These are photos of a U.S. mailbox that we restored some years ago. It dates to the late 1950s or some time in the early to mid-1960s. The manufacturer is unknown, but the style of the box is very much like the early designs conceived of by Postmaster David C. Owens in the early 1900s. [...]

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These photos illustrate a neat little bit of Coca-Cola history. Each gives a step-by-step instruction to their truck drivers for the proper delivery of bottled Coca-Cola to a customer’s vending machine. It’s very interesting to see the procedures of the time, as well as the setting and other vending devices that were used. Note the [...]

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The first police call boxes were created in 1883 for the city of Washington, D.C. They made it possible for both the public and the police to contact the local police station in the event of an emergency. The idea quickly caught on across the U.S. and call boxes were installed in other large cities. [...]

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These photos are of two models of water cooler manufactured by the Westinghouse Electric Company some time in the 1940s. These are not simply water bubblers, like those commonly seen in public places. These models were designed to be used in a different setting, such as an office. They both have a freezer compartment for [...]

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In order to keep food from spoiling back in the days before electric refrigeration, it was necessary to keep it in an icebox. These units were made of wood or metal and the food was kept chilled by adding blocks of ice. The ice was delivered by the iceman on his horse drawn ice truck. [...]

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Here are some before and after pictures of a 1930’s Steelcraft hook & ladder pedal car. As you can see from the before pictures, it was in decent shape for its age and was complete, except for the ladders. It was rusty but had no major dents, so the restoration was pretty straightforward. This was [...]

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