In the 1840s John A. Roebling had pioneered in cold-drawing wire for suspension bridges, a process that imparted strength. The firm run by his heirs contracted for the steel work in both anchorages and all the cables for the George Washington Bridge.
Laying up each main cable entailed first making "strands"-bundles each comprising 434 wires-on site. Then 61 of these strands were banded into a virtually solid member of enormous tensile strength. A single 196-inch wire could carry a load exceeding 7,000 pound; 26,474 of them (the number here) combined can support more than 92,000 tons.
To determine the bore of the compression bands (from which the "suspenders" were to hang), the company compacted this test section just as the actual cables would be. This section weighs 34,000 pounds even though it is only 10 feet long. Each of the bridge's completed cables stretched nearly a mile.
Cardboard box with image of the head of a Trojan warrior, and inscriptions that read “THE WHITE / TROJANS” and “‘The Symbol of Safety’ TROJAN TRADE MARK REGISTERED.” Inscriptions on the back read “SOLD IN DRUG STORES EXCLUSIVELY / TROJANS ARE WATER TESTED / ON OUR PATENTED MACHINES / YOUNGS RUBBER CORPORATION / MANUFACTURER / TRENTON, N.J. / SOLE DISTRIBUTOR / NEW YORK, N.Y. / MADE IN U.S.A.” and “RUBBER PROPHYLACTICS.” Other inscriptions read “NO. 7 / ONE DOZEN ROLLED AND BANDED.”
This metal box, which originally held condoms, has an image of the head of a Trojan warrior. On the front of the box, an inscription reads “THE WHITE / TROJANS / TRADE MARK REGISTERED.” Inscriptions on the bottom read “SOLD IN DRUG STORES EXCLUSIVELY / TROJANS ARE WATER TESTED / ON OUR PATENTED MACHINES / YOUNGS RUBBER CORPORATION / MANUFACTURER / TRENTON, N.J. / SOLE DISTRIBUTOR / NEW YORK, N.Y. / MADE IN U.S.A.”
These Trojans brand condoms were manufactured by the Youngs Rubber Company of Trenton, New Jersey during the 1920s and 1930s. Founded by Merle Young, Youngs’ Rubber Company was established in 1916.
The imagery behind the company’s Trojan brand was specifically designed to appeal to men, who were the primary consumers of condoms at that time. The red and white image of a helmeted warrior underscored the idea of virility and masculinity while subtly pushing the idea of sex as a conquest. In later years, as the product became increasingly well-known, the image of a helmeted warrior became smaller and moved from the center of the company’s packaging to a corner.
In 1872, the Comstock Act had prohibited interstate commerce in obscene literature and immoral material. Condoms and other forms of birth control fell under the category of “immoral material.” As forbidden material, condoms were rarely advertised openly.
However, during the early twentieth century, rising concerns about gonorrhea and syphilis led a growing number of public health advocates to call for condoms to be sold to prevent disease. In 1918, a court case in New York, (The People of the State of New York v Margaret H. Sanger) clarified that physicians could prescribe condoms to prevent disease. Named after Judge Frederick Crane who wrote the opinion in the case, the Crane decision opened the door for condom manufacturers to openly advertise and sell condoms, provided they were sold as a disease preventative.
Unlike cheap condoms which were often surreptitiously sold on the street, Trojans were “sold exclusively in drug stores.” By marketing their condoms for drug stores and insisting that their condoms were intended solely for the prevention of disease, Youngs Rubber Company abided by the law. Consumers, however, were free to use condoms in any manner they chose.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Youngs’ condoms were tested to prevent pinprick holes and tears. The process was labor intensive and led to Trojan condoms being substantially more expensive than untested condoms. In 1940, the company developed a patented system by which water was sprayed over rolled condoms to determine if leaks occurred. This enabled the company to sell their condoms at a lower cost and to gain market dominance throughout the second half of the twentieth century.
This eight-wheeled stylus operated non-printing adding machine has wheels of brass and copper and a steel frame. Two metal supports on the back can be lowered so that the machine is at an angle rather than lying flat. The machine is marked on the front: THE CALCUMETER. It is marked on the right side: H.N.MORSE (/) TRENTON,N.J. It is marked on the left: 18143 (/) PAT’D DEC 17 ‘01. This is number 38 in the Felt & Tarrant collection.
The Calcumeter was invented by James J. Walsh of Elizabeth, N.J. who applied for a patent January 16, 1901, and was granted it December 17, 1901 (U.S. Patent 689,225). Walsh went on to patent a resetting device for the machine on September 1, 1908 (U.S. Patent #897,688). This example of the machine does not have that mechanism. The instrument was first manufactured by Morse & Walsh Company in 1903 and 1904, but by 1906 was produced by Herbert North Morse of Trenton. Morse was a native of New Jersey who attended the South Jersey Institute in Bridgeton, N.J. and then spent a year at Harvard College. By 1916, he not only owned the Calcumeter adding machine business, but was assistant commissioner of education for the state of New Jersey.
Compare MA.335352.
Reference:
Harvard College Class of 1896, "Report V," June, 1916, Norwood, Massachusetts: Plimpton Press, p. 192.
This five-wheeled stylus-operated adding machine has wheels of German silver (for ones and tens) and brass (for higher decimal places), with a blackened brass frame and sliding brass decimal marker. Each wheel has ten indentations. These are labeled in red on the wheel from 0 to 9. One of these ten digits is visible at any time. The digits from 1 to 9 are also stamped on the top of the frame around the opening for each wheel. Using the digits on the frame to indicate the placement of the stylus and rotating, the sum appears in the red digits on the wheels. No stylus survives. Apparently the machine doesn’t subtract. Small levers attached to the back of the machine can be adjusted to prop it up.
The machine is marked on the front: THE CALCUMETER. It is marked on the back: 911 (/) PAT’D DEC.17’01. It is also marked there: D.Draper (/) April 2nd 1904. It is marked on the end: MORSE&WALSH CO. (/) TRENTON, N.J.
The Calcumeter was invented by James J. Walsh of Elizabeth, N.J., who received a patent for it December 17, 1901 (U.S. Patent 689,225). The Calcumeter was first manufactured by Morse & Walsh Company in 1903 and 1904, but by 1906 was produced by Herbert North Morse of Trenton. Daniel Draper, who owned this machine, was a meteorologist in New York City.
Compare MA.323622.
Reference:
P. A. Kidwell, “Scientists and Calculating Machines,” Annals of the History of Computing, 12 (1990): pp. 31-40.