Research & Collections News

Recent News

April 22, 2019
Matchmaker, Matchmaker, patent my match!
Hagley owns several collections of matchbook covers, some of which have been described in this newsletter previously. 
April 22, 2019
Museum Collection: Who was the inventor known as the ‘Edison of Lancaster’?
This month we bring you back into the world of patent models with an inventor who has ties to a place many of Hagley’s visitors will find familiar. Anthony Iske, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was a prolific inventor who didn’t seem to commit to one industry in particular.
April 22, 2019
Major League Baseball Promotional Stunts: A Historically Quirky Affair
A new baseball season is upon us, which heralds warmer weather, spring flowers, and hot dogs and ice cream at the ballpark. In Philadelphia, Phillies fans have a renewed optimism for this year’s team following the signing of Bryce Harper in the offseason.
April 22, 2019
The Marshall Johnson Collection: Lurelle Guild Materials in the Marshall Johnson Collection
Lurelle Van Arsdale Guild, one of the most prolific and popular industrial designers in America, and a founding member of the Society of Industrial Designers in New York, designed many of the Aluminum Cooking Utensil Company’s (later the ALCOA Company) most popular products.  Guild began designin
April 22, 2019
DuPont Color: "Harnessing the Rainbow"
This month's featured motion picture comes from the DuPont Company Dyestuffs Division and highlights the work of company chemists in creating vibrant and standardized colors for the garment industry.
April 22, 2019
Processing the Vulcan Iron Works negatives
As an archivist, working with negatives poses more challenges than working with photographic prints. For one, the negative needs to be backlit in order to see the image.
April 22, 2019
Comic Books - Not Just for Superheroes!
With the debut of Superman in 1938, the golden age of comic books began and would continue until about 1950.  Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Green Lantern, and Captain Marvel all were introduced during this time. Comic books were inexpensive, portable, and entertaining.
April 22, 2019
All the Comforts of Hell: Doughboys and American Mass Culture in the First World War
My dissertation, “All the Comforts of Hell: Doughboys and American Mass Culture in the First World War,” argues that American soldiers used the scale and scope of their needs during World War I to push army officers and welfare secretaries to reshape all facets of the country’s mass culture.

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