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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March has brought some early Spring weather to the grounds of Hagley Museum and Library ...
March has brought some early Spring weather to Hagley Museum and Library, and signs of the new season are beginning to emerge on the grounds. We're celebrating spring flowers this week with a ca. 1922 glass stereoview from inside the conservatory greenhouse of nearby Longwood Gardens. The gardens had their roots in Peirce's Park, an arboretum…
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We're getting back to work this Monday with an industrial scene ...
We're getting back to work this Monday with an industrial scene from Hagley Library's collection of Bethlehem Steel Corporation and Bethlehem Ship Corporation photographs (Accession 1980.300). The image probably depicts the company's plant in Lackawanna, New York, along the shore of Lake Erie. From 1840 to 1922, the plant was…
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Turns out, this is Major Tom. Never meet your heroes.
Turns out, this is Major Tom. Never meet your heroes. Nevertheless, I still love this 1969 photograph of a Radio Corporation of America customer gamely modeling one of the company's not quite space flight ready Extravehicular Communications System units.  This item is part of Hagley Library's RCA Victor Camden/Frederick O.…
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We're wishing a happy Valentine's Day to all who celebrate this week ...
We're wishing a happy Valentine's Day to all who celebrate this week with this 1991 Avon catalog cover featuring actor Billy Dee Williams. The catalog also featured advertisements for a Williams-branded cologne and a contest offering participants the opportunity to hear Williams' reflections of romance via telephone, a trip to Beverly Hills, and,…
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We're looking at a week of sunshine and relatively warm winter weather today ...
We're looking at a week of sunshine and relatively warm winter weather today at Hagley Museum and Library, but it's always good to be prepared! This image, taken on February 8, 1926, shows a steam engine operated by Pennsylvania Railroad outfitted with snow removing equipment for winter weather. The image was digitized from a negative in…
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This week's adventure into Hagley Library's Digital Archives comes courtesy of the Tandy Leather Company ...
This week's adventure into Hagley Library's Digital Archives comes courtesy of the Tandy Leather Company, whose 1961 Adventure in Leather from the Beginning of Time explores the history of tanning and leathercraft from the prehistoric caveman to the modern hobbyist, all presented in a comic-book promoting Tandy supplies. This work is…
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This week's Hagley Vault image is from a series of photographs taken on January 22, 1921 documenting the aftermath of a wheel mill explosion ...
This week's Hagley Vault image is from a series of photographs taken on January 22, 1921 documenting the aftermath of a wheel mill explosion in Hagley Yard. This industrial accident marked the 288th explosion to occur onsite since the  DuPont Company's early founding on the Brandywine Creek in 1802. The company closed the Brandywine powder…
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Hagley Library is bringing you the car of tomorrow today ...
Hagley Library is bringing you the car of tomorrow today with this advertisement featuring a concept drawing for a futuristic car model. This is one of six photomechanical prints from the company’s “Cars of Tomorrow” series in Hagley Library’s collection of Strother MacMinn “Cars of Tommorrow” prints (Accession 1997.268). Strother…
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This undated collage based on a cartoon by Frederick Burr Opper ...
This undated collage based on a cartoon by Frederick Burr Opper (1857-1937) is part of Hagley Library's William Liseter Austin papers (Accession 1879). Austin (1852-1932) was an executive of the famed Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, which manufactured railroad locomotives from 1825 until 1972, and the collection offers a rich resource on…
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Let's make some noise for 2024!
Let's make some noise for 2024! We're ringing in the new year today with the January 1951 cover of Philco News. The publication was the monthly employee newsletter of the Philco Corporation, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania firm that was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. This item is part of Hagley Library’s …
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Just for you, darling ...
Today's Hagley Vault post is just for you, darling. We're celebrating the holiday season this week with a photograph from a folder of material documenting Strawbridge & Clothier department store windows, taken at the company's flagship store on Market Street in Philadelphia from 1957 to 1963 (this particular display dates to 1957).…
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This glass negative showing the interior of a E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company boiler house ...
This glass negative showing the interior of a E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company boiler house, likely taken at the company's Carney's Point Works, was taken on this date (December 18th) in 1899. The Carney's Point plant produced smokeless powder for the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, who built the facility across the Delaware…
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After a relatively snowless winter last year, we're hoping for some scenic winter wonderland days ...
After a relatively snowless winter last year, we're hoping for some scenic winter wonderland days at Hagley this year. But until then, we just have to flake it 'til we make it with this undated (ca. 1908?) glass negative image of a snowy vista in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park system. This item is part of Hagley Library's collection of Fairmount…
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This coming week will include Repeal Day, an annual event celebrating the repeal of thirteen years of Prohibition ...
This coming week will include Repeal Day, an annual event celebrating the repeal of thirteen years of Prohibition in the United States. The repeal was accomplished with the passage of the 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 5, 1933. Many members of the du Pont family were active in the Repeal Movement. For example, Alice…
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These industrial design drawings were created on November 29, 1949 ...
These industrial design drawings were created on November 29, 1949 by Thomas Lamb (1896-1988), the "Handle Man", an industrial designer most noted for his creations of physiologically efficient handles like the ones depicted here. Lamb's start in the field was inauspicious; he dropped out of high school to help financially…
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We're starting off what's going to be a short work-week for Hagley staff with this seasonally-themed cover ...
We're starting off what's going to be a short work-week for Hagley staff with this seasonally-themed cover from a November 1954 issue of Philco News. The publication was once the monthly employee newsletter of the Philco Corporation, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania firm that was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production.…