journalist Fred C. Kelly sized up the stock and trade of Hibbard, Spencer & Bartlett in 1930, on the occasion of the wholesale company’s 75th anniversary.
Museum Artifact: Celluloid Pocket Mirrors, c. 1920s
Made By: Parisian Novelty Company, 3510 S. Western Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Electric Hot Water Urn, 1920s
Made by: American Metal Ware Co., 368 W. Huron St., Chicago, IL
It’s 18 inches tall, has a 6-pint fill capacity, and looks like a leftover evil robot prop from a low budget sci-fi movie. Rest assured, though, the “American” hot water urn is not to be feared. In fact, you might consider it the patriotic,
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.
Museum Artifact: Little Buster Hulless Popcorn, c. 1920s
Made by: Albert Dickinson Company, 2750 W. 35th Street, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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,
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.
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,
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.
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.
