Business Equipment Archives - Filling the House and the Internet with Junk

Seth Thomas, Weight Driven Clock with Early US Symbol (1855 – 1860)

Posted on September 27, 2015January 14, 2020 by hiramk

I recently acquired a Seth Thomas, weight driven, mantel clock. Mantel clocks are not rare. You can walk into just about any junk store and find an old, functioning mantel clock. Where it gets exciting is when you can place the clock to a particular time period (Civil War, WWI, WWII, etc.). In this case, the clock had a distinctive eagle on the front holding the classic arrows and olive branches. The eagle’s head is…

Qualstar 9-Track Mainframe to PC Tape Drive (1988)

Posted on August 8, 2015 by hiramk

Ok, I now officially feel old. I was displaying this Qualstar tape drive in my office when one of my younger staff members came in and asked what it was. Without hesitation I told him it was a tape drive from 1988 used to copy data from mainframes to microcomputers (IBM XT, Macintosh). He earnestly asked why they would need that. Couldn’t they just copy the files to their local systems? Well, in 1988 we…

Dual Purpose Engineering Document Card, NATSF COPY, 1966

Posted on July 19, 2015July 20, 2015 by hiramk

Dual Purpose Engineering Document Card (Aperture Punch Card), (Naval Air Technical Services Facility) NATSF COPY, 1966 I love business problems. Imagine you are working for the Department of Defense in 1966 and you have to keep detailed records of paperwork, equipment schematics and a host of other paper based material. How are you going to house all this material? How are you going to duplicate it and get it to maintenance facilities? How can people at…

IBM Master Program Clock; Metal Disc Type (1933)

Posted on February 4, 2015March 12, 2015 by hiramk

Few things give me joy like acquiring a piece that has a hallmark, patent number, serial number or model number. For me collecting is getting to understand the past, and having these time markers usually means with a little research I can put the item into a larger historical context. This IBM Master Program Clock; Metal Disc Type circa 1933 is a great example of research paradise. Business equipment is one of those really fun…

Lloyd’s of London, Check Fraud Prevention Device (1920)

Posted on February 3, 2015March 12, 2015 by hiramk

The following is a Lloyd’s of London, Check Fraud Prevention Device (1920).

AT&T Candlestick Phone, 1913

Posted on February 3, 2015March 12, 2015 by hiramk

Agreed this is a pretty common American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) candlestick phone from 1913. Out of all my candlestick phones, this one is my favorite. It exactly matches how I imagined they looked before I saw one in person. I can imagine Andy Griffith asking Sarah (the phone operator) to get Aunt Bee on the line. I especially love the honest ware on this phone. There is a spot on the body where your…

Horne & Thornthwaite, Sliding Box Wet-plate Camera, (Circa 1857-1866)

Posted on January 21, 2015February 25, 2015 by hiramk

The greatest loss to an antique is the loss of its history (owner, purpose, use, etc.). Yes, condition governs value on most pieces, but knowing who owned the item and their story adds tremendous personal value. In the case of this Horne & Thornthwaite camera I unfortunately do not know anything about the previous owner(s), but we can make a few speculations. Known Camera History First the easy to discern facts. The camera is well documented…

Art Metal Guild Desk Lamp (Circa 1940)

Posted on January 21, 2015March 12, 2015 by hiramk

This is by far one of my favorite finds. When I first found this 1940 Art Metal Guild desk lamp, I thought it was a wall sconce. Moreover, it was rusted, paint was falling off and my wife absolutely hated it (score!). It was the classic ugly duckling. I usually will not restore an object. I would rather have it sweaty and original than to restore it and lose the historical integrity. In this case…

Yost, Model 4 (Cira 1895)

Posted on January 16, 2015March 12, 2015 by hiramk

Put Yourself In Yost’s Place Imagine it is the mid 1800’s and you want to create a portable printing press. Something that can be easily moved, self-contained and did not require a skilled typesetter to use. In short, you want to create a typewriter. How would you solve the various challenges of converting a manual process into a mechanized 19th century wonder? Let’s start with our only reference, the printing press. I am not an expert…