The Hagley Vault

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

September 24, 2021
Image of Fall foliage and a woman's hand gesturing to red lipsticks. Color photo and illustration.

It’s the first #FallFriday of the year, and as the workweek wraps up, I’ve got my mind on sweater weather, leaf-peeping hikes, and spicy hot chocolate (that’s when there’s whisky in it). What are you looking forward to this Autumn?


In honor of the equinox, here’s an Avon Outlook cover advertising the company’s September 1954 ‘Scarlet Leaves’ Fall makeup campaign. Avon Outlook was a serial publication distributed to Avon sales representatives that contained motivational essays, updates on new and discontinued product lines, and instructional materials.

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Archive

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

Image of Fall foliage and a woman's hand gesturing to red lipsticks. Color photo and illustration.
Friday, September 24, 2021
It’s the first #FallFriday of the year ...
It’s the first #FallFriday of the year, and as the workweek wraps up, I’ve got my mind on sweater weather, leaf-peeping hikes, and spicy hot chocolate (that’s when there’s whisky in it). What are you looking forward to this Autumn? In honor of the equinox, here’s an Avon Outlook cover advertising the company’s September 1954 ‘Scarlet Leaves’ Fall...
Black and white image of a woman modeling nylon stockings in an exhibit at the New York World's Fair
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Du Pont has the best leg show at the fair ...
“Du Pont has the best leg show at the fair," according, at least, to one newspaper account reporting on Miss Chemistry's modeling of nylon stockings at the New York World's Fair in 1939. The photograph seen here is accompanied by a note from E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company’s Public Relations Department. The note reads “Yarn for demonstration...
Black and white lantern slide showing lantern slide workers in the Imperial Chinese mint
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
We’re traveling further than usual for today’s #WorkerWednesday ...
We’re traveling further than usual for today’s #WorkerWednesday post. This ca. 1900 lantern slide shows workers in the Imperial Chinese mint, located in Chengdu in the country’s Sichuan Province. The photographer, however, is a bit closer to home. Henry A. Janvier was an employee of the Ferracute Machine Company of Bridgeton, New Jersey, a press...
Black and white image of two autogyros flying over a cityscape.
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
I'd like to send this letter to the Prussian Consulate in Siam ...
I'd like to send this letter to the Prussian Consulate in Siam by aeromail. Am I too late for the 4:30 auto-gyro?* This image of an autogiro, photographed by the Aero Service Corporation around 1935, was used by the Chamber of Commerce of the United States for publication in Nation’s Business. The Chamber, a private lobbying group representing...
Image featuring an illustration of a couple embracing in front of an audience, lit by spotlights.
Monday, September 20, 2021
Oh my stars! On this date in 1859 .....
Oh my stars! On this date in 1859, Washington, D.C. inventor George B. Simpson received U.S. patent #25532 for his "electroheater". The world's first patented electric range was battery-operated and could be used to (in Simpson's own words) “warm rooms, boil water, cook victuals…". If you'd like to celebrate Simpson's invention along with us, why...
Black and white image of a man in a coat and top hat, seated in a booth exhibiting the works of the Hoopes Brothers & Darlington company.
Friday, September 17, 2021
We're feeling rather dapper this #FashionFriday ....
We're feeling rather dapper this #FashionFriday, thanks to a visit from Hoopes Brothers & Darlington company superintendent J.W. Bates. Bates is seated in the company's exhibit for the West Chester, Pennsylvania sesquicentennial celebration, held September 25 to October 2, 1949. The Hoopes Brothers & Darlington company exhibit was part of...
Illustrated cover for a patent medicine pamphlet
Thursday, September 16, 2021
Cocaine was first used as a local anesthetic on this date in 1884 ...
Cocaine was first used publicly as a local anesthetic on this date, September 16, in 1884 by the Austrian ophthalmologist Karl Koller (1857-1944). The surgical demonstration, conducted in front of peers in the medical community, ushered in a new era of surgical possibilities and his discovery was also adopted by professionals in the fields of nose...
Black and white image of two workers with bleaching machines at Joseph Bancroft & Sons Co. mill
Wednesday, September 15, 2021
This #WorkerWednesday excursion brings us to the floor of a textile mill ...
This #WorkerWednesday excursion brings us to the floor of a textile mill, where these employees of the Joseph Bancroft & Sons Company were photographed with alongside the company's bleaching machines. This photograph was probably taken around 1890. The company's namesake, Joseph Bancroft (1803-1874) began manufacturing cotton cloth using ...
Black and white, 3/4 view of a railroad box car. Stenciling on side reads "Cushioned car".
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
We've chosen this 1963 negative for today's #TrainTuesday post ....
We've chosen this 1963 negative for today's #TrainTuesday post because, well, who doesn't love a well-cushioned caboose? (yes, I know this isn't a caboose, don't @ me). This X56 box car was photographed on January 4, 1963. The negative is part of Hagley Library's Pennsylvania Railroad negative collection (Accession 1993.300). Incorporated in 1846...
Black and white image of children lined up at a table, in front of an audience, for a pie eating contest.
Monday, September 13, 2021
Here's a little fun for a Monday morning ....
Here's a little fun for a Monday morning .... this photograph of a children's pie eating contest was taken on this date, September 13, in 1919. The contest was a part of a company picnic hosted by the South Philadelphia Works of the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company. The picnic, documented by staff photographer Charles Yessel (...
Black and white image of a fitness room with workout equipment on board the S.S. Lurline.
Friday, September 10, 2021
We're feeling the burn this #FitnessFriday ....
We're feeling the burn this #FitnessFriday, but we're at least doing it in style. This ca. 1932 photograph of exercise equipment was taken in the fitness room of the SS Lurline, a luxury ocean liner built for the Matson Navigation Company's cruise lines running from the West Coast of the United States to destinations in Hawaii and Australasia. The...
Colorized postcard of Hollywood Boulevard, California.
Thursday, September 9, 2021
Happy birthday, California!
Happy birthday, California! America's Golden State was admitted to the Union as the 31st state on this date, September 9, in 1850. This ca. 1940s postcard from the Longshaw Card Company of Los Angeles shows a view of Hollywood Boulevard. The reverse of the card reads "The celebrated street of gala premieres, world fashions, movie stars and extras...
Black and white image of workers on assembly line in wheel factory
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
Today's #WorkerWednesday post ....
Today's #WorkerWednesday post is of workers on assembly line in a Budd Company wheel factory in 1918. The company was a manufacturer of steel automobiles, passenger rail cars, and other transportation products. Founded in 1912 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company, the manufacturer began its life as a...
Black and white image of three young people in their late teens; two young men and a woman.
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
We've been seeing a lot of back to school photos ....
We've been seeing a lot of back to school photos in our personal social media feeds, and decided to participate in the trend. No kids? No problem! Our collections are our babies! Today's Hagley Vault photo features a ca. 1900 image of three students of  Wilmington, Delaware's Alexis I. du Pont School; Alfred Mathewson, left, and siblings Annie and...
Black and white image of two people attending a ship launching.
Friday, September 3, 2021
The Hagley Library will be closed on Monday ...
The Hagley Library will be closed on Monday, September 6, 2021, for the Labor Day holiday. But we’re open today, and we’re sharing a Labor Day celebration from 1918. This photograph shows a launching party for the tanker ship SS Brandywine on Labor Day at a Gloucester, N.J. shipyard. The 7,000 ton SS Brandywine was built by the Pennsylvania...
Black and white image of a woman painting a refrigerator
Thursday, September 2, 2021
Hagley Museum & Library is closed today ....
Hagley Museum & Library is closed today due to some storm-related flooding on the property, giving our staff an unexpected opportunity for some #ThursDIY home projects. I don't think this one will be high on anyone's list, though. This 1952 photograph of a woman painting a refrigerator was created for DuPont. Text accompanying the image reads...

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