These photos are of a restored Universal Container built for a 7-bottle capacity. These were made between the 1940s and the 1950s. The soda bottles were cooled by being surrounded with crushed ice. These picnic coolers were painted a mint green by the manufacturer.

The Universal Cooler Corporation was a division of the International Detrola Corporation of Detroit, Michigan. Other Detrola-owned companies were manufacturers of radios, washing machines, furniture and machine tools. In 1950 the Universal Cooler Corp. was acquired by the Tecumseh Products Company of Tecumseh, Michigan.

Dimensions: Approx. 11” diameter x 12” high

Manufactured by:
Universal Cooler Corp.
Marion, Ohio

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The Louis Hanson Company was a prominent Chicago furniture maker. The Hanson Company was founded in Chicago around 1883 by Danish immigrant, Louis Hanson. His company first established itself as a manufacturer of picture frames and moldings. Years later, the company was known for producing high-quality hall furniture and mirrors. Most likely it was an easy transition to other types of furniture, like barber chairs. American furniture companies began manufacturing reclining barber chairs in the early 1880s.

This early Louis Hanson barber chair was built before the turn of the century. It probably dates to around 1880, since chairs built later in the 19th century utilized hydraulics to adjust the chair height. The decorative carvings in this oak chair were typical in that time period, as well as the plush upholstery. Other features were the adjustable footrest and the swiveling seat, which could also be put in a reclining position.

We no longer own this item, but it is a great example of early Americana. Items such as these are highly desirable by collectors of barbershop ephemera.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The White & Bagley Company was founded in 1888 by F. W. White and H. P. Bagley. They set up shop Worcester, Massachusetts to create a reliable motor oil for the earliest automobiles. Formerly, car owners acquired their oil from blacksmiths and corner stores. These unbranded oils proved to be of inferior and inconsistent quality. As the cars became more reliable, the motor oil used in them needed to be more reliable and durable, too. So White and Bagley developed Oilzum which was introduced in 1905. I was the first branded oil and was a consistent, high-quality product. Oilzum became very among racecar drivers. Today the Oilzum brand is owned by Dennison Lubricants, Inc. of Lakeville, Massachusetts.

The famous Oilzum slogan appears on this restored gas station sign and reads, “If motors could speak we wouldn’t need to advertise”. This design was used from the 1930s to the 1960s.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The Monitor Top Fridge is the most easily identified vintage refrigerator because of its unique top. It was named “Monitor Top” after the resemblance of its top to the turret on the ironclad Civil War warship, the USS Monitor. GE manufactured the Monitor Top Fridge from 1927 to 1936. It was finally replaced when GE released the “Flat Top” model fridge in 1937.

Priced at $300, these were considered the first affordable refrigerators for the typical American family. GE made it possible to make monthly payments of $10 a month, which was conveniently added on to the family’s utility bill. These were not the first household fridges, but they were the first to be sold in such great numbers.

Small changes were made through the years of its production, such as the condenser coils being enclosed and the addition of slide out shelves. But the basic design of the Monitor Top stayed pretty much the same for the nine years it was made. Cooling was accomplished with the use of either sulfur dioxide or methyl formate. It was the first fridge to come with an all-steel cabinet. The Monitor Top was available as a one-, two- or three-door fridge. The single-door fridge was the model most widely used in private homes, and provided 5 to 7 cubic feet of storage.

The Monitor Top is believed by many to be the best and most reliable fridge ever manufactured. As a matter of fact, many of them are still in use in homes today, like this model unit that we restored for a customer. This model is a 1929 or 1930 Monitor Top that was restored and finished with vintage ads for Frostie Root Beer, Squirt Soda and Kayo Chocolate Drink. (Please note we are no longer in the restoration business.)

Dimensions: 64”H x 24”W x 21½”D

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The 1950s were the Silver Age of jukeboxes and the Seeburg boxes manufactured during this time were considered the best engineered and made by many jukebox fans and collectors. First released in November 1959, the Seeburg Q100 is a Select-O-Matic jukebox that can hold 50 45’s for a total of 100 selections. It also plays 33½ rpm records with three selections per side. The 33½ rpm albums were a standard 7 inches in diameter, with a smaller center hole like on the 45s.

A new cabinet design was introduced with this model. This was one of the last Seeburg designs where the playing mechanism was visible. The graphics were getting larger on the newer models, and began to restrict the window space for displaying the inner workings of the jukebox.

This is a jukebox we restored that we no longer own. On the display at the back of the jukebox was space to list additional song titles. There is also an ad for the LP titled “Elvis Sails”. This album had recordings of the press interviews with Elvis when he enlisted in the US Army, just before he sailed from the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Brooklyn, New York on September 22, 1958. The album was released in December 1958. Graphics like this could be replaced on the jukebox, as new ads became available.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

This is an advertisement for several Coca-Cola coolers manufactured by the Glascock Brothers Mfg. Co. This ad is dated August 1931 and illustrates all of the Glascock coolers available at the time. There is the Standard, which was the first standardized ice box they made for the Coca-Cola Company in the late 1920s. The “Counter” cooler was the smallest and the least expensive cooler Glascock ever made, and held just 36 bottles.

It’s very interesting to note the original selling prices for these Coca-Cola coolers. The prices ranged from $6.50 for the Counter cooler to $155.00 for the DeLuxe Frigidaire Complete cooler, (the first mechanical Glascock chest cooler). All Glascock coolers had replaceable side panels to display the Coca-Cola logo. And all were painted the classic Coca-Cola red and Moroccan green.

Produced: Late 1920s to Early 1930s

Manufactured by:
Glascock Bros. Manufacturing Co.
Muncie, Indiana