The Hagley Vault

Selections from Hagley Museum and Library's archives and published collections on the history of American business, technology, and innovation.

Archive

For posts prior to October 2020, visit the Hagley Vault on Tumblr.

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Today's #WorkerWednesday is a work in progress ...
Today's #WorkerWednesday is a work in progress. This 1917 negative of from the Pennsylvania Railroad is titled "Apprentice school boys at work in test department". It was taken in the Pennsylvania Railroad's Altoona Works, a large railroad complex that began construction in 1950 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and which built and repaired rolling stock…
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We're traveling on the electronic highway of the future ....
We're traveling on the electronic highway of the future to bring you a #TravelTuesday #TechTuesday pile-up! This photograph, taken on November 20, 1963 shows a model electronic highway from RCA Laboratories being tested by employee Robert E. Morey. It is part of the Hagley Library's collection of David Sarnoff Research Center records (Accession…
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Ahoy! It's #MaritimeMonday ...
Ahoy! It's #MaritimeMonday, and we're checking in from what looks like a communications center on board the S.S. Malolo, a cruise ship built by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia in 1926 for the Matson Navigation Company's Matson Line. The Matson Line offered what William P. Roth, president of Matson Navigation Company, called "tourists with…
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The child is right, let's all have some chips ...
The child is right, let's all have some chips this #FoodieFriday. This 1953 advertisement for DuPont is a tear sheet from The Saturday Evening Post. It is part of Hagley Library’s collection of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company Advertising Department records (Accession 1803).  As DuPont began to diversify its product line beyond…
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Today's #WorkerWednesday is a real blast ....
Today's #WorkerWednesday is a real blast! The women in this ca. 1918 photograph are employees of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company's Brandywine Mills, and are taping and sealing tin containers for rings for 3-inch Stokes Trench Mortar for military use in World War I. This photograph is part of Hagley Library's collection of DuPont Company…
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Rolling stock, coming through ....
Rolling stock, coming through for #TrainTuesday! This photograph of John Deere corn shuckers loaded on freight cars in Minneapolis, Minnesota was taken in September 1939 by John Vachon (1914–1975) for the Farm Security Administration. This item is part of Hagley Library’s collection of Chamber of Commerce of the United States photographs and…
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On this date in 1898 ...
On this date, August 16, in 1898, the first U.S. patent for a vertical loop roller coaster was issued to Edwin Prescott (1841-1931), an inventor and mechanic from Arlington, Massachusetts. Prescott’s Loop the Loop coaster, a dual-tracked steel roller coaster, was installed at Coney Island, New York from 1901 to 1910. In recognition of the date, we…
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Here's a Mid-century modern #FashionFriday for the fellas ....
Here's a Mid-century modern #FashionFriday for the fellas in the audience. This constellation print cabana set by Robert Bruce seen here was photographed in 1959 for the Joseph Bancroft & Sons Company. This item is part of the Hagley Library’s Joseph Bancroft & Sons Co. Miss America photographs (Accession 1972.430) collection.…
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On this date, August 12, in 1851 ....
On this date, August 12, in 1851, Isaac Merritt Singer (1811-1875) obtained US Patent number 8294 for his improvements to a sewing machine based on a model designed by John A. Lerow and Sherburne C. Blodgett. Singer wasn't the first to invent the sewing machine - various models had been proposed and manufactured by others as early as 1755. But…
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Today's #WorkerWednesday takes us to the grounds of ....
Today's #WorkerWednesday takes us to the grounds of the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company's South Philadelphia Works in Lester, Pennsylvania. This photograph of a worker operating a horse-drawn lawn mower was taken by staff photographer Charles Yessel (1877-1953) on May 11, 1920 for publication in the company’s newspaper, Machine…
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Just where do you think you're going ...
Just where do you think you're going ... and do you need help packing? If you do, maybe this 1953 pamphlet from Carol Lane, the women's travel director of Shell Oil can help make your #TravelTuesday a little easier. The Vacation Dress-O-Graph pamphlet presented the traveling woman of the 1950s "a practical guide for a packable, versatile two-week…
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August 9th is ....
August 9th is National Book Lovers' Day! This unofficial holiday was first celebrated in the 1980s on the first Saturday in November, but shifted to today's date in the mid-1990s (though some people insist on observing both dates, and we're totally ok with that!). This ca. 1900 glass negative image of a reading woman is part of the Hagley Library…
The first Friday in August ...
The first Friday in August is International Beer Day, and has been since 2008. Unlike most of the internet holidays that get posted here, this one was not founded by a trade association or industry group, but by an individual, Jesse Avshalomov, with a professional background in marketing. The holiday was then adopted and popularized by local bars…
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Here's a photograph that's absolutely ....
Here's a photograph that's absolutely .... riveting (I know, I'm sorry). This photograph was taken on this date, August 5th, in 1924 at a Budd Company factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company was a manufacturer of steel automobiles, passenger rail cars, and other transportation products. Founded in 1912 as the Edward G. Budd…
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Today's #WorkerWednesday is a real pick-me-up ...
Today's #WorkerWednesday is a real pick-me-up ... this group photograph of the workers of the Otis Elevator Company's employee "beanfest" was taken on this date, August 4, in 1906 in London, England. The Otis Elevator Company (now the Otis Worldwide Corporation) was founded by Elisha Otis (1811-1861) in New York City in 1853; its commercial…
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Today appears to be National Watermelon Day!
Today appears to be National Watermelon Day! This observance was initiated by (surprise!) the National Watermelon Growers & Distributors Association in the early 1980s, with the first official celebration occurring on July 30, 1985, when then Agriculture Secretary John R. Block gave the holiday its official designation in Washington, D.C. In…