Wisconsin 101

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Sholes & Glidden Typewriter

Sholes & Glidden typewriter developed by Christopher Latham Sholes of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and marketed c. 1874. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, ID 1964.31.

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 by trade and Carlos Glidden who was a…

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September 22, 2021

Grafton / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Ozaukee County / Paramount Records 78 / 1840-1860 / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / Region 8 - South East

OBJECT HISTORY: Paramount Records Power Wheel

Located near the heart of Grafton, WI, a rusted power wheel sits on the steep west bank of the Milwaukee River. Despite its corroded appearance, this metal device once powered an entire factory responsible for pressing popular shellac records. The history of…

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December 29, 2020

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Racine / Object Histories / Clothing & Fashion / Ethnicity & Identity / Racine County / 1980-2000 / Region 8 - South East / Racine Belles Movie Costume

OBJECT HISTORY: Racine Belles Movie Costume

This Racine Belles costume was worn in the 1992 film "A League of Their Own." The film focused on the Rockford (Illinois) Peaches, tracking a season in the All-American Girls' Professional Baseball League. The Peaches played the Belles several times during the film.

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September 10, 2020

Milwaukee / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Milwaukee County / Ethnicity & Identity / Migrant Worker's Cabin / 1880-1900 / Region 8 - South East

OBJECT HISTORY: Piano and Song Recital Poster

Mr. Raphael Baez, a well-respected violinist, pianist, composer, and music professor, and his wife Mrs. Mary Schoen Baez, a noted vocalist, had performed together in various music halls in the city of Milwaukee since 1889. The Athenaeum, home of the Women’s Club of Wisconsin, had hosted Mr. Baez and his students throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth…

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September 10, 2020

West Bend / Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Washington County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1940-1960 / Region 8 - South East / Penguin Server

OBJECT HISTORY: Penguin Server

A penguin-themed serving bowl dishes out stories about the aluminum industry, postwar consumer culture, and home entertainment in mid-twentieth century Wisconsin.

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September 10, 2020

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Port Washington / Ozaukee County / Paramount Records 78 / Manufacturing & Trade / 1900-1920 / Region 8 - South East

OBJECT HISTORY: Paramount Records 78

Created by the management of the Wisconsin Chair Company, a furniture making business based in Port Washington, Wisconsin, Paramount Records was initially incorporated to help sell phonographic cabinets in the late 1910s. Relying on resourceful talent recruiters and a relatively cheap production process, Paramount Records became one of the leading blues music record producers in the 1920s, and is today recognized by…

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September 10, 2020