Food

Part of a nation's history lies in what people eat. Artifacts at the Museum document the history of food in the United States from farm machinery to diet fads.

More than 1,300 pieces of stoneware and earthenware show how Americans have stored, prepared, and served food for centuries. Ovens, cookie cutters, kettles, aprons, and ice-cream-making machines are part of the collections, along with home canning jars and winemaking equipment. More than 1,000 objects recently came to the Museum when author and cooking show host Julia Child donated her entire kitchen, from appliances to cookbooks.

Advertising and business records of several food companies—such as Hills Brothers Coffee, Pepsi Cola, and Campbell's Soup—represent the commercial side of the subject

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.20
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.20
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.12
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.12
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.09
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.09
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.01
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.01
Concession stands provided refreshments for park vistors.Currently not on view
Description
Concession stands provided refreshments for park vistors.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1972
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.088
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.088
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.30
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.30
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.23
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.23
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.14
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.14
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.03
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.03
This short sleeve, dark and light blue shirt is made of polyester fabric, embroidered with the double arches logo on the left front and has a light blue zipper.
Description
This short sleeve, dark and light blue shirt is made of polyester fabric, embroidered with the double arches logo on the left front and has a light blue zipper. Maker's tag inscribed "Made expressly for McDonald's® personnel by Ottenheimer & Co., Career Apparel Division.” It is a women's medium and was worn by the donor in 1973 while working for McDonald's®. The donor’s primary position was cashier/clerk, but each employee was trained to be able to perform each task in the restaurant in the event someone called off and they had to fill in for the day. The location where the donor worked was located close to a college campus and the staff pool primarily consisted of college students.
The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1973
ID Number
2011.0091.01
catalog number
2011.0091.01
accession number
2011.0091
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.26
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.26
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.25
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.25
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.19
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.19
Invitation for a Chinese New Year celebration held at The Mandarin on February 7, 1978 in honor of the Year of the Horse. Printed in black ink on a red background. Tri-fold card.
Description
Invitation for a Chinese New Year celebration held at The Mandarin on February 7, 1978 in honor of the Year of the Horse. Printed in black ink on a red background. Tri-fold card. Reverse side is light brown: includes two large images of horses and smaller images of the remaining zodiac animals, accompanied by descriptions of characteristics associated with each zodiac.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1978
ID Number
2011.0115.11
catalog number
2011.0115.11
accession number
2011.0115
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.28
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.28
Nordic Ware, a family-owned manufacturing firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was founded in 1946 by brothers Dave and Mark Dalquist, as “Plastics for Industry.” In 1950, the brothers bought Northland Aluminum Products, a small firm with a line of “Nordic Ware” products including gri
Description (Brief)
Nordic Ware, a family-owned manufacturing firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was founded in 1946 by brothers Dave and Mark Dalquist, as “Plastics for Industry.” In 1950, the brothers bought Northland Aluminum Products, a small firm with a line of “Nordic Ware” products including griddles and steak platters. The same year, Dave Dalquist created a cast aluminum, fluted cake pan and trademarked it as the “Bundt” pan. The company continued to grow its product line to include specialty baking and cookware items, including the microwave turntable. Nordic Ware is notable due to its history of product innovation through engineering, and its continued production of cookware in the United States.
Nordic Ware manufactured this cake pan in 1976 to commemorate the Bicentennial of the United States. The designers failed to account for the fact that when the cake was removed from the pan, it would appear as a backwards U.S.A. The pan was then marketed as a serving dish before being discontinued.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1976
maker
Nordic Ware
ID Number
2007.0034.25
accession number
2007.0034
catalog number
2007.0034.25
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.02
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.02
While conducting experiments with radar in 1945, Raytheon scientist Dr. Percy Spencer noticed that a magnetron was emitting microwaves that were generating heat. He developed and patented a process for heating food by placing it under parallel magnetrons.
Description
While conducting experiments with radar in 1945, Raytheon scientist Dr. Percy Spencer noticed that a magnetron was emitting microwaves that were generating heat. He developed and patented a process for heating food by placing it under parallel magnetrons. Within a couple of years his colleagues William M. Hall and Fritz A. Gross patented a microwave heating unit housed within an oven. The first models of the microwave oven were roughly six feet tall and weighed over 750 pounds, clearly not suitable for kitchen counters at home. It wasn’t until the mid-1950s that microwave ovens were manufactured for home use.
This model 963-5610-60 microwave oven was manufactured in Japan in 1976 by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. for J.C. Penney, a large, American retailer. The operating manual touts some of the oven’s special features, including a 15-minute timer for precise cooking, a built-in recipe guide for “at-a-glance” convenience for common foods, a magnetron tube for even microwave cooking, and an end-of-cooking bell and automatic shut off. The oven’s most unusual features are its door, which is hinged from the top, and a multi-sided observation window, which allowed for watching the cooking in progress. Reflecting the growing popularity of microwave ovens for preparing snack foods like popcorn, the owner’s manual suggests that it can be placed even in the family room due to its low profile design.
Jeff and Jan Thompson purchased this unit in 1976 on installments for $219.95, plus $28.95 for an Assured Performance Plan (an extended warranty) and $12.45 tax. They donated the oven and documentation, including a service manual, warranty card, operating instructions, warehouse sales slip and pick-up slip, to the museum in 2006.
Sources:
Raytheon website, http://www.raytheon.com/ourcompany/history/
Patent documents and owner’s manual from S drive, Microwave folder
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1976-04
maker
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
ID Number
2006.0133.01
accession number
2006.0133
catalog number
2006.0133.01
model number
863-5610-60-21
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.27
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.27
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.16
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.16
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.24
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.24
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.07
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.07
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.05
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.05
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.13
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.13

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