Illustration of a shock with a face, arms, and legs, holding a hypodermic needle with white text on a black background

ACDelco is an automotive parts brand owned by General Motors. The ACDelco company has seen many re-brandings before becoming ACDelco, beginning as United Motors in 1916. The character depicted is the mascot of Delco, “Delco Dan.”

Illustration of a white can of paint pouring red paint over a globe with white and gold text with an outer navy blue edge with gold leaves.

The paint company, Sherwin-Williams was founded by Henry Sherwin and Edward Williams in 1866. In the 1890s, a drawing depicting the Earth being covered in paint was penciled by George W. Ford, who was in charge of the company's advertising department. The image named "Cover the Earth" began circulating around the company. It was first printed on packaging slips, and then appeared on a poster for the Worcester, Massachusetts store in 1893. The "Cover the Earth" logo was officially adopted in 1905, replacing a logo depicting a chameleon and a palette. Over 100 years later, "Cover the Earth" remains the official logo for the Sherwin-Williams Company.

Illustration of two shoe heels with black and red text on a white circle. On the beige rim, color illustrations of gemstones with their corresponding birthday month and stone meaning appear. 

Haynes, Sparrell & Co.'s Shawmut Rubbers introduced their signature rubber overshoe in 1908, along with their slogan "Double the Wear Where the Wear Comes." Shawmut was also known for their extensive advertising in the New England region of the United States, where the product was often asked for by the slogan rather than by name. 

Yellow illustration of a sac with black text on a white background

Manufactured by the B.F. Goodrich company from the 1930s -1950s, the family of Seal Sac products included everything from individual food bags and appliance covers to aprons and curtains. The products were made of a unique plastic blend, known as Koroseal, which allowed the synthetic fabric to be pliable, stain-resistant, and washable. The Koroseal product was sold off in a buy out of the B.F. Goodrich company as they focused on the rubber tire market. Becoming its own company in 1988, Koroseal shifted its efforts away from kitchen accessories and focused on the need for commercial vinyl wall coverings.

White and black text on a light blue background.

Sanitol was a St. Louis, MO company that made a variety of dentifrice (tooth powder and toothpaste), toothbrushes, and related products. Herman Luyties founded the Sanitol Chemical Laboratory Co. in 1898. He founded the company as a cooperative where Sanitol products were sold through dentists and drugstore owners who were also company shareholders. Sanitol was so successful that it allegedly made St. Louis the world’s largest producer of tooth powder. The company was sold to the William R. Warner Co. in 1922. Sanitol (with name changes) survived until 1974. The Sanitol Building in St. Louis is on the National Register of Historic Places and still stands at 4252-4264 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis.

Yellow and white text on a blue background with an outer white then red edge.

Ritz crackers were debuted by Nabisco in 1934, only two years before this button was made. The recipe for Ritz crackers were perfected over the course of a century, beginning with the biscuit recipe of retired sea captain John Bent in 1801. The National Biscuit Company was founded in 1898 when multiple bakeries across the U.S. joined forces, including John's descendants at Bent's Cookie Factory. In contrast to the common pale, square crackers of the day, these crackers were gold and round with serrated edges. 

Ritz crackers were mass-produced for the first time in 1934 in Nabisco's North Philadelphia bakery, sold initially only in Philadelphia and Baltimore before their distribution was expanded to the entire country by 1935. The crackers were marketed as "a taste of affordable luxury," which was an appealing concept in the midst of the Great Depression. The name "Ritz" was chosen to cultivate that image. They were an incredible success, with five million crackers baked during the first year and becoming the world's top-selling cracker within three years.

Yellow text on a red triangle on a green background and red outer edge and yellow outer edge.

Annie and Bruno Richter immigrated to the U.S. from Germany and began making sausages in their basement in the 1920s. As their efforts grew, they founded Richter’s Food Products in the Jefferson Park community in Chicago, IL. The goal for Bruno Richter was to use extensive advertising to market a healthier sausage. Advertising for “Richter’s Healthy Weiners” or “Richter’s Health Sausage” adorned buttons and matchbooks throughout the Chicago area. The Richter’s Food Products building, finished in 1932, was designed in a lavish art deco style by architect H. Peter Henschien.

Red script text on top of an illustration of a blue bicycle tire on a white background.

Relay Mfg. Company was a bicycle manufacturer out of Reading, Pennsylvania, in the 1890s. The Relay Racer was sold in 1892 for $125 and weighed only 32 lbs. J. Geo Ziegler, an inventor, headed both the Relay Mfg. Company and the Tinkham Cycle Company. Together, the two companies produced one of the first passenger tricycles or pedaled rickshaws. The Relay Mfg. Company discontinued making bicycles in 1899 and was renamed the Relay Motor Company.

Yellow and red text on a blue and white background with a red and white striped outer edge

Prince began as a small spaghetti manufacturing company in Boston’s North End. In 1912, three immigrants from the same village in Sicily, Italy, started the company and opened a storefront at 92 Prince Street. Prince is now part of New World Pasta, which is the leading dry pasta manufacturer in the United States. Today, the brand is sold regionally in the Northeast, and the biggest market for Prince remains in Boston.

Illustration of a brown pretzel on a blue background

This is a campaign pin for Arthur McGonigle, a Pennsylvania businessman who ran for state governor in 1958, though he was defeated by David Lawrence. McGonigle was famous for turning a small pretzel factory into what was considered at the time to be the largest pretzel factory in the United States, resulting in many “twist” puns during his political campaign.