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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Chunk would never ....
Chunk would never ....​ or maybe he would. On this penultimate day of Katmai National Park's annual Fat Bear Week, we're sharing a spread from the December 1953 issue of Fury Magazine: Exciting Adventures for Men. Published by Weider Publications in Jersey City, N.J. from October 1954 to May 1961, the magazine was one of many…
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America's first intentionally constructed roller coaster opened on June 16, 1884 ...
America's first intentionally constructed roller coaster opened on June 16, 1884 at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. But Americans looking for thrills prior to that date had two options; travel overseas to the Promenades Aériennes (or, "the Aerial Walk), which became the world's first roller coaster when it opened in Parc Beaujon in Paris…
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On this date in 1956, Dr. Albert Sabin announced ....
On this date, October 6, in 1956, Dr. Abert Sabin announced that a new orally-administered vaccine for polio was ready for worldwide testing. Sabin's vaccine followed the one developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, which completed testing on April 12, 1955, as well as an early vaccine developed by virologist Hilary Koprowski in the late 1940s…
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Today's #WorkerWednesday guests are the 1929 officers and directors of the Westinghouse Athletic Association ...
Today's #WorkerWednesday guests are the 1929 officers and directors of the Westinghouse Athletic Association for the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company's South Philadelphia Works. This photograph was taken by staff photographer Charles Yessel (1877-1953) for publication in the company’s newsletter…
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The DuPont employees in this photograph were part of the company's Lycra production and testing staff ...
The DuPont employees in this photograph were part of the company's Lycra production and testing staff. This ca. 1962 photograph shows Jean Craun (foreground) and Florence Clark as testing Lycra fiber as it came off the production line at the company's Waynesboro plant in Virginia. Photographed for inclusion in the company's magazine, Better Living…
This #MovieMonday clip is a promotion from Kodak Cinegraphs & Kodascope Libraries for 1930s feature films ...
This #MovieMonday clip is a promotion from Kodak Cinegraphs & Kodascope Libraries for 1930s feature films The Early Bird and the Worm, Felix in Hollywood, Easy Street (with Charlie Chaplin), The Night Cry (with Rin-Tin-Tin), and more. It is the second part of a short film that the Eastman Kodak Company made with the Taylor-Wharton…
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This page advertising oral hygiene products is from a 1927 California Perfume Company catalog ...
This page advertising oral hygiene products is from a 1927 California Perfume Company catalog. It is part of Hagley Library's collection of Avon Products, Inc. records (Accession 2155). Avon is one of the oldest direct selling companies in America.  It traces its origins to 1886, when David H. McConnell (1856-1937) bought the…
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Today's #ThirstyThursday entertainment is being provided courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania's Houston Hall ...
Today's #ThirstyThursday entertainment is being provided courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania's Houston Hall. This 1901 sheet music folio documented the music and lyrics to "Drink a Highball", a tribute to the Pennsylvanian, the school's unofficial cocktail. The tune was created by Chicago resident Gustavas Brewster Brigham (…
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We've got a troublesome little visitor with us today ....
We've got a troublesome little visitor with us today; this devil with objects marked 'Secession' and 'Treason' can be found on a ca. 1863 pictorial envelope in Hagley Library's collection of Civil War pictorial envelopes (Accession 1969.064). This collection consists of 141 envelopes with printed cover illustrations from the…
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Today's #TrainTuesday post has us visiting a safety meeting ....
Today's #TrainTuesday post has us visiting a safety meeting (check out those goggles!) for women railroad workers, hosted by the Pennsylvania Railroad in Juniata, Pennsylvania on December 14, 1942. This item is part of Hagley Library's Pennsylvania Railroad negative collection (Accession 1993.300).  Incorporated in 1846, the Pennsylvania…
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Here's to squeezing in those last weekends at the shore while you still can ...
Here's to squeezing in those last weekends at the shore while you still can ... this ca. 1885 photograph shows the family and friends of Lammot du Pont at a seaside streetcar platform in Cape May, New Jersey. This item is part of Hagley Library's collection of P.S. du Pont photographs (Longwood) (Acc. 1969.002), which includes nearly 70…
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It's a whole Friday mood over here, thanks to this ca. 1939 ...
It's a whole Friday mood over here, thanks to this ca. 1939 pamphlet for Canada Dry Ginger Ale. This illustrated pamphlet, which also features advertising for the 1939 New York World's Fair, is call number Pam 2000.190 in Hagley Library's collection of pamphlets and trade catalogs.
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We're ready for Fall, are you?
We're ready for Fall, are you? Let's usher in the change of seasons on this first day of Autumn with the cover of Italian designer Leonardo Strassi's menswear catalog for Fall 1966. Featuring knitwear "sizzling with sales appeal and advertising power", the Strassi brand was a trademark and brand of Colfax Industries. This catalog also served to…
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This #WWIIWednesday, we're sharing a poster from the Seagram Company ...
This #WWIIWednesday, we're sharing a poster from the Seagram Company. This ca. 1942 poster was published by the Distillers Corporation-Seagrams Ltd. as part of its contribution to the National Victory Effort.  The poster is generally attributed to Seymour Rinaldo Goff (1904-1992), Seagrams' art director, working under the artistic pseudonym…
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RCA head David Sarnoff had high hopes for his company's investment in television technology ...
RCA head David Sarnoff had high hopes for his company's investment in television technology. This ca. 1949 pamphlet from RCA described the new technology's potential as an educational tool. This #TechTuesday pamphlet is part of the 'Brochures and pamphlets, 1923-1988' series of Hagley Library's collection of RCA publications (Accession 2464.82).…
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On this date, September 19, in 1876 ....
On this date, September 19, in 1876 Melville Reuben Bissell (1843-1889) received U.S. patent No. 182,346 for "certain new and useful Improvements in Carpet-Sweepers". Bissell's improvements were born of necessity; he and his wife Anna operated a crockery shop and manufactory in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Anna's…