Wendell Greenwood Company

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Text on Button COMPLIMENTS OF The Wendell-Greenwood Co., Badges, Celluloid Buttons, Rubber Stamps 122 SOUTH FOURTH ST.
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Dark blue text on a light blue background

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Wendell-Greenwood is a stamps and badges corporation started by Charles W. Wendell. A printer, he arrived in Minneapolis in 1886 to run a branch print shop for his employer. Wendell and C. W. Greenwood bought the shop for themselves in 1886. Advertising lodge supplies for fraternal orders, flags for decorating, and ladies laces and embroidery in the newspaper, their varied business ventures seemed to pare down by 1914, when they were specifically advertising celluloid buttons. They were sued in 1920 for using a trade union label on buttons without permission, however, the company would bounce back in popularity. Wendell-Greenwood also manufactured the original Alcoholics Anonymous medallion. The company, now known as Wendell’s, has weathered relocations and new owners. The company still remains in greater Minneapolis.

Sources

Our History. (2020). Wendell's. http://www.wendellsinc.com/about-us/our-history/.

 

Catalog ID AD0880

Washington State Lotto

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Text on Button WASHINGTON STATE Lotto LOTTO
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Ilustration of lottery tickets on blue background spelling out a word with the pink and blue circles.

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Lottery tickets are a form of gambling often used to bring revenue to the state who is sponsoring the lottery. Lottery tickets consist of circles that are filled in with ink or printing and used to register the person's bet. Several variety in the game exist from pick three (numbers) to Powerball, where the exact guess of the correct numbers or placement of specific numbers net the player different amounts for their win. This illustration of lottery tickets spells the word Lotto on blue and pink circles made to look like a filled in lottery ticket. Legislation creating Washington State's Lottery was signed on July 16, 1982, by Governor John Spellman.

Sources

About Us (n.d.) Washington’s Lottery.  Retrieved November 27, 2024, from https://www.walottery.com/About/History.aspx

 

Catalog ID AD0878

Viva Cinco de Mayo Jose Cuervo

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Text on Button Viva Cinco de Mayo Viva JOSE CUERVO
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Black text over an illustration of saguaro cacti on a yellow background

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Jose Cuervo is the best-selling tequila brand in the world and encompasses eleven different types of tequila. The company is family owned and has always been based in Mexico. The location is critical since tequila is made only from blue agave plants produced in Mexico.

Cinco de Mayo is a national holiday in Mexico celebrating the date of the Mexican army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla in 1862 during the Franco-Mexican War. It is only a minor holiday in Mexico, but in the US it has grown to encompass a celebration of Mexican heritage. US cities with large Mexican-American populations hold celebrations each year.

Sources

Cinco de Mayo. (2009, October 23). History. Retrieved February 20, 2019, from https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/cinco-de-mayo

A Taste of History: Over 225 Years of Mexican Craftsmanship.(n.d.). Cuervo. Retrieved February 20, 2019, from https://cuervo.com/

 

Catalog ID AD0877

The Shape of Things to Come VW

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Text on Button THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
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Black text over a line drawing on a white background

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This button was part of a Volkswagen (VW) advertising campaign from 1971. In the ad, predictions were made about the future of the VW Bug including the Bug's longevity and ongoing popularity. 

Volkswagen is a German car company headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Founded in 1937, Volkswagens were built to stimulate the German economy. Adolf Hitler ordered the car's production and made it available to all citizens of the Third Reich through a savings plan that would make the car about the same price as a motorcycle. After WWII, Volkswagen became a symbol of West Germany regeneration and in 1949, the first VW was sold in the United States.

Sources

History. (n.d.). Volkswagen group. Retrieved February 20, 2019, from https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/group/history.html

VW Bug Ads. (n.d.). Vintage Ads and Stuff. Retrieved February 26, 2019, from http://www.vintageadsandstuff.com/adsautovwbug.html

 

Catalog ID AD0876

Say Big Whitey

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Text on Button SAY BIG WHITEY AMERICA'S FAVORITE KING SIZE HAMBURGER
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Blue, white and red text on a blue, white and red background

Curl Text PHILA. BADGE CO. INC. PHILA, PA
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The "Big Whitey" was a hamburger made by White Tower restaurants. White Tower was created in 1926 after Milwaukee dance hall owner John Saxe and his son Thomas visited several successful White Castle restaurants. The duo unabashedly copied the established, successful business by decorating the buildings similarly and borrowed a similar slogan to White Castle’s, "Buy 'em by the sack," using, "Take Home a Bagful." The restaurant served a burger known as the whitey in regular size with the king size being dubbed, “Big Whitey.” 

White Tower restaurants were involved in several civil rights issues and lawsuits. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, White Castle successfully sued White Tower for copying its brand. The court sided with White Castle and in 1934, White Tower had to undergo a style change away from it’s medieval look. In 1951, the restaurant was in the news after one of its Washington D.C. locations refused to serve a Puerto Rican student and his African-American classmate on a field trip to learn about democracy. In the early 1960s, a Bronx, New York, location was picketed by protesters for not hiring minority workers. 

In the 1950s, the restaurant peaked with 230 locations across the Midwest and East coast and as far south as Sarasota, Florida. By the 1980s, the number of restaurants was down to 80. Today, there is only one White Tower location operating in Toledo, Ohio.

Sources

Dunnigan, A. A. (1951, May 11). Youths get bitter lesson in democracy in Washington. Alabama Tribune. https://www.newspapers.com/image/554184995

Kiger, P. J. (2009, October 27). 10 restaurants chains that flopped. HowStuffWorks. https://money.howstuffworks.com/10-flopped-restaurants8.htm

Larris, B. (1963, July 27). The people I meet. The Indianapolis Recorder. p. 16. https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19630727-01.1.1&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-%22white+tower%22+hamburger------

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Catalog ID AD0875

Planet Hollywood

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Text on Button PLANET HOLLYWOOD
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Red text over an illustration of the earth on a black background with stars

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Planet Hollywood is a celebrity themed restaurant that first opened in New York City in October of 1991. Inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood, each restaurant displays memorabilia from iconic movies, like Judy Garland's "Dorothy" dress from the Wizard Oz. With endorsements from high profile celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Whoopi Goldberg, the restaurants gained rapid success, expanded to different countries, and opened a few resorts as well.

Sources

Planet Hollywood. (2023, April 19). About. Planet Hollywood. https://www.planethollywoodintl.com/about/

Catalog ID AD0874

Peppy Flame

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Text on Button "I'll work my blazing little head off for you" Peppy Flame ©NIPSCO 1960
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Illustration of a character's pinkish face with one eye closed and blue flame like hair on a white background with black text

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Peppy Flame was the mascot for the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) based out of Merrillville, IN and founded in 1912. This mascot was originally created in 1957 to promote the natural gas business and was used in advertising into the 1970s. Peppy’s blue hair is a good sign when using natural gas and is indicative of complete combustion. NIPSCO operates to this day in northern Indiana and serves more than 821,000 natural gas customers and 468,000 electric customers.

Sources

NIPSCO. (2017, December 7). #TBT Meet Peppy Flame. Peppy was developed in 1957 to market our natural gas business. He was used in advertising and other customer communications into the 1970s.pic.twitter.com/fCL7TBjv2F [Tweet]. Retrieved February 24, 2019, from https://twitter.com/nipsco/status/938819171433009152?lang=en

Catalog ID AD0873

Others

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Text on Button OTHERS
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White text on a red background

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Have info on this button? Contact us here.

Catalog ID AD0872