Museum Artifacts: “Lucky Brown” Hair Pressing Oil (1938) and “Slick Black” Promo Poster, c. 1940s
Made By: Valmor Products Co. / Famous Products Co., 2241 S. Indiana Ave., Chicago, IL
Whether you enjoy debating the ethics of cultural appropriation, the definition of true art, or the line between female empowerment and objectification, the story of the Valmor Products Company basically covers all the bases—like a pulp-novel catalog of 20th century American contradictions.
Museum Artifact: Salesman’s Pamphlet with Original Felt Samples, c. 1920s
Made By: Western Felt Works, 4029-4117 W. Ogden Ave., Chicago, IL
“Today is felt’s heyday. Its use is almost universal, and its appeal . . . well, its appeal is the appeal the individual is capable of creating. For every display use, there has never been a more versatile material.” —Display World magazine,
Museum Artifact: Barber Chair Footrest (Lower Plate), c. 1920s
Made By: Theo. A. Kochs Company, 659-679 N. Wells Street, Chicago, IL
“Quality is our watchword, and chairs of our manufacture can be depended upon to be as near perfection as is possible. We aim to make only the very best, and economy is never allowed to interfere with the quality of the goods.
Museum Artifacts: Motor Trend magazines (1961-1964), Report of the Warren Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy – Paperback Book (1964), “House Dope” employee magazines (1942-1945)
Made By: W. F. Hall Printing Company, 4600 W. Diversey Ave., Chicago, IL
“A deluge of paper stock, ink, glue, and all other printing supplies and equipment enters the plant of W. F.
Museum Artifact: Marvel 60 Hole Punch, c. 1940s
Made By: Wilson Jones Company, 3300 W. Franklin Blvd., Chicago, IL
Long before any Marvel superhero ever punched a villain, the mighty Marvel Hole Punch was already dispensing its own brand of justice on unsuspecting sheets of binder paper. This lever-operated “paper perforator” was originally designed by Alexander and Chesley Dom of the Samuel C.
Museum Artifact: Webster “Electronic Memory” Wire Recorder, Model 180-1, c. 1949
Made By: Webster-Chicago Corp., aka WebCor, 5622 W. Bloomingdale Ave., Chicago, IL
“The Electronic Memory is truly one of the most useful additions to the modern home. Not only does it afford the never-failing amusement of hearing one’s own voice or dramatic productions, but it is also invaluable for wire-recording outstanding programs and fine music from radio or record discs,
Museum Artifact: Stereoscope w/ “World Series” Stereoview Cards c. 1905
Made By: Kawin & Company, 260-262 Fifth Avenue (850 N. Wells St.), Chicago, IL
“Kawin’s original stereoscope plan has crowded the stores of hundreds of the livest merchants in this great and prosperous country . . . Send us $1.25 and we will send you this genuine aluminum hood crystal lens stereoscope and a set of one hundred beautiful and interesting photo-colored views,
Museum Artifact: Big Beam No. 164 Sealed Beam Beacon Lamp and Big Beam No. 403 F Emergency Lamp, 1950s
Made By: U-C Lite MFG Co., 1050 W. Hubbard St., Chicago, IL
First of all, don’t call it a flashlight. This particular style of life-saving, portable illumination was known as a “hand lamp” (or “hand lantern”), and similar models are still being manufactured today—some of them by the very same company that produced the two mid-century artifacts in our museum collection.
Museum Artifact: Pepsodent Antiseptic Bottle, c. 1930s
Made By: The Pepsodent Co., 6901 W. 65th Street, Chicago, IL
“Pepsodent Mouth Wash kills the stubborn germs in the fastest time it is possible for science to record . . . This remarkable discovery is a new and powerful weapon in fighting germ infections and diseases. It combats instantly the social evil of bad breath.” —Pepsodent Antiseptic advertisement,
Museum Artifact: E-Z Stove Polish Bottle, c. 1910s
Made By: Martin & Martin, 3005 W. Carroll Ave., Chicago, IL
“There are so many things in every home that ‘E-Z’ Polishes will brighten that you will wonder how you ever did without them before. They do it so quickly, so easily, so perfectly, that it’s just like saying ‘Presto-Change-O’ and having the work done for you.” —E-Z Polish advertisement,
Museum Artifact: Industrial Cover Goggles, c. 1950s
Made By: Chicago Eye Shield Company, aka CESCO, 2300 W. Warren Blvd., Chicago, IL
“CESCO’s complete line of head and eye safety equipment always benefits users—prevents injuries, saves lives, saves dollars and earns profits.” —Chicago Eye Shield Company advertisement, 1945
The Chicago Eye Shield Company, aka CESCO, was founded in 1903—the same year the Wright Brothers ushered in the aeronautics age,
Museum Artifact: Kay Stanley’s Model-Craft Molding & Coloring Set No. 3A – “Cowboys and Indians”, c. 1950s
Made By: Model-Craft, Inc., 521 W. Monroe St., Chicago, IL
“Five feet two and weighing 117 pounds, Kay Stanley can be as tough as a truck driver and as charming as a Perle Mesta. At home at any machine in her factory, she is still a charming hostess in her near North Side apartment in Chicago,
Museum Artifact: Dormeyer Orbital Electric Sander, c. 1950s
Made By: The Dormeyer Corporation, 700 North Kingsbury St., Chicago, IL
“Your Dormeyer Sander is so well balanced in design and so light in weight that you can use it for hours without fatigue. Just let the sander do the work!” —Dormeyer Power Tools Instruction Manual, c. 1956
The A. F.
Museum Artifact: Art-O-Lite Reflector Art Lamp, c. 1930s
Made By: American Reflector & Lighting Company, 100 South Jefferson St., Chicago, IL
“There are depths of feeling in every work of art that are lost to the beholder until they are revealed at their full worth with Art-O-Lite Reflectors.” —American Reflector & Lighting Company advertisement, 1923
For a business that spent roughly a century specializing in illumination,
Museum Artifacts: Hammond Solovox Keyboard Model J, Series A (1940s) and Hammond Organ Generator Oil Can (c. 1950s)
Made By: Hammond Organ Co., 2915 N. Western Ave. and 4200 W. Diversey Ave., Chicago, IL
“Smaller than a piano, a midget in comparison with the vast pipe organs of traditional style, yet capable of 253 million different tones; this is the electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond of Chicago.”
Museum Artifact: Boye Rotary Case for Sewing Machine Supplies, c. 1920s
Made By: Boye Needle Company, 4339-4343 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL
“The public knows that where this Case is found, the well-known High Grade ‘Boye’ Needles, Shuttles and Bobbins can be secured.” –Boye Needle Co. advertisement, 1909
One might presume that selling sewing supplies in the early 1900s was a cinch.
Museum Artifact: Dutch Brand Friction Tape Counter Display and Dutch Brand Grinding Compound, c. 1920s
Made By: Van Cleef Bros., Inc., 7800 Woodlawn Ave, Chicago, IL
“This orange and blue package on a dealer’s counter will remind you to buy this useful little servant, DUTCH BRAND Friction Tape. Use it for automobiles, bicycles and electrical work; for home, store or shop; for mending tools,
Museum Artifact: Tinkertoy Wonder Builder Set, c. 1930s
Made By: The Toy Tinkers, Inc., 2012 Ridge Ave., Evanston, IL
“Toys haven’t been considered a ‘regular business’ in the United States until very recent years. We relied on Japan and Europe to supply our children; and, by and large, a very inferior article they supplied. But toys are coming up here in a business way these days,
Museum Artifact: Baby Calculator, c. 1928
Made By: Baby Calculator Sales Co. / Calculator Machine Company, 123 W. Madison St., Chicago, IL
“So simple in operation a child can use it. Every man and woman will find it a boon in business, at home, or anywhere that figures are used for any purpose. You need not be an expert accountant or scholar—let the Baby Calculator do the work—speedily and accurately.”
Museum Artifact: Oh Henry! Candy Bar Box, c. 1950s
Made By: Williamson Candy Company, 4701 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago, IL
Introduced by the Williamson Candy Co. in 1920, the Oh Henry! was the first of Chicago’s holy trinity of chocolate/peanut/caramel candy bars, pre-dating the Baby Ruth (Curtiss Candy Co.) by a year* and Snickers (Mars, Inc.) by a decade.
Museum Artifact: First Edition “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” Illustrated Book by Robert L. May, 1939
Made By: Montgomery Ward & Co., Inc., 758 N. Larrabee Street, Chicago, IL
“Today children all over the world read and hear about the little deer who started out in life as a loser just as I did. But they learn that when he gave himself for others his handicap became the very means through which he achieved happiness.
Museum Artifacts: Chicago Roller Skates w/ White Boots and No. 78 SPL Wheels (c. 1939), Chicago Roller Skates w/ Brown Boots (c. 1945), and Chicago Skates without boots (c. 1920s)
Made By: Chicago Roller Skate Company, 4458 W. Lake St., Chicago, IL
“They used to call him ‘Slow-Poke’ when he had those old-fashioned, slow, hard-rolling skates. But, Oh Boy! On ‘Chicagos’ he whizzes to the lead like a flash.
Museum Artifact: “Blind Dates” Arcade Collector Cards, 1941
Made By: Exhibit Supply Company, 4222-4230 W. Lake Street, Chicago, IL
“One cannot mention the words ‘penny arcade’ without thinking of the Exhibit Supply Company of Chicago. For over twenty-seven years its president, Mr. J. Frank Meyer, has been engaged in his tireless task of advancing the arcade business. Today, the acorn of more than a score of years ago has developed into a giant oak tree and the Exhibit Supply Company has become the symbol of all that is fine in the line of penny arcade machines.” —Bernard Madorsky (Eastern Distributor for Exhibit Supply Co.),
