By the year 1904, when the “Armeda” toilet pictured here appeared in the Kohler Company’s product catalogue, Sheboygan-based Kohler had become one of the largest makers of bathroom furnishings in the United States. Even at …
Industry
Manhole Cover Designs and Contemporary Aesthetics
Over the past 45 years, there has been a growing worldwide fascination and appreciation for the beauty and craftsmanship of manhole covers. Some enthusiasts have even created a subreddit aptly titled, Manhole Porn: Sewer covers …
From the Fox River Valley to the Windy City: The Roaring Twenties and the Neenah Foundry
The 1920s began with economic prosperity, new technologies such as telephones, radio and movies, and important new cultural movements such as jazz and Art Deco. As one of the most rapidly growing cities in America, …
An Iron Kinship: Abraham Darby and William Aylward Sr.
In 1872, William Aylward Sr. combined air, coal, and iron ore to produce his first plowshares and other agricultural implements.[1] The founder of what would become the Neenah Foundry followed a process developed by an …
OBJECT HISTORY: Neenah Foundry Manhole Cover
Since opening in 1904, the Neenah Foundry has earned a worldwide reputation for producing manhole covers. Manhole covers are removable lids fitted for tunnels large enough for people to access underground sewer and storm water …
Origins of the QWERTY Keyboard
Was QWERTY designed to slow down the typist, or was it a deliberate design for telegraphers? The QWERTY keyboard appeared on the first Remington typewriters produced and sold in 1848.[ii] It is commonly thought that …
Christopher Latham Sholes
Christopher Latham Sholes worked with his brothers at a Green Bay newspaper after having completed a printing internship in 1837, and in 1840 he moved to Kenosha to serve as the owner and publisher of …
OBJECT HISTORY: Sholes & Glidden Typewriter
Christopher Latham Sholes (1819-1890) had a number of interests, one of which was spending time at Kleinsteuber’s Machine Shop in Milwaukee. While there, he met other tinkerers including Samuel Soule who was a printer …
Marathon City Brewing and the Wee Willy basketball team
The Marathon City Brewery sponsored local sports teams like the Wee Willy basketball team, originally known as the Catholic Youth Organization Team, which organized in 1936. Though the team temporarily disbanded during World War II, …
The Marathon Brewery’s Chain of Calamities
In the early 1880s, Franz Sindermann, who was trained as a brewer in Germany, opened a brewery in Marathon (near Wausau), with his brother, August, along with a third partner, Charles Klein. The brewery got …