Chinese Laundry Men
Two Chinese laundries operated on Cooper Street during the late nineteenth century.
Patent/Proprietary Medicine Bottle
Will Krakower
Rutgers University-Camden
Copyright 2018, Will Krakower. Do not reproduce or cite without permission from the author.
Proprietary Medicine Bottle
Throughout the nineteenth century, entrepreneurs sold their own pharmaceutical concoctions without regulation. This was the business of proprietary medicine. This bottle likely contained pharmaceutical products or flavoring extract which was made using narcotics such as morphine or cocaine as the chief ingredient. The original contents of this bottle can still be seen inside, they are however, a mystery. This bottle is a mouth blown, mold pressed glass bottle. Bottles like this were mass-produced at glass factories like Whitall Tatum & Co. and Wheaton Industries in Millville, N.J., and shipped all over the United States.<br /><br /> Read more about this object: <a href="https://omeka.camden.rutgers.edu/items/show/13">https://omeka.camden.rutgers.edu/items/show/13</a>
Recovered from excavation prior to construction of Rutgers-Camden dormitory at 330 Cooper Street, Camden, N.J.
Rutgers University-Camden
c. 1800-1875; photograph, April 2018.
Will Krakower (Graduate Student, American Material Culture, Spring 2018); photograph by Jacob Lechner.
Collection of Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts
Affleck, Richard, George Cress, Ingrid Weubber, Rebecca White, Kimberly Morrell, and Thomas Kutys. Phase II and Data-Recovery Archaeological Excavations of the Smith-Maskell Site Cooper Street Development Camden, New Jersey. Archaeological Excavation Report, Burlington: URS Corporation.
Glass bottle, 5 ¼ inches in height, including the neck (¾ inch). Base approximately 13/16 inches wide and 1-5/8 inches long.
Mason's Improved Fruit Jar
A product of the Consolidated Fruit Jar Company in late 1870s, this Mason’s Improved Jar proved to be popular and accessible to many people in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A common household item, the jar helped housewives during the time-consuming process of canning and changed the way people viewed food preservation. The storage and protection these jars provided helped mothers achieve their goals of maintaining a healthy household. These jars were mass produced until the twentieth century, which causes their abundance today.
The inventor of the Mason jar, John Landis Mason, was born in Vineland, N.J., in 1832. He patented his jar in 1858.
Recovered from excavation prior to construction of Rutgers-Camden dormitory at 330 Cooper Street, Camden, N.J.
Rutgers University-Camden
Late nineteenth century; photograph, April 2018
Ashley Angelucci; photograph by Jacob Lechner
Collection of Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts
Affleck, Richard, George Cress, Ingrid Weubber, Rebecca White, Kimberly Morrell, and Thomas Kutys. Phase II and Data-Recovery Archaeological Excavations of the Smith-Maskell Site Cooper Street Development Camden, New Jersey. Archaeological Excavation Report, Burlington: URS Corporation.
Reconstructed glass jar, 7 inches tall and 4.5 inches wide.
Typewriter Dusting Brush
Typewriter manufacturing companies of the early twentieth century often paired the machines with a manual and a cleaning kit, providing consumers with two cleaning brushes, an oil can, and a small screwdriver. This "Typewriters Companion" dusting brush, made in France, would have been paired with a shorter, stiff-bristled brush that was used first to remove the hardened grime from between the type keys. The dusting brush was typically used after the type brush to wiping the typewriter clean of loosened dirt and dust without harming it. The handle was originally threaded with horsehair bristles, creating a much softer surface than the wire bristles of its partner, the type brush. With its long, curved handle and its wide set of soft bristles, the Typewriters Companion played a significant role in maintaining typewriters in the early twentieth century.
Recovered from excavation prior to construction of Rutgers-Camden dormitory at 330 Cooper Street, Camden, N.J.
Rutgers University-Camden
c. 1880-1930; photographs, March 2018.
McKenna Britton (Graduate Student, American Material Culture, Spring 2018)
Collection of Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts
Affleck, Richard, George Cress, Ingrid Weubber, Rebecca White, Kimberly Morrell, and Thomas Kutys. Phase II and Data-Recovery Archaeological Excavations of the Smith-Maskell Site Cooper Street Development Camden, New Jersey. Archaeological Excavation Report, Burlington: URS Corporation.
Bone brush handle, 14.5 cm (length) x 0.5 cm (width).