The Hagley Vault

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

May 22, 2023
Black and white image of a young woman holding a strange object up to her eyes.

We're presenting you with a little mystery this week! May 22nd marks the birthdate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, which seems like a fine opportunity to test our skills of deduction and detection. The invention shown here was featured in a February 1943 issue of Nation's Business. Can you guess what it was intended to do?


Nation’s Business was a monthly publication from the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, the world’s largest business organization representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions. Chamber members range from small businesses and local chambers to leading industry associations and large corporations.

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Archive

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

Pamphlet for a waffle iron with an illustration of a mother making waffles for her child.
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
On this date, August 24, in 1869 ....
On this date, August 24, in 1869, the U.S. Patent Office issued its first patent for a waffle iron. Patent No. 94,093 was issued to Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York. Swarthout didn't invent the waffle iron, which were a much older device originating in the Netherlands by the 14th century. But he did improve on the older design with the...
Pamphlet titled "Radio Heat" showing a black and white photo of a girl touching a large scientific apparatus.
Tuesday, August 23, 2022
We're turning up the heat this #TechTuesday with a ca. 1947 pamphlet ....
We're turning up the heat this #TechTuesday with a ca. 1947 pamphlet from the RCA Department of Information. Radio Heat: What It Is, How It Works, What It Can Do was issued to let consumers know about RCA's work in the field of radiothermics - using electron tubes to generate high-frequency electricity for use in industrial applications like...
Cover of a the pamphlet 'More Restful Auto Driving'. Black and white photo of cars on a road.
Monday, August 22, 2022
Here's hoping that this pamphlet helps manifest an easy commute ...
Here's hoping that this pamphlet helps manifest an easy commute for those of you heading into the office this #MotorMonday morning. More Restful Auto Driving  - And its Tremendous Importance to You was published by the Chrysler Corporation in 1936 to help promote its Dodge Division line of automobiles. The pamphlet employed physiologist Dr. Andrew...
Black and white photo showing a well-composed image of large industrial rolls of cordage.
Friday, August 19, 2022
Say cheese! On this day in 1839 ....
Say cheese! On this day in 1839, the French government purchased the patent rights to the daguerreotype process, the first publicly available photographic process, and then relinquished its claim and published complete working instructions, declaring the technology a “free gift to the world”. In exchange, Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (1787-1851...
Comic book cover with illustration of a boy selling 'Grit' newspapers door to door.
Thursday, August 18, 2022
It's been a long week, but that's ok ... we've got the Grit to get through it.
It's been a long week, but that's ok ... we've got the Grit to get through it. This 1959 comic book recruiting young salespersons to distribute Grit door-to-door and become the "luckiest fellas in the country" is a new addition to Hagley's Digital Archive and a personal favorite. Grit, marketed as "America's Greatest Family Newspaper", originated...
Pamphlet advertising a sit-down ironing board. Black and white photo of product in use.
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
From the mightiest pharaoh to the lowliest peasant, who doesn’t enjoy a good sit?
As a wise man once said .... from the mightiest pharaoh to the lowliest peasant, who doesn’t enjoy a good sit? This ca. 1947 catalog from the Proctor Electric Company advertised the company's 'never lift' iron and ironing board, which was designed to be used while seated. It is part of Hagley Library's Marshall B. Johnson research collection of...
Black and white image of a ca. 1850s wood-burning locomotive, with men posed on and around it.
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
Pulling into the station this #TrainTuesday - it's the Lehigh Valley Railroad's 'Delaware', Engine #5 ...
Pulling into the station this #TrainTuesday - it's the Lehigh Valley Railroad's 'Delaware', Engine #5.  This wood-burning locomotive was the first built for the Lehigh Valley Railroad by Richard Norris & Sons of Philadelphia in 1855. This glass negative is undated, but would have been taken between its construction and when the locomotive went...
Cover of pamphlet 'You and Your Telephone '. Photo of a woman using a telephone.
Monday, August 15, 2022
On this date in 1877, inventor Thomas Edison suggested "Hello" to the president ...
On this date in 1877, inventor Thomas Edison suggested "Hello" to the T.B.A. David, president of the Central District and Printing Telegraph Company of Pittsburgh, as the proper telephone greeting for answering the phone. His suggestion would supplant the recommendation by Alexander Graham Bell, which was "Ahoy, ahoy". After Bell Telephone’s...
Cyanotype image of a person with two small children playing at the edge of the ocean.
Friday, August 12, 2022
Today's post is an homage to summer weekends at the shore ....
Today's post is an homage to summer weekends at the shore. This ca. 1890 cyanotype image is sourced from a photograph album created by Louis Edward Levy (1846-1919) and Max Levy (1857-1926), two brothers whose parents immigrated to the United States from Bohemia in 1854. After studying and working in the fields of architecture, mathematics,...
Group of women in flights suits gathered around men demonstrating the parts of an aircraft motor.
Thursday, August 11, 2022
This photograph from September 17, 1929 shows a class of women learning about airplane motors ...
This photograph from September 17, 1929 shows a class of women learning about airplane motors. Text associated with the item identifies the school as the New York University Ground School for Female Flyers. This item is part of Hagley Library’s Lammot du Pont collection of aeronautical photographs (Accession 1975.360). Lammot du Pont, Jr. (1909-...
Cover of Better Living magazine with a black and white photograph of a woman in a bathing suit on a diving board.
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Today's #WorkerWednesday features a summer ready employee of the DuPont Company ...
Today's #WorkerWednesday features a summer ready employee of the DuPont Company. This July/August 1957 issue of Better Living magazine featured Barbara Morrow, a product information specialist from the company's Wilmington headquarters. Morrow handled consumer and trade inquiries for the Textile Fibers Department, but for this issue, she modeled...
Black and white image of a woman in a hammock with a book.
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
We're posting this undated (ca. 1888?) glass negative today in celebration of National Book Lovers Day ...
We're posting this undated (ca. 1888?) glass negative today in celebration of National Book Lovers Day, and in the hopes that you, too, all find the time to enjoy some quiet comfort with a good read. This item is part of Hagley Library's collection of William Ferris, II glass plate negatives (Accession 1974.359). William Ferris, II (1822-1909) was...
Photograph of women from the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform, posed with signs in front of a bus with men looking out the window
Monday, August 8, 2022
Today, we're joining the women of the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform (W.O.N.P.R.) ....
Today, we're joining the women of the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform (W.O.N.P.R.), who rallied in Wilmington, Delaware for the repeal of national prohibition laws on this date, August 8th, in 1932. W.O.N.P.R. was founded in 1929 by Pauline Morton Sabin (1887-1955) to advocate for the repeal of Prohibition. By 1932, the...
View of two people on a bridge over an unidentified waterfall, probably at Glen Onoko, possibly the cascade above Sunrise Point.
Friday, August 5, 2022
This undated glass plate negative shows two people on a bridge ....
This undated glass plate negative (likely ca. 1880) shows two people on a bridge over an unidentified waterfall, probably at Glen Onoko, possibly the cascade above Sunrise Point. Glen Onoko was a scenic tourist attraction located nearby Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania (now Jim Thorpe). This image is from Hagley Library's collection of James Zellner...
Pamphlet cover. Black and white photo of a woman displaying a dress on a hanger to another woman seated on a couch.
Thursday, August 4, 2022
I've always said that the worst thing about having to do household chores is ....
I've always said that the worst thing about having to do household chores is that there's not some dude there to tell me I'm doing it wrong. This 1940 pamphlet of household cleaning advice is from the New York City retailing and distributing firm of Park & Tilford, owners of Tintex brand fabric dye. The work contained 127 folksy "handy...
Pamphlet with a black and white photograph of a woman wearing a headset at a switchboard.
Wednesday, August 3, 2022
This September 1948 pamphlet was number 200 in a series ....
This September 1948 pamphlet was number 200 in a series of publications distributed to employees of RCA Victor. The series, which began in March 1938, intended to provide worker education and boost employee morale. This issue's theme was public relations and customer service. The front cover featured telephone operator Barbara Kuhn, who worked in...

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