Name/Title
CatalogEntry/Object ID
2023.4.7Scope and Content
Catalog from the Appleton Electric Company. Documents are bound in a red binder and tabs indicate the different products offered by Appleton and a pricing index. The first document is a letter from the Director of Advertising, W. C. Wineberg. Customers were to use this catalog to find products they wished to order, and fill out the catalog cards to place their order.Context
Albert Ivar Appleton founded the Appleton Electric Company in Nov. 1903. The original plant was located at 221 Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois. It consisted of 500 square feet of manufacturing area – more than enough room for its two employees. The original line of products manufactured at the 221 Washington address consisted entirely of telephone fuse blocks and fuses.
The AutoReelite was one the earliest lighting products from Appleton. It fastened on the outside of the driver’s side of the car and functioned as a hand-held work light for emergency repairs along the road at night.
In 1908, the company expanded its line to include outlet boxes and conduit fittings, a forerunner of the Roughing In Division. This addition necessitated a move to larger quarters at Jefferson and Lake Streets in Chicago.
In 1926, 65,000 square feet were added* in Chicago. In 1927, the company acquired foundry facilities. Between 1937 and 1950, five additions were made to the original building. In 1947, the Goodrich Electric Company was acquired, heralding the beginning of Appleton’s lighting fixtures, now known as its Lighting Division.
Albert Ivar Appleton retired in 1948 and his son Arthur Ivar Appleton assumed the active management of the business as President after him.
When the company started, Appleton manufactured approximately 20 items. 100 years later, the company offered more than 24,000 products in its catalog. Appleton has equipped many businesses, industrial buildings, and sports arenas with lighting. Since 1977, Appleton lighting products became very visible not only in Chicago, but around the world.
Local Chicago buildings that equipped Appleton lighting:
• The Chicago Water Tower
• The Chicago Temple
• Merchandise Mart
• NBC Tower
• Commonwealth Edison Building
• Chicago Board of Trade Building
* Not specified where but possibly at Ashland and Wellington Streets, Chicago.Acquisition
Accession
2023.4Source or Donor
Found in collectionAcquisition Method
Found in collectionLexicon
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Appleton Electric CompanyArchive Details
Restrictions
The collection is open to research with restrictions. The collection contains sensitive and personal information.Primary Language
EnglishDimensions
Height
3 inWidth
9-1/2 inLength
11-5/8 inCopyright
Copyright Details
Ownership was legally transferred to the Swedish American Museum per the gift agreement.
Certain works may be protected by copyright not governed by the Swedish American Museum.Reproductions
Notes
Reproduction of the Museum's archives for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires written permission.
