Museum Artifact: Silver Coffee Pot (Sheridan Plaza Hotel), 1920s
Made by: Albert Pick & Company, 1200 W. 35th Street, Chicago, IL
“The Sheridan-Plaza Hotel Cafeteria operates from 8 o’clock in the morning until 12 o’clock at night and is always busy. The management of the Sheridan-Plaza, having made thorough study of conditions in the surrounding neighborhood, knew that a cafeteria operating all day and night would be a success.
Museum Artifacts: Fidelitone Master and Supreme Phonograph Needles and All-Groove Needle Counter Display, 1950s
Made By: Permo, Inc. / Fidelitone, Inc., 6415 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL
Still in business today and headquartered just an hour north of Chicago in the small town of Wauconda, Illinois (Wauconda Forever!), Fidelitone Inc. is technically the same company that Arthur J. Olsen started way back in 1929,
Museum Artifact: Bambino World’s Fair Baseball Board Game, 1933
Made By: The Bambino Products Co., 103-105 S. Jefferson St., Chicago, IL
George Herman “Babe” Ruth—the Great Bambino—was arguably the most famous person in the United States in 1933. Even in the twilight of his baseball career, at age 38, he was literally and figuratively a larger-than-life character; a celebrity as much as a sportsman.
Museum Artifact: Bit-O-Honey Candy Display Box, c. 1940s
Made by: Schutter Candy Company (Schutter-Johnson Candy Co.), 1013 N. Cicero Ave.
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Sun Volts-Ignition Tester + Sun 504 Distributor Tester Sign, c. 1960s
Made By: Sun Electric Corporation, 6323 N. Avondale Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Gold Eagle Radiator Seal, c. 1940s
Made By: Gold Eagle Products Co., 1050 W. Kinzie Street, Chicago, IL
In the early 1990s, when a lot of Chicago’s remaining “mom and pop” manufacturing businesses were reluctantly cashing in their chips, the family-owned Gold Eagle Company was bucking the trends—50% annual revenue growth, to be specific, with tailwinds into the 21st century.
Museum Artifact: Jensen Alnico Tweeters / Treble Speakers, 1962
Made By: Jensen Manufacturing Company, 6601 S. Laramie Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Candy Cigarettes – Penny Package Wrapper, c. 1920s
Made By: American Licorice Company, 2321 N. Keystone Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Princess Pat Duo-Tone Rouge, c. 1931
Made By: Princess Pat, Ltd., 2709 South Wells Street, Chicago, IL
“She is exquisite, this woman of today. She is frank—too vivid and intense for pretense. She revels in luxury . . . Color, line, softness, she perceives and strives for. She does not fear her mirror.” —excerpt from Princess Pat sales booklet,
Museum Artifact: Admiral Deluxe Table Radio, 1955
Made by: Admiral Corp., 3800 West Cortland Street, Chicago, IL
“Here’s a radio you’ll get a tremendous thrill out of owning! So smart, with its golden-mesh metal grille and dial . . . so contrasting in choice of Ivory, Beige, Green or Mahogany cabinet colors. So low-priced for the performance it gives! This is the new radio you have been looking for!”
Museum Artifact: Knights of Columbus Ceremonial Sword, c. 1930s
Made By: T. C. Gleason MFG Co., 325 W. Madison St., Chicago, IL
A Knights of Columbus sword, as you might presume, is made for symbolic, decorative use—not for combat. That being said, the sword in our collection, likely dating from the 1930s, is just sharp enough—and rusty enough—to at least pose a minor threat of tetanus.
Museum Artifact: Wood Candies 3LB Tin, 1920s
Made By: Wood Candy Co., 930 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifacts: Jinx Cleaner (c. 1920s) and Moth Crystal Vaporizer (c. 1960s)
Made By: Claire MFG Co., 6742 S. Yale Avenue, Chicago, IL
In 1927, Chicago municipal court judge Theodore F. Ehler—presiding during the height of mob warfare and corruption—made headlines for the unusual sentences he started imposing on a less romanticized element of the city’s criminal underbelly: deadbeat husbands.
Rather than sending these sad sacks off to jail,
Museum Artifact: Calumet Baking Powder Tin, c. 1913
Made By: Calumet Baking Powder Co., 4100 W Fillmore St., Chicago, IL
This five-pound canister of Calumet Baking Powder might seem like a cute artifact from a old-timey diner or a small town general store, but make no mistake, you’re looking at a relic from a war . . . the Baking Powder War.
Museum Artifact: No. 45 “Hold Heet” Marcel Waver Curling Iron, c. 1920
Made By: Russell Electric Company, 340 W. Huron Street, Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Lineman’s Pliers, 1942
Made By: M. Klein & Sons / Klein Tools, 3200 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Leaf Spearmint Chewing Gum Stick, c. 1948
Made By: Leaf Gum Company, 1155 N. Cicero Ave., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Werco Tambourine, c. 1960s
Made By: WERCO, aka White Eagle Rawhide MFG Co., 1652 N. Throop St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Vapor-Vacuum Jar Cap Opener, 1950s
Made By: White Cap Company, 1819 N. Major Ave., Chicago, IL
If you want to start a successful business, invent a solution to one of mankind’s great conundrums. If you want to stay in business, be ready to fix all the new problems your solution creates.
Back in 1930, a small Goose Island start-up called the White Cap Company introduced its “Vapor Vacuum” lid sealing system—a revolutionary new steam-based method for preserving the freshness and flavor of bottled commercial foods.
Museum Artifact: Seeburg Music System “Wall-O-Matic” Selector Jukebox, Type W1-L56, c. 1947
Made By: J. P. Seeburg Corp., 1500 N. Dayton St., Chicago, IL
Research is underway on this one and a full write-up will be coming soon.
Museum Artifact: Unopened Dad’s Root Beer “Mama” Bottle, 1960s
Made By: Dad’s Root Beer Co., 2800 N. Talman Avenue, Chicago, IL
“It’s a completely new idea! Genuine draft root beer in bottles!”
When Dad’s Root Beer creators Ely Klapman and Barney Berns rolled out their first big national ad campaign in 1941, they did so with an immediate contradiction in terms—a “completely new” thing was also promoted as the “old fashioned” root beer.
Museum Artifacts: (1) “U.S. Automatic” Pencil Sharpener, 1908; (1) “Giant,” (1) ‘Gem,” (2) “Chicago” (1920s), and (4) “Dexter” sharpeners, 1930s
Made By: Automatic Pencil Sharpener Co. / Spengler-Loomis MFG Co., 58 E. Washington St., Chicago, IL . Factory: 2415 Kishwaukee Street, Rockford, IL.
For many of us, the sight of an old desk-mounted, mechanical pencil sharpener brings back some sensory-charged childhood memories—the thrilling turn of the crank,
Museum Artifact: Bersted Electric Toaster No. 74, c. 1932
Made By: Bersted MFG Co., 5201 W. 65th St., Chicago, IL
The toaster of the future! The toaster for all times! The apex of toasterdom!
Looking like a miniaturized attraction from the “Century of Progress” World’s Fair, this majestic creation by Chicago’s Bersted MFG Company was actually a bargain basement brand for its day;
