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- Trade Card for Swift and Company, Packers, at the World's Columbian Exposition, 1893 - 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.
- 1893
- Collections - Artifact
Trade Card for Swift and Company, Packers, at the World's Columbian Exposition, 1893
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.
- Ford V-8 Truck with Air Conditioning Unit near Refrigerated Railcar, 1936 - Ford Motor Company promoted the versatility of its trucks with this 1936 photograph. It shows a Ford truck chassis fitted with a mobile air conditioning unit. The unit is being used to keep produce cool inside a refrigerated railcar. Most railcars in this era still relied on ice to cool their contents. Mechanically refrigerated railcars weren't common until the 1950s.
- July 23, 1936
- Collections - Artifact
Ford V-8 Truck with Air Conditioning Unit near Refrigerated Railcar, 1936
Ford Motor Company promoted the versatility of its trucks with this 1936 photograph. It shows a Ford truck chassis fitted with a mobile air conditioning unit. The unit is being used to keep produce cool inside a refrigerated railcar. Most railcars in this era still relied on ice to cool their contents. Mechanically refrigerated railcars weren't common until the 1950s.
- 1924 Railroad Refrigerator Car, Used by Fruit Growers Express - Modern refrigerated rail cars have mechanical cooling units, but well into the 20th century, ice cooled refrigerator cars like this one. Since 45-55 pounds of ice melted each hour, icing stations had to be located at regular intervals along the route, and adherence to strict schedules was necessary to prevent spoilage. The ability to ship meats and produce in refrigerator cars, far from their points of origin, greatly expanded both farmers' markets, and consumers' food choices.
- March 01, 1924
- Collections - Artifact
1924 Railroad Refrigerator Car, Used by Fruit Growers Express
Modern refrigerated rail cars have mechanical cooling units, but well into the 20th century, ice cooled refrigerator cars like this one. Since 45-55 pounds of ice melted each hour, icing stations had to be located at regular intervals along the route, and adherence to strict schedules was necessary to prevent spoilage. The ability to ship meats and produce in refrigerator cars, far from their points of origin, greatly expanded both farmers' markets, and consumers' food choices.
- Loading Bananas from Refrigerated Railcar M.D.T. 5371 to a Ford V-8 Stake Truck, 1934 - Ford's 1934 trucks were only slightly changed in appearance from the previous model year, though the blue oval logo was added to the side of the hood. The stake body version was particularly versatile. The racks were removable to ease loading or accommodate oversized cargo. The boxcar pictured here belonged to Merchants Despatch Transportation Company, which operated some 12,000 refrigerated railcars.
- December 08, 1934
- Collections - Artifact
Loading Bananas from Refrigerated Railcar M.D.T. 5371 to a Ford V-8 Stake Truck, 1934
Ford's 1934 trucks were only slightly changed in appearance from the previous model year, though the blue oval logo was added to the side of the hood. The stake body version was particularly versatile. The racks were removable to ease loading or accommodate oversized cargo. The boxcar pictured here belonged to Merchants Despatch Transportation Company, which operated some 12,000 refrigerated railcars.