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- Trade Card for "Wool Soap," Raworth, Schodde & Co., 1885-1895 - In the last third of the nineteenth century, an unprecedented variety of consumer goods and services flooded the American market. Advertisers, armed with new methods of color printing, bombarded potential customers with trade cards. Americans enjoyed and often saved the vibrant little advertisements found in product packages or distributed by local merchants. Many survive as historical records of commercialism in the United States.
- 1885-1895
- Collections - Artifact
Trade Card for "Wool Soap," Raworth, Schodde & Co., 1885-1895
In the last third of the nineteenth century, an unprecedented variety of consumer goods and services flooded the American market. Advertisers, armed with new methods of color printing, bombarded potential customers with trade cards. Americans enjoyed and often saved the vibrant little advertisements found in product packages or distributed by local merchants. Many survive as historical records of commercialism in the United States.
- Sunbeam Electric Iron Box, Used by the Harvey S. Firestone Family, circa 1932 -
- circa 1932
- Collections - Artifact
Sunbeam Electric Iron Box, Used by the Harvey S. Firestone Family, circa 1932
- "Meter-Ice" Coin Operated Refrigerator Meter, 1935-1945 -
- 1935-1945
- Collections - Artifact
"Meter-Ice" Coin Operated Refrigerator Meter, 1935-1945
- Edison No. 1 Mimeograph, 1887 - Thomas Edison received a patent in 1876 for "Autographic Printing," covering the electric pen and flatbed press; a patent for "Autographic Stencils" followed in 1880. The mimeograph was invented by Albert Blake Dick in 1887, who licensed and refined Edison's patents. This low-cost, stencil-based printing technology was popular until displaced by photocopying machines and offset printing in the 1960s.
- 1887
- Collections - Artifact
Edison No. 1 Mimeograph, 1887
Thomas Edison received a patent in 1876 for "Autographic Printing," covering the electric pen and flatbed press; a patent for "Autographic Stencils" followed in 1880. The mimeograph was invented by Albert Blake Dick in 1887, who licensed and refined Edison's patents. This low-cost, stencil-based printing technology was popular until displaced by photocopying machines and offset printing in the 1960s.
- Life Magazine for December 19, 1960, "The Kennedys and Their Son at Christening" - Americans were enchanted by the young John F. Kennedy family and they wanted to know more, always more. Photographs of any members of the Kennedy family sold magazines but the kids often stole the show. This <em>Life</em> magazine cover story featured the christening of John F. Kennedy, Jr., born November 25, 1960, just weeks after his father's presidential election.
- December 19, 1960
- Collections - Artifact
Life Magazine for December 19, 1960, "The Kennedys and Their Son at Christening"
Americans were enchanted by the young John F. Kennedy family and they wanted to know more, always more. Photographs of any members of the Kennedy family sold magazines but the kids often stole the show. This Life magazine cover story featured the christening of John F. Kennedy, Jr., born November 25, 1960, just weeks after his father's presidential election.
- Player Piano, 1910-1920 - Player pianos enjoyed enormous success from the 1890s through the 1920s. During this time, over 2 1/2 million were sold to Americans eager to have piano music at home -- without having to spend many hours in practice. Coin-operated versions, like this Seeburg Company model, provided patrons with the latest music in public establishments during the early 20th century.
- 1910-1920
- Collections - Artifact
Player Piano, 1910-1920
Player pianos enjoyed enormous success from the 1890s through the 1920s. During this time, over 2 1/2 million were sold to Americans eager to have piano music at home -- without having to spend many hours in practice. Coin-operated versions, like this Seeburg Company model, provided patrons with the latest music in public establishments during the early 20th century.
- Zenith "My Radio" Pendant Transistor Radio, circa 1970 - The size of radios shrank following the advent of transistor technology. Even the smallest vacuum tubes were bulky, and their power consumption ensured the need for large batteries. Transistor radios made of lightweight plastics were cheap and truly portable. With the addition of an earphone a radio such as this allowed the listener to enjoy a completely personal listening experience.
- circa 1970
- Collections - Artifact
Zenith "My Radio" Pendant Transistor Radio, circa 1970
The size of radios shrank following the advent of transistor technology. Even the smallest vacuum tubes were bulky, and their power consumption ensured the need for large batteries. Transistor radios made of lightweight plastics were cheap and truly portable. With the addition of an earphone a radio such as this allowed the listener to enjoy a completely personal listening experience.
- Autographed Portrait of John Wilkes Booth, circa 1860 - Well-known actor John Wilkes Booth--better remembered for the 1865 assassination of President Abraham Lincoln--posed for this carte-de-visite in a professional photographer's studio around 1860. Cartes-de-visite, small photographic prints on cardboard stock, remained popular from the Civil War in the 1860s through the 1880s. Americans commonly collected and exchanged them to commemorate family members or celebrities.
- circa 1860
- Collections - Artifact
Autographed Portrait of John Wilkes Booth, circa 1860
Well-known actor John Wilkes Booth--better remembered for the 1865 assassination of President Abraham Lincoln--posed for this carte-de-visite in a professional photographer's studio around 1860. Cartes-de-visite, small photographic prints on cardboard stock, remained popular from the Civil War in the 1860s through the 1880s. Americans commonly collected and exchanged them to commemorate family members or celebrities.
- "Covered Bridge, West Brattleboro, Vt., in the Green Mountains," July 1952 - Covered bridges were built across the United States throughout the 19th and into the early 20th centuries. Bridges provided important commercial and community connections, but constructing them required careful planning and a substantial investment of time, labor, and materials. Walls and a roof helped preserve these valuable structures by protecting the truss system and keeping structural timbers dry.
- July 22, 1952
- Collections - Artifact
"Covered Bridge, West Brattleboro, Vt., in the Green Mountains," July 1952
Covered bridges were built across the United States throughout the 19th and into the early 20th centuries. Bridges provided important commercial and community connections, but constructing them required careful planning and a substantial investment of time, labor, and materials. Walls and a roof helped preserve these valuable structures by protecting the truss system and keeping structural timbers dry.
- Postcard, "Albertson Public Library, Orlando, Fla., 'The City Beautiful'," 1938 - Until the 20th century, most book collections were not available to everyday Americans. They were either privately owned, accessible only by paid subscription, or stored away haphazardly. Free public libraries began to spread in the early 1900s. For communities able to fund them, public library buildings -- usually among the most imposing structures in town -- became sources of civic pride.
- 1938
- Collections - Artifact
Postcard, "Albertson Public Library, Orlando, Fla., 'The City Beautiful'," 1938
Until the 20th century, most book collections were not available to everyday Americans. They were either privately owned, accessible only by paid subscription, or stored away haphazardly. Free public libraries began to spread in the early 1900s. For communities able to fund them, public library buildings -- usually among the most imposing structures in town -- became sources of civic pride.