Museum Artifact: AMPRO Precision Projector, KS model, c. 1936
Made By: The Ampro Corporation., 2839-51 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL
“Everything that projection engineers could wish to achieve . . . everything that you movie-makers have felt should go into the ideal 16mm mechanism . . . everything you could possibly wish for, is combined in the AMPRO Precision Projector.” —advertisement in Movie Makers magazine,
Museum Artifact: Turtle Wax “Hard Shell Finish” Auto Polish, 1950s
Made By: Plastone Company / Turtle Wax, Inc., 4100 W. Grand Ave. and 1800 N. Clybourn Ave.
On June 4, 1956—just five years after the first bottles of Turtle Wax “Miracle Auto Polish” hit the consumer market—Chicago workmen began installing a new, ludicrously enormous advertisement for the product, situated atop the roof of the Wendell State Bank “Flatiron” Building at the intersection of Madison,
Museum Artifact: Florsheim Ladies Shoes, c. 1940s
Made By: Florsheim Shoe Company, 3963 W. Belmont Ave. and 130 S. Canal Street , Chicago, IL
“I have always attributed our success to three essentials: a good shoe, an efficient organization, and advertising—always keeping in mind that our shoe measured up to everything that we said in our advertising.” —Milton S. Florsheim,
Museum Artifact: Revere 88 Movie Camera and Revere 85 Movie Projector, 1940s
Made By: Revere Camera Company, 320 E. 21st St., Chicago, IL
“The Revere takes the clearest and steadiest home movies you have ever seen. Its advanced design (pocket size), its exclusive automatic film-threading sprocket, five speeds (including slow motion), precision construction, and many other proven features make Revere the outstanding value of 8mm movie cameras.”
Museum Artifact: Johnsons Ice Skates, c. 1960s
Made By: Nestor Johnson MFG Co., 1900 N. Springfield Ave., Chicago, IL
“The first pair of tubular skates made in the United States or Canada were made in Chicago by Nestor Johnson. . . . He made the only really important change in centuries of skate making. From the old flat steel or solid type skate to the All Steel,
Museum Artifact: LMCO Cody Colt Paper Buster Gun, 1950s
Made By: Langson MFG Co., 4200 W. Wrightwood Ave., Chicago, IL
It might have the look and sound of a typical cowboy-themed cap gun from the 1950s, but there’s something a tad different about the LMCO “Cody Colt”—something that helps distinguish Chicago’s Langson Manufacturing Company from most of the competing toy gun manufacturers of its era.
Museum Artifact: Thomas Black Ink Paper Bottle and Price List, 1890s
Made By: L. H. Thomas Co., 7059 N. Clark Street and 921 Fulton Street, Chicago, IL
“In the considerable number of fountain pen inks on the market, none are more strongly intrenched among the trade’s ‘best sellers’ than the packages which bear the Black Cat trade mark of the L.
Museum Artifact: Komic Kamera Film Strip Viewer, 1934
Made By: Allied MFG Co., 1338 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL
Once upon a time, during a fleeting moment of optimism smack dab in the solar plexus of the Great Depression, an 18 year-old kid named Harold B. Shapiro applied for a patent on a device he called a “film exhibitor”—a small bakelite box intended for the “direct viewing of scenic or other picture films .
Museum Artifact: Adlake Truck Lamp, c. 1910s
Made by: Adams & Westlake Co., 320 W. Ohio St. / 319 W. Ontario St., Chicago, IL
Much like one of today’s showbiz power couples, the partnership of Chicago railroad supply magnates John McGregor Adams and William Westlake produced its own linguistic portmanteau in the late 1800s, as the name “ADLAKE” (combining ADams and WestLAKE) soon evolved into their company’s primary identity.
Museum Artifacts: EKCO Miracle Can Opener 885 (c. 1960s) and EKCO Helmet Bottle Stopper (c. 1940s)
Made by: Ekco Products Co., 1949 N. Cicero Ave., Chicago, IL
“We taught your mother a new way to open chicken soup,” read the presumptuous tagline of a 1965 advertisement for the Miracle Can Opener—arguably the most recognizable of the thousands of utensils produced by the EKCO Housewares Company.
Museum Artifact: Metal Roller Skates, 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. ‘Chicagos,’ the Choice of Champions, have established more World’s Records than all others, yet cost less in the long run.
Museum Artifacts: TootsieToy Die-Cast Cars: No. 4655 Ford Model A Coupe and No. 4629 Sedan, c. 1928
Made By: Dowst Brothers / Dowst Manufacturing Co., 4537 W. Fulton St., Chicago, IL
Chicago-based brothers Charles and Samuel Dowst were arguably as foundational to the toy car industry as Henry Ford was to the real thing. It was work on a significantly smaller scale,
Museum Artifact: J. W. Allen Baking Supply Pail, c. 1940s
Made By: J. W. Allen & Co., 110 N. Peoria St., Chicago, IL
“Our building in Chicago has come to be known as the acknowledged ‘Bakers’ Headquarters.’ We carry in stock and ready for immediate delivery practically everything required for the Baking Industry. This assures our customers with dependable service.”—J.
Museum Artifact: Cast-Iron Dog Tray Nut Cracker, 1899
Made By: Harper Supply Co. (40 Dearborn St, Chicago) / Chicago Hardware Foundry Co. (2500 Commonwealth Ave., North Chicago, IL)
“It is a fact that the successful sale of any product is dependent upon the genuineness of the need for which it is manufactured.” —Earl P. Sedgwick, co-founder and president of the Chicago Hardware Foundry Company
While Mr.
Museum Artifacts: CitationBeaver Quality Fedora, c. 1950s, and Mid City Khaki Garrison Cap, 1948
Made By: Citation Hat Corp. / Mid City Uniform Cap Company, 2330 W. Cermak Rd., Chicago, IL
“I hate like hell to praise myself, but at the same time I cannot go away from the truth.” —Harry Lev
In the summer of 1955, Harry “The Hat” Lev—53 year-old owner of the Citation Hat Company,
