This steel lunch box was manufactured by Aladdin Industries in 1956. The lunch box features an image of Daniel Boone fighting a group of Native Americans on one side, and shooting a charging bear on the other. Both Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett became very popular characters in the mid-20th century due to their television shows, and coonskin caps became a rage among young children.
Chromolithograph by Currier & Ives titled "The Gallant Charge of the Fifty Fourth Massachusetts (Colored) Regiment on the Rebel Works at Fort Wagner, Morris Island near Charleston, July 18th, 1863, and death of Colonel Robt. G. Shaw." depicting the Second battle of Fort Wagner during the American Civil War. The print is a dramatized interpretation of the 54th Massachusetts' assault on the fort's parapets, featuring the mortal wounding of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the regimental flag that William Harvey Carney won the Congressional Medal of Honor for guarding, and hand-to-hand combat among Confederate and African American Union soldiers in the foreground.
This 1904 National Cash Register Company cash register has an ornate brass exterior with a marble plate above the cash drawer. In addition to the wooden cash drawer and pop-up indicators at the top, the machine had two rows of keys. Keys in the top row are marked NO (/) SALE, 50, 30, 20, and 10. Keys in the bottom row are labeled $1, 75, 40, 30, 25, and 15. Next to the lower row, slightly lower, is a key marked 5.
Inside a locked compartment above the keys are adding wheels for all eleven of the keys. When this compartment is closed, one can read a total indicator labeled: Amount (/) Purchased. A sticker on the bottom of the cash drawer indicates that it has serial number 387543 and was sold by the Louisville, Kentucky office. A mark on the front of the case reads: N. H. (/) Burroughs. A mark on the cash drawer reads: National.
Nannie Helen Burroughs, an African-American born in Virginia, attended high school in Washington, D.C. and then worked the National Baptist Convention. From 1909 until her death in 1961 she was the president of a business college for African-Americans in Washington. This cash register, marked with her name, was used teaching students at the school.
Reference:
Crandall, Robert L. and Sam Robins. The Incorruptible Cashier, vol. II, Vestal, N.Y.: The Vestal Press, 1990. This includes a listing of the date of manufacture of NCR cash registers by serial number.
Broadside poster advertising a free military school for applicants for command of colored troops in the United States Army during the Civil War. The poster notes that the school, established by the Philadelphia Supervisory Committee for Recruiting Colored Regiments, was located at 1210 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and John H. Taggart (Late Colonel 12th P. R. V. C.) was the school's Preceptor. The poster also lists the rules for the government of the free military school, for applicants for command of colored troops.
In 1864, in the midst of the third year of the Civil War, a clerk in the U.S. Treasury named Justus H. Rathbone founded the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization, in Washington, D.C. He hoped that the nation, torn apart by violence and hate, could begin to heal once renewed by the spirit of brotherhood. President Lincoln, upon learning of the group, expressed his approval of its mission and values, and the Knights became the first fraternal organization in the United States to be chartered through an Act of Congress. Rathbone found inspiration for the society in the Greek legend of Damon and Pythias, a story about noble friendship which had been popularized in a 19th-century play by the Irish poet John Banim. This 1872 membership certificate recognized that a brother of the order had progressed through the ranks of Page and Esquire and been initiated as a Knight.
The print features several illustrations depicting scenes from Banim’s, play Damon and Pythias, which he adapted from the original Greek legend. In the play, Damon is sentenced to death by the cruel tyrant Dionysius. When Damon asks for permission to put his affairs in order and say goodbye to his family, his friend Pythias volunteers to wait in prison in Damon’s place. Dionysius consents to this arrangement, but warns that whomever is in Damon’s cell in six hours will be the one who is executed. Damon returns in time for his execution, battling hardship, injury, and fatigue in his determined effort to save his friend. Dionysius is so moved by their bond that he allows both men to live. In the top left vignette, armed guards bring Damon before the king, who condemns him to death. In the top right vignette, Pythias volunteers to temporarily take Damon’s place, while his friend is forcibly restrained. In the central scene, Pythias points to a sundial, knowing that Damon will arrive in time. Damon is depicted pushing his way through a crowd to save his friend. Below this scene, another illustration shows Damon arguing with his servant next to a dead horse. In the legend, Damon’s servant kills the horse in an attempt to force his master to stay. Despite this setback, Damon returns in time for his execution.
Included between these scenes are three grisaille imitation statuettes above the letters “FCB,” which stand for the Pythian principles of Friendship, Charity, and Benevolence. Two friends clasping hands represent Friendship, a woman with her fingers to her lips represents Charity, and a knight represents Benevolence.
The lithographic firm of Ehrgott & Krebs was established by Peter E. Ehrgott (1827-1874) and Adolph Krebs (1831-1884). Peter Ehrgott first started a lithographic company in 1856 in Cincinnati with his partner Adolph Forbriger (1825-1869) as Ehrgott & Forbriger. The company worked under that name from 1856 until Forbriger’s death in 1869. Ehrgott then partnered that same year with Adolph Krebs, to form Ehrgott & Krebs. Adolph Krebs had originally founded Krebs & Brothers in 1856 with his brother Otto, but left to fight in the Civil War. Ehrgott & Krebs produced sheet music, postcards, and prints, and republished some 1865 music pieces by John L. Peters. The firm continued as a partnership until the retirement of Ehrgott in 1874. Adolph Krebs continued the business and changed the name to the Krebs Lithographing Company, which he ran until his death in 1884.
The print was published by Joseph D. Weeks & Co., which was based in Pittsburgh, although Weeks himself is listed as the Supreme Inner Steward of the Iowa chapter of the Knights, a position he held from 1872 to 1874.
Color advertising print of a fashionably dressed couple being waited on by two small Indians. The Indians wear gold-trimmed dresses with sunflower-shaped collars and ankle bands. Testimonial text beneath the image ends with the statement that "These wonderful Children are on exhibition every day and evening at BARNUM's AMERICAN MUSEUM..."
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
ID Number
1980.0668.102
accession number
1980.0668
catalog number
1980.0668.102
Description
Roy Wilkins, executive secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, wore this cloth hat during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
This border has motifs of women, men, windmills, and trees. Below the figures is the Flemish saying “MYN VADERLAND IS MYN DUURBAARSTE PAND” (My homeland is my most cherished possession) worked into the lace. This Lille type bobbin lace features a nine-inch long pattern repeat and a picot edge. It was designed for the Dutch market for edging their bonnets. Both ends are finished with a narrow Mechlin bobbin lace border with floral motifs outlined with gimp. The lace was made by Belgian lace makers during World War I.
This fingerless mitt, one of a pair, is handmade of white cotton in Chantilly style bobbin lace with floral motifs. A ribbon is added along the top edge. The back of the mitt is fastened with a small button. The mitt matches TE*T14221A and was identified by the donor as lace made by Belgian lace makers during World War I