The Heavy Stuff--Old School Hardware in Advertisements, 1887

JF Ptak Science Books  Quick Post

While looking through a yearly volume of the Scientific American Architects and Builders Supplemental volume for April, 1887, I was very much impressed by the sheer size and heaviness and oddness of some of the good advertised in the back of this one issue.  For example, here's the distant relation of a convenience that we all take for granted nowadays:

And I think that I muttered an "oh holy crap" statement when I gave this a view--I was particularly taken with the "economy" part of the name:

Here's another heating unit, smaller than the Economy brand, but with a pair of installers to give a sense of scale (and yes the two workman are standing on the very top step of their ladders):

 

 

Also, this lovely full-page ad, which at the time seemed like such a godsend, but which turns out to have been not-so-good; and it is not so much heavy here, but it would weigh on people quite a lot in its future:

 

There were of course dozens of other ads--perhaps another hundred or so--but these were the larger varieties that struck me by their heaviness and design.