Name/Title
Bright Star Battery Co., Hoboken, N.J. 'C' Radio Battery No. 71-17; 4-1/2 Volts.Entry/Object ID
2010.015.0021Description
Bright Star Battery Co., Hoboken, N.J. Radio Battery No. 71-17; 4-1/2 Volts; "C"; Standard No. H3D. No date, circa 1926-1930.
Printed paper over zinc carbon dry cell battery, 3-7/8" wide x 1-3/8" deep x 2-7/8" high (overall ca. 3-1/4" high with terminals.)
Red thermoplastic (material undetermined) top with three raised metal clip connectors (stamped "Fahnestock"); embossed marks for terminals and voltage (+; -3;-4-1/2). Printed paper label on all surfaces except top; bottom has no text.
Hoboken, N.J. is the main location, but also imprinted are locations in Chicago and San Francisco. Whether made in Hoboken or at another site is unknown, but this object was from 218 Bloomfield Street, Hoboken, which was the site of continuous operations of the Kostelecky family business from the 1880s until the 1970s. This provenance suggests that it was likely made locally. Four patent numbers are listed on the left end with the latest (1,556,413) being from 1926 and noting "other patents pending." See notes.Acquisition
Accession
2010.015Source or Donor
Quinzel, FlorenceAcquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
Gift of the Kostelecky Family.Made/Created
Date made
1926 - 1930Notes
Date: 1926-1930General Notes
Note
Notes: A typical battery of the era for use with 'A' and 'B' batteries. The letter designations came into use in the 1920s and the standardization of battery sizes were first applied ca. 1924-1927. (The fact that is was for a radio does not mean it was for a portable radio. Console and table top radios of that period used batteries as well the few automobile radios - they were not powered by the car's battery in that era. The application of wall power voltages did not happen until the late 1920s and even then radios were available as powered by batteries or plugged into wall AC power, the AC powered models were significantly more expensive for several years.)
The Bright Star Battery Co. in 1925 was on the third floor of the Hoboken Terminal building (15th and Washington Streets, also known as the Hoboken Manufacturers Terminal Building or commonly referred to as the Lipton Tea building.) The company was established in 1909 in New York. Two of the patents, one from 1921 and from 1923, have New York as the location of the patentees and assignees. While not definitive, it may help to fix the general date of the company's establishment in Hoboken. It is believed that the company moved out of Hoboken to Clifton, NJ in the late 1930s. As of 2010, the company was still in business in the United States.
Status: OK
Status By: dw
Status Date: 2010-03-24
