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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

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540 results for: Businesses and Corporations

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Image of Clear glass soda seltzer bottle,

Clear glass soda seltzer bottle, "Pacific & Puget Sound Bottling Co.," 1910-1919

Pacific & Puget Sound Bottling Company was located on the corner of Minor Avenue and Stewart Street in Seattle as early as 1908.
ID Number:1981.7300.3
Date:Circa 1910-1919
Image of Navy blue acetate evening gown designed by Rudi Gernreich, 1969

Navy blue acetate evening gown designed by Rudi Gernreich, 1969

This dress belonged to Stella Cane Bacher, an advertising executive for the Bellevue Square Shopping Center. She was born in Pittsburg, Pa. and moved to Bellevue in 1957. In addition to being promotion director of Bellevue Square and previously marketing director for Southcenter Mall, she was a member of the Seattle chapter of Fashion Group International. The dress was designed…
ID Number:1981.7320.1C2577
Date:1969
Image of New York Stock Exchange booth, 1929

New York Stock Exchange booth, 1929

This three-part booth was Stock Exchange Tradiing Post #4 on the floor of the New York Stock Echange from 1929 to 1932 during the stock market crash and subsequent Depression. Pneumatic tube stations connected all 13 posts which served to process the increasing volume of trades. Washington state companies listed on Post #4 included Boeing, Weyerhauser, Puget Sound Power &…
ID Number:1981.7352.1
Date:1929
Image of Rubber band making machine, ca. 1930s

Rubber band making machine, ca. 1930s

During the Depression, Clarence Gowey worked for the Seattle Rubber Band Company located in the basement of the Ankeny-Gowey house on Queen Anne Hill before becoming a pipe fitter. He purchased this machine and, according to one of his grandchildren, Gowey and his children would go to the dump and recover the best inner tubes from car tires. They used…
ID Number:1982.15.1
Date:Circa 1930
Image of Seattle Hardware razor, ca. 1900-1950

Seattle Hardware razor, ca. 1900-1950

Seattle Hardware Company opened in Pioneer Square in 1883, and held several locations in the Seattle downtown area through the 1950s.
ID Number:1982.116.101
Date:Circa 1900-1950
Image of Hook with handle, Japanese tool from Tashiro Hardware, Seattle, early 20th century

Hook with handle, Japanese tool from Tashiro Hardware, Seattle, early 20th century

This hook was from Tashiro's Hardware Store, established in 1917, and located on Prefontaine Avenue in the heart of Seattle's Nihonmachi. Kanjiro Tashiro (without hat) sold Japanese folding knives before opening his hardware store in Seattle. During World War II, he stored his inventory at Northcoast Importing. After the war, Tashiro reopened his business and continued to sell hardware as…
ID Number:1982.156.31
Date:Circa 1920-1940
Image of Flight computer chart for the Model B-17F, used by Bessie Dempsey while working for Boeing, 1950

Flight computer chart for the Model B-17F, used by Bessie Dempsey while working for Boeing, 1950

While Helen Holcombe is recognized as the earliest female employee in Boeing's drafting department (joining the team in 1917), Bessie Hall Dempsey (1914-1971) is credited as Boeing's first female aeronautical engineer hired in 1946. She had moved to Seattle as a child with her mother and older sister, attending Broadway High School and then Cornish School of Fine Arts. She…
ID Number:1982.172.27
Date:1950
Image of Candy box,

Candy box, "Helen Ardelle's Chocolates," ca. 1917

Sisters Martha and Helen Ardelle started selling chocolates in 1917 from a Seattle boarding house, wholesale and "by mail--everywhere--even to Cuba!" Martha took over the business, changed her name to Helen, divorced a renowned Arctic explorer and fur trader, and later sold the company to Brown & Haley (of Almond Roca fame).
ID Number:1982.200.1
Date:Circa 1917
Image of Set of brass luggage claim check tags from Seattle Steamship Company, ca. 1900-1920

Set of brass luggage claim check tags from Seattle Steamship Company, ca. 1900-1920

The Seattle Steamship Company waiting room was located at the White Star Dock at the foot of Spring Street. In the early twentieth century, travellers most likely received their baggage claim checks at this location before boarding. The numbers on these tags include: 108, 302, 375, 492, 719, 725,773, and 794.
ID Number:1984.20.ONLINE
Date:Circa 1900-1920
Image of Hand-lettered sign for mochi, used at the Sagamiya Confectionery Co., ca. 1905-1950

Hand-lettered sign for mochi, used at the Sagamiya Confectionery Co., ca. 1905-1950

This sign was from the Sagamiya Confectionery, formerly located at 6th and Main in the area previously known as Nihonmachi, or Japantown, now in Seattle's Chinatown International District. Sagamiya used traditional Japanese methods in the making of mochi and other wagashi (Japanese sweets). The bakery was founded in 1904 and closed in the early 1970s.
ID Number:1984.54.1
Date:1905-1950
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Land Acknowledgement

MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
Address: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109
Phone: 206 324 1126
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