Exhibit cases in the Art Gallery

View the hanging photograph exhibits

Exhibit Case in the Art Gallery

EXHIBIT ITEMS

Tools of the glass working trade and glass canes, ca. 1900-1930.  Owens-Illinois Glass Company Records, MSS-200; and on loan from the Toledo Museum of Art.
Blowpipes were used to pick up globs of molten glass from the furnace. By blowing through the ends, workers would enlarge the object, hollow it out (if to be used as a vessel), and shape it. 
Glass canes were made by glass workers at the end of the day from leftover glass batch.  Members of the American Flint Glass Workers Union would carry the canes in Labor Day parades and at other public events.

Plaque, Dedication of the International Headquarters of the American Flint Glass Workers Union, 1966.  From private collector.
The American Flint Glass Workers Union was founded in 1878 in Pittsburgh.  It moved its international headquarters to Toledo to reflect the city’s domination of the industry.  In 1966, the union moved to a new headquarters building at the corner of Glendale and Byrne roads in south Toledo.  The union remained in this building until 2010, when it moved back to Pittsburgh after it merged with the United Steelworkers of America.

Exhibit Case in the Art Gallery

EXHIBIT ITEMS

United Automobile Worker, 1943, 1955.  Richard T. Gosser Papers, MSS-025.
Richard Gosser was the powerful president of UAW Local 12 in Toledo from 1938 to 1942, and director of the UAW’s regional office from 1942 to 1947.  In this capacity, he made many friends, and many enemies.  These bound volumes of the national UAW newsletter are from Gosser’s library. Access the digital collection

Correspondence regarding unionization efforts, 1937.  International Chemical Workers Local 901 Records, MSS-085.
This letter was sent to the superintendent of the DuPont plant, located on Tremainsville Road in Toledo, informing him of the intention of the plant’s workers to organize for collective bargaining in 1937. Access the digital collection

Railway accident report, 1913-1914.  Toledo, Angola, and Western Railway Records, MSS-102.
Working for the railroads was a dangerous job.  Even with its limited track, the Toledo, Angola, and Western Railway saw its share of accidents that left workers dead or maimed for life.  This report documents the death of Nick Cominella, who was killed when his foot was caught under a rail car while he was uncoupling the car. Access the digital collection 

Exhibit Case in the Art Gallery

EXHIBIT ITEMS

Stamping blanks and finished products, Acklin Stamping Company, ca. 1940s.  On loan from the Maumee Valley Historical Society.
Stamping plants shaped metal into forms used in numerous products. 

Die casts, Doehler-Jarvis Company, 1929-1951.  On loan from the Maumee Valley Historical Society.
Herman Doehler invented the die casting processing that produced molds that were then used to create intricate metal machinery parts and ornamentation.  Shown here is a piece of an automobile transmission, as well as plated gas caps, hood ornaments, and door handles made by Doehler-Jarvis using the die cast method. View a related exhibit here.