WEST BEND ALUMINUM COMPANY : WEST BEND, WISCONSIN : VINTAGE POSTCARD : RPPC

This vintage photo postcard features the West Bend Aluminum Company, located in West Bend, Wisconsin. In the closeup photo, note the old cars and the workers on property. Most of us associate Wisconsin with cheese, not aluminum cookware. However, in 1920, the state had 50% of the nation’s aluminum cookware market share. Bernhard C. Ziegler (1884-1946) started the company in 1911. The company’s first products were saucepans, a frying pan, and pie pans. Sears accounted for 90% of the company’s sales. In 1921, the company introduced a crockpot, one of their most successful products. In 1922, the company introduced a drip coffeemaker which didn’t require filter paper. During World War II the company transitioned to supplying war materials. The company was purchased by Rexall Drug and Chemical Company in 1968. The company was dissolved in 2002.  SOLD

Published in: on November 15, 2025 at 11:34 pm  Leave a Comment  
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YOU CAN FORCE US TO SIT FOR THIS PHOTOGRAPH……….BUT YOU CAN’T MAKE US SMILE: THREE UNHAPPY SIBLINGS IN WEST BEND, WISCONSIN

Three siblings, wearing their fanciest clothing, pose for their cabinet card portrait at the studio of J. W. Goetz, in West Bend, Wisonsin. These children have had happier days than the day they sat for this photograph. The oldest child appears to be doing her best to be stoic, but the youngest children look absolutely miserable.Their scowls at the  photographer seem to say “let me out of here”. The online “Museum of Wisconsin Art” offers a biographical profile of John W. Goetz (1839-1912). He was born near Tiffin, Ohio and by 1860, he and his family moved to Buckwood, Wisconsin. In 1864 he married Mary Wagner of West Bend. He worked as a carpenter and in 1875 he partnered with Mr Bangs in a West Bend Photographic Studio. By 1887, he owned his own photography business located on Hickory Street in West Bend. He worked as a photographer in West Bend for over thirty years. After his wife died in 1901, he sold his business and moved to Marshfield, Wisconsin where he established a photography studio in nearby Marathon City. He died in 1912. This cabinet card portrait has excellent clarity and is in excellent condition (see scans).     (SOLD)

Published in: on March 21, 2021 at 12:01 pm  Leave a Comment  
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GOOD LOOKING GUY IN WEST BEND, WISCONSIN

A well dressed and very handsome man poses for his photographic portrait at the studio of Schreiber Bros. in West Bend, Wisconsin. The gentleman’s hair has been styled with care and his mustache earns him a spot in the cabinet card gallery’s “Mustaches (Only the Best)” category. Click on the category to see some wonderful examples of interesting mustaches of the era. The Schreiber Bros. studio won photography awards in 1898, according to the journal, Photographic Times (1898). Research indicates the brothers are L. Schreiber and W. F. Schreiber.

Published in: on July 27, 2010 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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