To mark our move to the Rogers Park Historical Society, here's a history of one of the neighborhood's great businesses of the past: Permo Inc. Once a manufacturer of phonograph needles, Permo evolved into the logistics company known today as FIDELITONE madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/pe…

When the company now known as "Maybelline New York" celebrated its 100th anniversary a couple years back, they predictably skimmed over their Chicago roots (50 years worth). To us, "Maybelline Chicago" is a story worth telling: madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/20…

Chicago was once a major hub of the model aircraft industry (don't call them toy planes!), and no one made a bigger impact than design wizard Carl Goldberg, who led 3 different manufacturers (Comet, Top Flite, and Carl Goldberg Models) to great success. madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/ca…

William Ludwig (right) presenting a gold-plated snare to Ringo Starr in Chicago, 1964. madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/20…

Donald Trump seems to have appeared in a 1920s advertisement for Bunte Brothers Cough Drops.

The Cubs already had a 25 yr title drought when a Chicago company debuted the "Bambino" baseball board game in 1933. madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/20…

In the pre-TV 1940s, Chicago's Excel Projector Corp brought movies and newsreels into the comfort of American homes. madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/20…

Anacin was introduced in 1916 w/ a mascot "Ana Anacin." Today she'd surely be Jennifer Anacin, America's Sweetheart. madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/20…

Chicago's EK Pond Co. started using the "Peter Pan" brand name in 1928, without bothering to ask for permission. madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/20…

In 1930, American Flyer trains were the "Toy for the Boy" at Xmas. Now they're the "Toy for the Eccentric Old Man." madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/20…

The Sanford Ink Co. had already been in Chicago for 100 years when it introduced the "Sharpie" in 1964. madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/20…

"Don't Let Memories Grow Dim!" How Columbia Portrait Co. transferred fading family photos to "imperishable" plates. madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/20…

What does a Chicago-made "Baby Calculator" have to do with "The Day the Music Died"? madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/20…

Al Bersted's art deco toaster wasn't just the greatest thing since sliced bread, it was a direct response to it. madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/20…

Factory worker assembling cast iron trains at American Flyer's Chicago plant in Pilsen (2229 S. Halsted), 1930s.

Months before his death in 1958, Zenith president E.F. McDonald wrote Congress about the need for independent TV as a check against power.

The Electric Clock Corp of America sounds prestigious, but in 1930s Chicago, their ethics ruffled some feathers. madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/20…

100 years before "craft beer" became part of the lexicon, Chicago's Standard Brewery served a pre-Prohibition USA. madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/st…

“When a Chicago business attains dimensions which overshadow those with which it may be compared, it becomes in the broadest sense a Chicago institution and belongs in a manner to every Chicagoan." --Times-Herald describing Reid, Murdoch & Co., 1899. madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/20…

American Bird Products Inc. didn't just make canary food. For 25 years, they sponsored a popular WGN radio show called American Radio Warblers--featuring the "Original Feathered Stars of the Air." Whatever you're imagining it was, I promise, it was better. madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/am…