1875-1946
Aurelius Stone Hinds purchased his own drug store in 1870, developed his soon-to-be-famous Hinds’ Honey & Almond Cream. Five years later, the A. S. Hinds Company was established. The Honey & Almond Cream was heavily marketed toward women…
The colorless glass base from a bottle of AbilenA Natural Cathartic Water found in 2010 at the Charnley-Persky House. A 1910 advertisement for AbilenA, a "cathartic water" bottled in Abilene, Kansas used as a laxative.
An aqua base of a bottle manufactured by the Adolphus G. Busch Manufacturing Company between 1908 and 1920, and an advertisement for the company from 1899, seven years after the company was incorporated.
1863-1930s
By far the most famous product produced by this company was their Hunyadi Janos Mineral Spring Water, named for a 15th-century Hungarian hero; the base of a bottle of this water was found at the Charnley-Persky House in 2015 (see below).…
1881-1943
Andrew Scherer (pictured below in a 1941 Chicago Tribune article) opened his pharmacy on State and Division in 1886, five years after his first store. The pharmacy served many in the Gold Coast, and a bottle of Scherer’s was found at the…
1867-present
Founded in 1867, Armour quickly became one of the largest companies in the United States.Chicago and Union Stockyard quickly became the center of the American meatpacking industry; by 1880 Armour was Chicago’s leading industrial…
1893-1928
Adelbert Merton Foster took over the the Chicago branch of Dean, Foster & Co. in 1893, naming the ten-year-old division after himself. A glass wholesaler, A. M. Foster was closely associated with Dean, Foster & Co. (referred to as “The…
A piece of Belleek pottery found in the Charnley-Persky House Archaeological Project, showing a first period black mark, dating its manufacture between 1863-1890.
An early 20th-century bottle of Borolyptol, an "antiseptic and germicidal fluid for internal and external use" commonly used as a mouthwash, itch reliever, and antiseptic
1892-1941
Bourne & Leigh was one of many potteries in this area in the 19th-century; established in 1892, the firm produced earthenware in a variety of patterns (see the May Blossom pattern in the 1922 ad below). Bourne & Leigh was in business until…
1885-1966
Bowman Dairy Co. first came to Chicago in 1885, an outgrowth of a St. Louis milk venture; six years later, Bowman was concentrated in Chicago alone. In early years, Bowman was known for its horse-drawn wagons distributing milk (pictured…
1871-1923
In 1871, A. G. Burley & Co. (established 1838) became Burley & Tyrrell, importers of glassware and china; the retail business was sold to a nephew in 1883, calling itself Burley & Co. (advertised below in 1902). The companies existed side…
1858-?
In 1858, Joseph Burnett partnered with William G. Edmonds to establish Joseph Burnett & Co. Their products were sold worldwide, including their extracts, perfumes, and cocaine for the hair (an 1897 advertisement for this remarkable product is…
One of many small potteries established in Trenton, New Jersey at the latter end of the 19th-century, Burroughs & Mountford specialized in table wares, toilet wares, and tiles (as advertised in the 1888 image below). Burroughs & Mountford produced…
Canton porcelain refers to a wide range of Chinese export porcelain produced in the Chinese port of Canton (now known as Guangzhou). Generally, Canton porcelain refers to 18th-century to early 20th-century blue and white Chinese porcelains created…
1860-1976
In 1860, William Carter traded his paper wholesale business for an ink-selling business; at the outbreak of the Civil War, Carter snagged the recipe for ink and glue from his supplier, allowing him to manufacture their own ink. In 1872,…
1876-present
Charles E. Hires Root Beer was initially developed as a medicinal syrup or tonic, but the soft drink quickly became an international hit. While on his honeymoon in 1875, Hires was served a root tea similar to that Native Americans…
1880-present
Robert Augustus Chesebrough created petroleum jelly from “rod wax” used by oil workers for cuts and bruises; he made this discovery in 1859, and the product was available on a limited bases in the 1860s. Chesebrough Manufacturing…
1887-1922
John Alfred Lomax consolidated his own soda bottling factory with fifteen others in 1887 to form the Chicago Consolidated Bottling Company; an early letterhead of Lomax’s is below. The name of the firm was changed to the Lomax Company in…
1795-present
John Rose founded Coalport Porcelain Works in 1795, and the company became one of the leading potteries in England by 1830. In the 1880s, popular interest in fine china grew, and Coalport’s advertisers seized on that opportunity (see…