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.

islandora_2602618_JPG.jpg
It's hot out there! That's why we're staying cool this week ...
It's hot out there! That's why we're staying cool this week with the Standard Air Conditioning company, who presented this trade show exhibition booth of air conditioning units for the National Electrical and Radio Exposition in New York City in September, 1934.   This photograph is part of Hagley Library's National Electrical…
islandora_2647032_JPG.jpg
This image of a ca. 1974 LSI micro processor from the RCA Corporation's Solid State Division is being posted today in honor of ...
This image of a ca. 1974 LSI micro processor from the RCA Corporation's Solid State Division is being posted today in honor of the computer scientist, electrical engineer, pioneer of microelectronics chip design, and activist Lynn Ann Conway (1938-2024), who died last week at the age of 86. While working for IBM in the 1960s, Conway invented …
Memeger_053.jpg
This week in the Hagley Vault, we're remembering Dr. Wesley Memeger Jr. ...
This week in the Hagley Vault, we're remembering Dr. Wesley Memeger Jr., who left us last month. When Dr. Wesley Memeger Jr. started at DuPont in 1964, he was only the fourth African American with a doctorate in chemistry to join the company. This DuPont recruitment poster features Memeger at the lower right. Over the course of…
AVD_1969002_047_021.jpg
Summer is just around the corner! We're starting our June ...
Summer is just around the corner! We're starting our June with a ca. 1887 glass plate image from Cape May, New Jersey. This item is part of the Hagley Library’s P.S. du Pont photographs (Longwood) collection (Accession 1969.002), and comes from a series of photographs associated with the summer home of Lammot du Pont (1831-1884) and family.…
2013201_005.jpg
What we now celebrate as Memorial Day began after the Civil War as Decoration Day ...
What we now celebrate as Memorial Day officially began on May 30, 1868 as Decoration Day, a day of remembrance which helped Americans to grieve the soldiers who had lost their lives in the line of duty during the four-year war. The first formal observance followed years of informal commemorations; some records indicate that the…
TC_B64751908.jpg
Like the old joke says, "how do you know if a man who travels has opinions of the Blickensderfer as a traveling companion?"
Like the old joke says, "how do you know if a man who travels has opinions of the Blickensderfer as a traveling companion?" Don't worry, he'll tell you! This 1908 catalog for portable typewriters from the Blickensderfer Manufacturing Company is part of Hagley Library's Donald & Carolyn Hoke Typewriter Advertising and Ephemera…
TC_08062468_01.jpg
In need of some hats that capture boyhood's fancy? You're in luck this week ...
In need of some hats that capture boyhood's fancy? You're in luck this week, as we've just added this 1923 catalog from the Strawbridge & Clothier department store to Hagley Library's Digital Archives. Strawbridge & Clothier was founded by Justus C. Strawbridge (1838-1911) and Isaac H. Clothier (1837-1921) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It…
islandora_2320365_JPG.jpg
Don't forget about the moms in your life this Sunday!
Don't forget about the moms in your life this Sunday! We're getting an early jump on Mother's Day today with this photograph of pilot Elinor Smith and her mom, Elinor Regina Patricia Ward, captured by Acme Newspictures on April 25, 1931. By the time this photograph was taken, Smith's accomplishments were extensive enough to make any mother proud.…
HF_R009_2_027.jpg
It's shaping up to be a beautiful day on the grounds of Hagley Museum and Library ...
It's shaping up to be a beautiful day on the grounds of Hagley Museum and Library. While some of us may be stuck inside today, here are some locals with the right idea. This photograph of people canoeing and swimming in the Brandywine Creek is undated, but was probably taken between 1890 and 1920. It is part of our collection of DuPont Company…
TC_08051884_1924_005.jpg
Spring is springing up new growth everywhere we look ...
Spring is springing up new growth everywhere we look, so we're welcoming the return of gardening season with these "three luscious tomatoes", sourced from the 1924 issue of Burpee’s Farm Annual (also known as Burpee’s Annual, Burpee’s Annual Garden Book, Burpee’s Seeds, and Burpee Gardens), published by W. Atlee…
islandora_2106114_JPG.jpg
Here's a little reminder that today is your last day to get those income taxes filed.
Here's a little reminder that today is your last day to get those income taxes filed. This photograph, taken in Elmont, Long Island on May 2, 1938, shows Rose Moline "saving a penny" by purchasing cigarettes just outside the New York City county line. On May 1st, the city instituted a sales tax on cigarettes that prompted many of the city's…
TC_08062448-1.jpg
Believe it or not, the life of an archivist isn't always glamorous ...
Believe it or not, the life of an archivist isn't always glamorous. When we're not discovering long-lost folios that change everything, retrieving and/or stealing the Constitution, or removing our glasses to reveal that we've been beautiful this whole time, we're often doing something boring, like generating rows and rows of metadata for old…
islandora_2344524_JPG.jpg
We're celebrating April Fools' Day this week with a ca. 1975 image of bouncing rubber novelty checks ....
We're celebrating April Fools' Day this week with a ca. 1975 image of bouncing rubber novelty checks from Hagley Library's Marc Harrison photograph collection (Accession 2005.255). While these "safe checks" document a silly side to the industrial designer, Harrison is better known as a pioneer of Universal Design. The design philosophy…
RadioElectronics1954-07back.jpg
This week marks a big moment in television history ....
This week marks a big moment in television history - after many years of experimentation and promises, on March 25, 1954, RCA announced that it had begun producing color televisions sets out of its manufacturing plant in Bloomington, Indiana. RCA's CT-100 featured a 15-inch screen and retailed for $1,000, making it a cheaper, though still very…
TC_W8891930.jpg
Saint Patrick's Day has come and gone, but good fortune may still await ...
Saint Patrick's Day has come and gone, but good fortune may still await those that missed out on the luck of the Irish this year. This ca. 1930 novelty mail order catalog from the R.E. Woods Company offered buyers a range of religious articles as well as lucky talismans, tchotchkes, and tokens. This item is call number W889 1930 in Hagley Library…
islandora_2365687_MEDIUM_SIZE.jpg
This image of a woman working in the Pennsylvania Railroad's tin shop was scanned from a negative created 105 years ago this week ...
This image of a woman working in the Pennsylvania Railroad's tin shop was scanned from a negative created 105 years ago this week, on March 11, 1919. The negative is part of Hagley's Pennsylvania Railroad negative collection (Accession 1993.300). Incorporated in 1846, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company became the largest railroad in…