This is the 7-inch 45 rpm single containing Perez Prado and his orchestra’s rendition of “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” with the B-side “St. Louis Blues Mambo.” Originally released in 1955, the single featured trumpeter Bill Regis and hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for ten consecutive weeks. The instrumental was used as the theme for the 1955 film “Underwater” starring Jane Russell. This record is the RCA Gold Standard reissue from 1962.
This “Blackie” Beanie Baby sat on the desk of Bill Gross as a representation of a “bear” market. A bear stock market is one that is on the decline in value.
This small machete was used by workers at the Mars Center for Cocoa Science in Itajuipe, Bahia, Brazil. Typically machetes are used for a variety of work from trimming of branches and harvesting pods to opening the pods or fending off snakes.
Cacao trees, the source of all chocolate, is grown in equatorial regions of Africa, South America, and Asia by about 6.5 million small land owners using simple techniques. But the trees are endangered by diseases such as black pod, witches’ broom, and frosty pod rot. Additionally, the low productivity of the trees helps lock farmers into poverty. The Mars company maintains a research facility in Brazil to improve cacao cultivation techniques and help develop hybrids resistant to disease and improve yields.
Description: blunt tipped silver swords with hand guard
These donated swords were a gift to Mr. Lewis from Forrest Mars Jr., friend, and colleague, in honor of UWG’s historic Mars candy account and were displayed as art in his office.
This Howard Johnson ice cream platter is decorated with a border featuring images of colonial life in Boston. The Howard Johnson's Ice Cream sign is also interspersed throughout the border. On the inner portion of the plate there is a second border showing the cardinal directions using “W”, “S”, and “E”. At the northern point is the company’s signature “Simple Simon and the Pieman” logo and the entire plate is decorated in a burgundy color. This type of branding was done to create consistency and recognition across the franchise.
A molinillo is a whisk that was first produced by Spanish colonists in Mexico. They used the molinillo to stir and froth their chocolate drinks. Prior to Van Houten’s invention of the hydraulic press, chocolate contained a large amount of fat that was not soluble in water. A chocolate drink had to be continuously stirred in order to stay mixed. A small molinillo would have been used with an individual serving size cup. A large molinillo would have been used in a chocolate pot.
During the 18th century, the preparing, serving and consuming of chocolate and coffee became a ritualistic affair for the middle classes. While it had been popular with upper classes for a century earlier, the desire to mimic the upper classes led to a proliferation of utensils and serving ware to enhance the experience.
Beer mug inscribed with the KCOR-TV and radio call letters, and the image of the station's iconic Aztec mask. The Aztec mask, created by artist Pedro Teran for the station's studio in San Antonio, Texas, greeted employees and guests at the entrance.
The beer mug represents the early career of station founder, Raoul A. Cortez, who worked as a beer broker and distributor as a young man. It also represents an early advertising sponsor of the station, the local Pearl Brewery. This mug may have been an advertising premium given to audiences or as a gift to station employees.
This is a small, 1960s flicker advertisement created by the Vari-Vue Company. The ad is selling Alka-Seltzer and it features a smiling mascot standing in front of a cup with bubbling Alka-Seltzer tablet in it. The mascot is wearing a suit that likens the medicine company’s signature fizzing tablets and a hat that reads “Pron-Tito” or, speedy, in Spanish.
The Tiffany & Co. “Globe Crystal Paperweight,” 4” diameter, first
appeared in a sales catalog for corporate customers in 1990. It cost
$550 to purchase.
Global trade became increasingly important in the late 20th century but can result in problems if not handled well. This chipped and scratched paperweight is an icon of globalism gone wrong. It was recovered from the debris of the World Trade Center following the attacks on September 11, 2001. While the terrorists sought to destroy the Trade Center as a symbolic attack on American Capitalism, in fact the glass paper weight survived. Chipped and damaged, the paperweight, like American business, rose from the ashes of September 11 to carry on.
This ProxCard II ID badge belonged to Beth Leaman during her employment as a systems analyst at William M. Mercer-Meidinger Incorporated from 1990 until 1992. Beth Leaman worked most of her career as a computer business analyst and manager in the insurance and benefits industry focusing on employee communication and benefit selection transactions. As a manager she supervised numerous people, translating the needs of her clients to the technical skills of her employees. The ProxCard II ID is a combination ID badge and control card. By waving the badge at "readers" located at different points throughout the building, the badge controls the front door, elevator doors, doors to building wings, and access to certain rooms.
This lever-top twelve-ounce Coca-Cola Classic can was produced around 1999. The Coca-Cola Company released Coke Classic in 1985, eleven weeks after the launch of New Coke. Coke Classic was introduced in response to the fierce media and consumer backlash against New Coke, out of fear that the new formula would replace the familiar taste. The company’s return to the original formula made headlines in the news. Coke Classic, clearly labeled “Coke Classic Original Formula,” began to sell better than the first Coca-Cola brand and improved sales into the 1990s.
This controversy renewed recognition within the company of the attachment and loyalty that consumers had to the original brand. “Coca-Cola” had become more than the name of an individual beverage, and the company designated it as the name of a “megabrand” representing their entire line of soft drinks. Coca-Cola is the most widely recognized brand in the world. In 2013 63 percent of its $46.7 billion in sales came from over 200 countries around the world. To maintain its brand awareness, the company spent $3.3 billion on advertising.
From 1984 to 1986, Landor Associates was enlisted to create a consistent design for all Coca-Cola packaging, setting a visual standard for the company and assisting its establishment as a global megabrand. The story behind Coke Classic and the establishment of the megabrand represents the tensions involved in maintaining the weight of historic value and product integrity, while being an institution that is flexible to change.
The Coca-Cola Company was founded in 1886 by an American pharmacist, and began its international distribution in the 1920s. Since then Coca-Cola has expanded its operations to more than 200 countries worldwide. Its marketing strategies and packaging innovations have helped to establish the popularity of cola drinks in the soft drink industry.
Westinghouse made stopper lamps to avoid infringing Edison's patents. The lamp is based on Sawyer-Man patents and includes a removable adapter to allow use of the lamp in both the special sockets made for stopper lamps and standard Westinghouse sockets.
The cables needed to transmit electrical power may seem simple but are actually complex technological artifacts. Modern cables inherit the lessons learned during more than a century of research and experience. This power cable was described by GE engineer William Clark in 1898 as follows: “1,000,000 [circular mil] cable composed of 59 wires, each .1305" in diameter, containing two insulated pressure wires each 2500 C.M. area, the whole insulated with saturated paper 5/32" thick and finished with lead 1/8" thick. This is a feeder cable for circuits not exceeding 2000 volts working pressure on Edison three wire circuits. An outside jacket of tarred jute and asphalt [prevents] corrosion."
The production of television sets was suspended in the U.S. during World War Two but quickly resumed after the war ended. This model 101 “Revere” television made by DuMont Company included an AM-FM-short wave radio receiver with high fidelity amplifier, and a record changer. Founded by Allen B. DuMont (1901-1965), the company established a television network and produced sets throughout the 1950s. The original list price of this 1947 Revere was $1795.00, equivalent to almost $18,500.00 in 2013.
Robert Cornelius submitted this patent model in his patent application that received patent number 3,028 on April 6, 1843. The novel innovation in Cornelius’s lamp was its ability to burn lard and other concrete fat with a minimal amount of heat. This allowed lamps to use cheap lard for fuel instead of the costly whale oil that had dominated the lamp industry prior. The lamp used a deflector that heated a tube leading to the fuel, providing no more metal to heat the lard than was absolutely required. Cornelius’s lamp outsold those fueled by expensive whale oil, making his company the largest lighting company in America. Cornelius also attempted to perfect the daguerreotype photographic process, taking the first-ever self-portrait in 1839.
The cables needed to transmit electrical power may seem simple but are actually complex technological artifacts. Cables are designed for many different applications, for example, indoor or outdoor use. This power cable was described by GE engineer William Clark in 1898 as follows: “300,000 [circular mil] cable, [having] the braids saturated with bituminous compound. These cables are intended for overhead wiring."
John H. Irwin received patent number 35,158 on May 6, 1862, of this design of a coil oil lamp. Irwin’s lamp was designed for coal oils and other similar hydrocarbons (such as kerosene) which volatilized at low temperatures and required an excess of oxygen to support illumination. The excess of oxygen was provided by the lamp’s large draft passage, which was divided into compartments to prevent stiff currents of air from blowing out the flame.
Coal oil originally emitted a smoky flame until it was refined into kerosene. This refinement allowed lamps to be used indoors. The bright and economical flame changed concepts of time, work, leisure activities, and consumption. Lighting systems shifted from candles, to whale and other oils, to coal gas—often all were used simultaneously. Improved lighting increased productivity as factory workers labored far into the night. Lit public spaces extended the hours spent in oyster houses, theatres, and museums, and provided shoppers better views of consumer goods.