The Hagley Vault

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

September 25, 2023
Large architectural arch covered in various guns, inside a large convention center.

We're making a visit today to this display booth by Francis Bannerman Sons, Inc. at a ca. 1910 exhibition at Madison Square Garden. For three generations of Bannermans, the company was a major purveyor of military goods to sportsmen and collectors in New York City.


The firm was founded in October 1872 by Francis Bannerman (1851-1918) and his wife Nellie Boyce Bannerman as an offshoot of his family's ship chandlery and military salvage business located near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. By 1880, Francis was selling mostly government surplus arms and military supplies. Around 1890, he acquired the Spencer Arms Company, manufacturers of a repeating shotgun.

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Archive

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

Cover of a pamphlet titled "Television: The New Teacher". Background photos of children.
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
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)....
Pamphlet titled "The Home Sanitary" with a color illustration of a home and yard
Monday, September 19, 2022
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 health had been deteriorating as a...
Pamphlet titled "Man-Pleaser Salads" with an illustration of a gelatin mold salad
Friday, September 16, 2022
It's a #FoodieFriday for the fellas ...
It's a #FoodieFriday for the fellas, thanks to the Charles B. Knox Gelatine Company. This 1938 pamphlet, Man-Pleaser Salads from the Knox Gelatine Kitchens, offered up masculine moulded gelatin dishes like the "Home Run Salad", "Savory Supper Salad", and "Molded Salmon Salad", along with salad dressings and desserts. This pamphlet is call number...
Comic book cover illustration; an alarmed family and a girl weeping into her father's chest.
Thursday, September 15, 2022
(Spoiler alert) The crisis is shoes ....
(Spoiler alert) The crisis is shoes. They all have shoes, but they would like to have more shoes. The Carsons need to toughen up. This 1958 promotional comic book was created by the Melville Shoe Corporation to promote their brand line of Thom McAn shoes and shoe stores, which the company purchased from founders Ward Melville and J. Franklin...
Black and white posed group portrait of six woman and a man in 1920s clothing.
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
These women meant business - I wouldn't want to run into them in a dark (bowling) alley....
These women meant business - I wouldn't want to run into them in a dark (bowling) alley. This #WorkerWednesday, we're sharing a photo of the Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co.'s South Philadelphia Work's 1924 champion ladies bowling team.  This photograph was taken on May 2, 1924 by staff photographer Charles Yessel (1877-1953) for publication...
Black and white photograph of a man operating a radio console while surrounded by dancers in motion.
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
Here's a #TechTuesday post to get your morning moving ...
Here's a #TechTuesday post to get your morning moving - this January 13, 1925 photograph shows New York City dance instructor Theodore Creo using a FADA radio receiver to guide his students through a class on classical and stage dancing. This photograph was taken by the New York City firm of Underwood & Underwood, a popular publisher of...
Pamphlet titled "Words of Wisdom from the Speed Kings". Photo cover shows a car race.
Monday, September 12, 2022
We're offering up some words of wisdom to start off the week this #MotorMonday ...
We're offering up some words of wisdom to start off the week this #MotorMonday. This 1916 pamphlet from the Joseph Dixon Crucible Company featured testimonials from the era's leading racecar drivers praising the company's graphite automobile lubricants. This pamphlet is call number PAM 2016.1167 in our collections and part of Hagley Library's...
Black and white image of a woman in a beach ensemble with a teal and red color swatch attached.
Friday, September 9, 2022
Today's #FashionFriday brings us a beach ensemble ....
Today's #FashionFriday brings us a beach ensemble. This jaunty look was designed by Balboa using Joseph Bancroft & Sons Co. Everglaze Minicare fabric in a print by Textile Corp. of America, with an attached fabric sample. This 1956 photograph is from Hagley Library's Joseph Bancroft and Sons Company, Miss America collection (Accession 1972.430...
Cover of DuPont Magazine showing a close-up of a child examining a computer chip.
Thursday, September 8, 2022
Today marks the birthdate of Ida Henrietta Hyde ...
Today marks the birthdate of Ida Henrietta Hyde (1857-1945), born on September 8th, 1857. Hyde was an American physiologist who invented the first micro-electrode that was small enough to work at the cellular level, but powerful enough to effectively stimulate animal tissue. Her invention, developed over the course of the 1920s and 1930s was the...
Cover of a comic book titled A better life for you! Illustration shows a suburban family in a yard.
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Today's post brings A Better Life for you (yes, you!)....
Today's post brings A Better Life for you (yes, you!). This ca. 1955 comic book was produced by the Information Comics division of Harvey Comics to promote the adoption of automation of labor in America's manufacturing industries. This item is Pam 2018.0218 in Hagley Library’s pamphlets collection. It has been digitized along with other similar...
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Having feelings about the end of a long holiday weekend? We're here to help ...
Having feelings about the end of a long holiday weekend? We're here to help. This clip is from the 1950 film "Get a Grip on Yourself". A project of the National Safety Council and the United States Department of Labor, it was one installment of a four part "Personal Side of Safety" series. This episode offered workers a four-point plan to help...
A.G. Spiegelhalter and employees of the Pusey & Jones Corporation signing a labor agreement with C.I.O
Friday, September 2, 2022
Hagley Library will be closed on Monday, September 8 ....
Hagley Library will be closed on Monday, September 8 for Labor Day. We're also posting this March 3, 1941 photograph in observance of the holiday; it shows A. G. Spiegelhalter, President and General Manager of the Pusey & Jones Corporation, signing a labor agreement with the Congress of Industrial Organizations labor union. Pusey & Jones...
Kodachrome photograph of Longwood Gardens, garden view.
Thursday, September 1, 2022
Hello, September!
Hello, September! We're turning over a calendar page today with this Kodachrome photograph of Longwood Gardens, taken by Haddonfield, New Jersey resident John Gill on September 24, 1951. The gardens had their roots in Peirce's Park, an arboretum created by Joshua (1766-1851) and Samuel Peirce (1766-1838), who planted their collections of native...
Black and white photograph of Howard Seal and his granddaughter, Eleanor Seal, planting corn with horse-drawn planter.
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
On this date, August 31, in 1836 ...
On this date, August 31, in 1836 Henry Blair (c.1807-c.1860) was granted a patent No. 15 from the U.S. Patent Office for a cotton seed planter.  Blair had become the second Black inventor to hold a patent when he secured U.S. Patent No. 14 in October 1834 for a corn seed planter. His inventions were inspired by his life as a farmer in Glenross,...
Black and white photograph of children seated at school desks.
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Here's to the start of a new school year!
Here's to the start of a new school year! This photograph by commercial photographer J. W. McManigal (1892-1970) was used in the August 1939 issue of Nation's Business for an article titled 'What's New in the Next Census?'. Nation’s Business was a monthly publication from the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, a private lobbying group...
Black and white image of dancers paired off in the ballroom of a ship.
Monday, August 29, 2022
We're having a ball today with the Wilson Lines ....
We're having a ball today with the Wilson Line, a steamboat company that was once popular for traveling between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wilmington, Delaware and Riverview Beach, New Jersey. This undated photograph (ca. 1925?) shows travelers in a Wilson Lines ballroom on the ship the 'State of Delaware'. The Wilson Line was founded in 1882 as...

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