Early Office Museum
Antique Office Photographs
~ 1915-1919 ~
When no date is provided in the Description column below, we
do not know the date of the image or photograph.
We have placed undated images and photographs in their likely chronological
order.
If the Source in the right-hand column is anything other than "Early Office
Museum Archives,"
we do not have the ability to grant permission for use or to provide a high
resolution image.
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Click Image to Enlarge |
Description | Source |
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Two men in a plumbing supply company office with Royal flatbed typewriter, 1915. The large drawers on the right held valves and similar plumbing fixtures; samples are attached to the fronts of the drawers. Dated by calendars on wall. One calendar advertises "Trick & Murray Printers," which was a Seattle WA company. The other advertises "Albion Manufacturing Co." A number of states, including Washington, have a town named Albion. This photo may have been taken in Albion, a small town on the eastern edge of Washington state that was platted in 1883 and officially incorporated in 1910. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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Three men in an office, May 7, 1915. On the table is a newspaper, perhaps reporting the news of May 6. The headline appears to read, "Grant 21 Demands or Fight -- Japan." In January 1915, while the European powers were occupied with their own war, Japan took advantage of the situation to deliver 21 demands to China. If granted, the demands would have given Japan control over China.. This photograph is dated by three calendars on the walls. Also on a wall is a Seth Thomas clock. On the sill of the window on the right, to the left of a flower pot, is a Webster pencil sharpener, a machine that was marketed from 1898 to 1914. | Early
Office Museum Archives |
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Office with seal presses, 1915. A calendar advertising the Council Bluffs Savings Bank, Council Bluffs, Iowa, suggests that this office was in Council Bluffs, IA, and may have been at the Council Bluffs Savings Bank. Another calendar indicates the date was 1915. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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Railroad office, 1915. On wall is a map entitled Union Pacific-Southern Pacific Systems and a calendar from the Salt Lake Route. Dated by wall calendar. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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Depot Office, Laceyville, PA, 1915. One man in the photo is identified as Charles Hartman. The photo includes two typewriters, one of which is a Smith Premier upstrike; a Burroughs adding-listing machine; a Mechanical Accountant key-driven calculator; a letter copying press; two candlestick phones; and two kerosene lamps. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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Office, 1915. There is a Boston Pencil Pointer at the end of the tall desk, just in front of the man. There is a photo of President Woodrow Wilson on the roll-top desk in the back room, where a woman is using a typewriter, probably a flatbed Royal. Dated by wall calendar. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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Office at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Geneva,
Switzerland, 1915. The words "Red Cross" are written in
chalk on a blackboard at the rear of the photo. The man under the
blackboard is identified as Dr. Frédéric
Ferrière (1848-1924), an important
figure at the ICRC. The files in this office probably contained
records of prisoners of war in World War I. See the ICRC's
web site, which has the following photograph of typists copying names
of prisoners of war.
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Early Office Museum Archives |
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Office, Philadelphia Electric Co., Philadelphia, PA, 1915. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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Office with photographs of steamships. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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"C. E. Ruddock in his office." Charles Edward Ruddock (1864-1917), was a Fullerton, CA, citrus fruit and walnut farmer, musician, Republican, Presbyterian, member of several fraternal orders, Marshal of Fullerton from 1904 to 1910, and Sheriff of Orange County, CA, from 1911 to 1915. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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Bank with 4 men and two women. In the rear left of center is a Boston pencil pointer, which was introduced in 1912. On the teller's counter is a Protectograph check writer, which was introduced in 1913. | Early
Office Museum Archives |
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State Bank with 2 men and a dog, 1915 At extreme left is a calendar advertising the First National Bank. On the book-keeper's desk to the right of the calendar is a McGill's Single-Stroke Staple Press. Above the dog is a safe made by the Cary Safe Co., Buffalo, NY. Internet references to Cary Safe Co. as a seller of safes date primarily to 1902-07. The room is decorated with a moose head, a deer head, and two owls, one of them with white plumage. The identities of the stuffed animals suggest a northern US location. Handwriting on the back of the photo identifies the date and the room as being at the State Bank. | Early
Office Museum Archives |
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Office, Louisville & Nashville Railroad, Louisville, KY. There are 38 men and 1 woman, who is at a typewriter. At the center front edge of the photo is a McGill paper fastener press, which was advertised from 1878 to 1940. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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Office with three men and a dog. On desk to left is a Remington typewriter under a cover. On the top of the bookcase is an autographic register, and on the bookcase is a book with "Belknap 1911" on the spine. Two board clips and a harp file are on the wall. There are gas lights. In the center of the photo is a Chicago Pencil Sharpener made by the Automatic Pencil Sharpener Co. (APSCO). This model was introduced in 1915. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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Accounting Office, First National Bank. Photo shows a Burroughs adding-listing machine. | Library of Congress |
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Five people working in office. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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First National Bank, Camden, NJ. Photo shows four Burroughs adding machines. [Scan and replace] | Early Office Museum Archives |
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"Murder Scene," Denver, Colorado, by Harry Mellon Rhoads (1880/81-1975). Photograph shows the body of a woman, a roll top desk, a telephone, a spittoon, and an overturned chair. | Denver Public Library, Western History Collection, Harry M. Rhoads Photograph Collection, Call No. Rh-406. |
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Office of A. Watkinson, Insurance Agent, 1916. A wall calendar advertises the Pajaro Valley National Bank, Watsonville, CA. Mr. Watkinson is working at a roll-top desk with a candlestick telephone, and to the right of the desk is an interesting safe containing ledgers and document files. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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General Office, Gospel Trumpet Publishing Co., Anderson, IN, postmarked 1916. Gospel Trumpet Publishing Co. (GTPC) was the publishing house of the evangelical Church of God founded in 1881 by Daniel Sidney Warner as part of the broader Holiness movement. GTPC was initially located in Michigan, moved to West Virginia in 1898, and moved to Anderson, IN, in 1906. GPTC operated in Anderson until 1963, when its name changed to the Warner Press. The Warner Press is still operating. See also the following image. | Early
Office Museum Archives |
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General Office, Gospel Trumpet Publishing Co., Anderson, IN, postmarked 1916. See discussion of preceding image. | Early
Office Museum Archives |
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Office with five men and an American Adder, Montpelier, VT, 1916. The American Adder is a non-listing adding machine that was first marketed in 1913 by the American Can Co., Chicago, IL. | Early
Office Museum Archives |
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"Upstairs, Jno Tomoy," Georgetown, Colorado, 1916. Three signs on wall advertise different insurance companies. | Denver Public Library, Western History Collection, 20003472. |
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Two women working in bank, Panonia, Colorado, photograph by W. S. Edwards. Source lists date as 1901-1918? Photo includes a candlestick telephone, a G. W. Todd & Co. Protectograph check protector, and a date and time stamp made by The Automatic Time Stamp Co. | Denver Public Library, Western History Collection, Harry M. Rhoads Photograph Collection, codhawp 10012932. |
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Office at Estherville Grocer Co., Estherville, IA, 1917. The company was a wholesale grocer. On the desk rear left, near the window, is a Todd Protectograph checkwriter. This model was introduced in 1913. The woman at the right has a Remington typewriter. On the walls are advertisements for products the company handled, including El Tello Havana Cigars, Wild Rose Glycerine Soap, and Durkee's Challenge Sauce. The ad for Durkee's Challenge Sauce, which is painted on the back of a stuffed sea turtle, recommends the sauce for steaks, fish, and soups. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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Charles A. Reil, editor and publisher of the Waconia Patriot, at his Waconia Patriot office, Waconia, MN, 1917. The Waconia Patriot newspaper is still published and has a web site (as of 2009).. | Courtesy of Carver County Historical Society, Waconia, MN. |
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Main Office, New Orleans Association of Commerce, 1917. On posts along the aisle are signs that read: Information, Retail Merchants, Agricultural Bureau, Industrial, and Foreign Trade. A poster reads "Spirit of 1917. Join the United States Marines and Be First in Defense on Land or Sea." | Early Office Museum Archives |
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Bookkeeping Department, Guaranty Trust Co of New York, New York, NY. This office has 43 men, 1 woman, and a number of electric Burroughs Adding Machines. The lower photo is a detail from the upper photo. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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Accounting Department, Electric Appliance Co., New Orleans, photograph by Covert, 1917. There are 14 vertical filing cabinets along the wall. This photograph and the following ones from the Louisiana State Museum were commissioned by the Chamber of Commerce of the New Orleans Area and created by the photographer Covert. The Louisiana State University Digital Library has scores of additional photographs by Covert of office interiors at manufacturing and commercial companies in New Orleans, particularly in the warehouse district. | Louisiana State University (LSU) Digital Library, Louisiana State Museum (LSM) |
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Accounting Department, Hernsheim Co. Ltd., New Orleans, LA, photograph by Covert (or, perhaps, Coverr or Covett), 1917. Hernsheim Co. manufactured cigars. | LSU Digital Library, LSM |
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Accounting Department, Grossman-Weinfield Millinery Co. Ltd., New Orleans, LA, photograph by Covert, 1917. | LSU Digital Library, LSM |
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Accounting Department, National Lead Co., New Orleans, LA, photograph by Covert, 1917. At left is an early vertical filing cabinet. | LSU Digital Library, LSM |
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Billing Department, Local Freight Office, L. N. Railroad, New Orleans, LA, photograph by Covert, 1917. In the right foreground is a wide-carriage front-strike typewriter. | LSU Digital Library, LSM |
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Dr. Tichnors Antiseptic Co., New Orleans, LA, photograph by Covert, 1917. There is a Multigraph to the left of center and a Burroughs adding machine in the center of the office. | LSU Digital Library, LSM |
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I. L. Lyons Co. Ltd., New Orleans, LA, photograph by Covert, 1917. There is a Burroughs adding machine in the center of the photograph. | LSU Digital Library, LSM |
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Office of Charles W. Mackie Jr., New Orleans, LA, photograph by Covert, 1917. There is a Clipless paper fastener on the desk at the left and a water cooler in the center of the room. An identical or virtually identical "20th Century Water Cooler" was offered in the 1928 Horder's Inc. office supply catalog for $17. | LSU Digital Library, LSM |
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Factory Office, Southern Mattress Co., New Orleans, LA, photograph by Covert, 1917. There is a Clipless paper fastener on the desk to the left and a Protectograph check protector on the desk at the rear. | LSU Digital Library, LSM |
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General Office, J. C. Morris Co., Ltd, New Orleans, LA, photograph by Covert, 1917. The man at the center is using a Comptometer. | LSU Digital Library, LSM |
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General Office, Consumer Biscuit Co., New Orleans, LA, photograph by Covert, 1917. There is a Multigraph in the foreground. | LSU Digital Library, LSM |
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General Office, Elmer Candy Co. Inc., New Orleans, LA, photograph by Covert, 1917. At the right are two Burroughs bookkeeping machines. | LSU Digital Library, LSM |
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Office of A. C. Israel, New Orleans, LA, photograph by Covert, 1917. A. C. Israel was a coffee importer. At the left is a ticker tape machine that provided information on coffee prices. | LSU Digital Library, LSM |
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Credit-Bookkeeping Department, Woodward-Wight Co., Ltd., New Orleans, LA, photograph by Covert (or Coverr or Covett). This photo is undated but appears to belong to the series made in 1917. In 1866, Mr. Pearl Wight (b. 1844) arrived in New Orleans and set up a ship chandlery and ship supply business. In 1881, Woodward & Wight were doing business as ship chandlers and provision dealers. Woodward, Wight & Co., Ltd., was chartered in 1888. The company, which was described in 1973 as "a New Orleans supply house that sold just about everything," in fact sold everything from screws to large machinery. Over the years, it sold groceries at wholesale, built steamships for the tropical fruit trade, and sold heavy equipment of many types, including machinery of conveying, hoisting, elevating, logging, oil wells, and railroads. It was in business until around 1983. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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Office, 1917. Dated by advertising calendar from Fitzpatrick & Weller, Ellicottville, NY. Fitzpatrick & Weller is a hardwoods product company founded in 1892 and still in business. | Early Office Museum Archive |
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Office at Swift & Co., Denver, CO, by Rocky Mountain Photo Co., 1917? | Denver Public Library, Western History Collection, Rocky Mountain Photo Co., codhawp 10024357. |
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Insurance agency office, Dover, NH. From left to right, the photograph includes a Chicago check perforator, Mr. Henderson, a Boston Pencil Pointer, a seal press, a Burroughs Class 3 adding-listing machine, a front-strike typewriter, and Aunt Edith. The Chicago check protector was patented in 1889-92 and was still advertised in 1912. The Boston Pencil Pointer was introduced in 1912. The Burroughs Class 3 was introduced in 1911. Signs on the wall advertise several insurance companies: Aetna, Caledonian, Royal Indemnity, and Royal Insurance, all of which were in operation by 1912. Aunt Edith's hair style suggests the photograph may have been taken close to 1920. | Early Office Museum Archives |
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Office, Bureau of War Risk Insurance, located in the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, during World War I. | Smithsonian Institution |
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"A group of colored clerks employed in the Bureau of War Risk Insurance," Washington, DC, c. 1917-18. The War Risk Bureau, an agency of the US government, provided marine war risk insurance and soldiers' and sailors' life insurance during World War I. | Emmett J. Scott, Scott's Official History of the American Negro in the World War, 1919. |
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Six men in an office in Bellefonte PA, 1918. On the wall is a railroad map of the Pennsylvania System. Front left is an Underwood Standard Typewriter No. 5. A calendar showing the page for June 1918 advertises the Charles Warner Co., a Wilmington DE company that was founded by an ancestor of Charles Warner in 1784 and described itself as transporters and merchants. Perhaps this photo shows the interior of a Charles Warner shipping office in Bellefonte PA. In 1921, the Charles Warner Co. acquired the American Lime and Stone Co., a firm located in Bellefonte PA that mined gravel and other aggregates. A second calendar, showing the page for December 1917, advertises the Seaboard Air Line Railway Co., which existed from 1900 to 1967. Prior to airplanes, “air line” referred to the shortest distance between two points, and a number of railways had “air line” in their names as a way to claim that they provided the most direct means of transport. |
Early Office Museum Archive |
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Two female clerical workers in a small office, 1918. | Early Office Museum Archive |
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Several men are using Comptometers, 1918. This may be a classroom. | Early Office Museum Archive |
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Supplies and Accounts Office, Main Navy or Munitions Buildings, Navy Department, Washington, DC, c. 1918-19. This photograph and the next two are from a large collection of similar photographs from 1918-19 in the Navy Historical Center Collection. | Department of
the Navy, Navy Historical Center, Photo NH 52941. |
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Office, Main Navy or Munitions Building, Navy Department, Washington, DC, 1919. | Department of
the Navy, Navy Historical Center, Photo NH 52944. |
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Office, Main Navy or Munitions Building, Navy Department, Washington, DC, c.1919. | Department of
the Navy, Navy Historical Center, Photo NH 52943. |
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Finance Room furnished by the Bourn-Hadley Co., Templeton, MA. | Bourn-Hadley Co. catalog, no date. |
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Woman at desk with record keeping books, pen rack, and inkwells. | Early Office Museum Archive |
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Office at Bagnis Frères, Marseille, France. This company is listed in a 1907 Marseille telephone directory. According to Foreign Commerce Weekly in 1956, Société Bagnis Frères, Marseille, wished to export jewelry. | Early Office Museum Archive |
Photographs are copyrighted. All rights are reserved by the copyright holder, the owner of the photograph, and the Early Office Museum.