Picture of Kerria lacca from the book, Indian Insect Life: a Manual of the Insects of the Plains by Harold Maxwell-Lefroy

As You Lakh It

How did an oleoresin produced by insects in Asia become a standard part of European furniture manufacture and conservation?
The interior view of the North Pneumatic Tube Station of the Merchandise Building of the Sears Roebuck and Company Mail Order Plant, Chicago, IL

Something Old, Something Pneu

Pneumatic tubes offered a leap forward in business and communications, in the office and across the city.
A row of British women sitting under hairdryers in a Paris salon

A Short History of Hairdryers

The beauty parlor became a place of sociability for women in the twentieth century, partly aided by modern technology of hair drying.
Ice cutters

On the Rocks

Ice harvesters once made a living from frozen lakes and ponds, and the international ice industry was a booming business. Then refrigeration came along.
Velcro tape on black background

Versatile Velcro™

Velcro is used in many spaces, from spacecraft to shoes. A relatively recent invention, it was inspired by the close observation of nature.
Four operators connect calls while working at a switchboard.

Hold the Line

As telephony developed, so did a workforce of switchboard operators—all women—who were ultimately rendered obsolete by technological progress.
A Mellotron M400S

Tape Heads

The Mellotron, an electronic keyboard of recorded samples, heralded the digital age, and its use in “Strawberry Fields Forever” changed pop music history.
Still-life of a Pioneer brand laserdisc player

From DiscoVision to SelectaVision

While these videodisc formats ultimately failed, they signaled that consumers were hungry for control of their home viewing.
Low angle view of Ferris wheel against clear blue sky

The Big Wheel

The Ferris wheel may not have been a new idea, but the revolving structure offered fun—from the fairgrounds to the classroom.
old morse key telegraph on wood table

The Colonial History of the Telegraph

Gutta-percha, a natural resin, enabled European countries to communicate with their colonial outposts around the world.