Sign: "Louis Di Marco Shoes, Better Shoes for Everybody" (c. 1920), "One price for all" sign (c. 1918), Children's school shoes once for sale in the DiMarco store, Shoe bench (used from 1918 to 1975).
Gift of Theresa DiMarco. (11-1/2" x 14" x 5") IT.85.159; (11-3/4" x 24-3/4") IT.85.164; (3-1/2" x 5-3/4" x 2-1/2") IT.86.15; and (13-1/2" x 24" x 10-1/2") IT.86.2.
Luigi DiMarco, the donor's father, used traditional skills from his birthplace of Fossa in Italy to start a successful business in South Philadelphia. He immigrated in 1905 and, from 1918 until his death in 1975, he sold American and Italian-made shoes to "men, women and children" from his shop at 764 South 9th Street. The shop sign included here is the first electric sign used in the store.
Family and community life were intertwined since the storefront served as the entrance to the home. Di Marco's daughters, Theresa, Lydia, and Vincenza, often wrapped packages and rang up sales, while his wife, Maria, a few yards away, tended to her family. The Di Marco business represented only one of many retail shops established on the ground floor of homes in Philadelphia's "Little Italy."
Spanish Merchants' Association Sign and Banner. Library Transfer.
Gift of the Spanish Merchants' Association. (17-1/8" x 6-1/2") SP.91.131; (13-1/4" x 10") SP.91.130.a.
This organization was founded in Philadelphia in 1970 to foster growth of local Latino businesses. The association increasingly focused on housing, food and other assistance programs in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Battery-operated lantern (c. 1920s).
Gift of Albert Roberts Guris. (11-1/4" x 7"). S.88.240.
The donor's father, Paul Guris, Sr., was born in Klenovec, Slovakia in 1883 and arrived in the Unite States in 1903 with his wife Susan Struhar and their first child. Having worked as a gas producer for the Eastern Steel Mill in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in the early 1920s, he purchased a farm in Auburn, Pennsylvania, for $3,325 in order to better provide for his family of ten children. This lantern was used by all of the Guris boys to perform chores before daybreak or after dusk. Paul and Susan Guris were among the original founders in 1907 of St. John's Slovak Evangelical Church in St. Clair, Pennsylvania.
Young Mule Driver, pastel drawi ng. By Frank Wysochanski (1981).
Gift of the artist. (27" x 19") P.81.79.
Frank Wysochanski, a Ukrainian American, depicted the experience of many of his compatriots in the Pennsylvania coal mines. Young Mule Driver illustrates that, despite industrial innovations, the use of mules at the turn of the century was still essential to many aspects of mining.
Lunch pot with lid (1920s).
Gift of Mrs. Philip Miller. (6" x 5"). JE.83.50.
This lunch pot was used by the donor's grandfather, Isadore (Itzak) Mayer, to transport cold soup to work at Brown's Knitting Mills in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. Mayer was a Jewish immigrant from Hungary.
Welsh miner's "Tommy box."
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Jones. (2" x 6-5/8" x 4"). W.80.1.a&b.
This "Tommy box" is a replica of early miners' dinner pails, made by a Welsh-American craftsman, Arnold Cole, of Mountain Ash, Pennsylvania. Cole supplied the Tommy boxes for the film How Green Was My Valley.
Coal Town, pen and ink drawing. By Fran k Wysochanski (1981)
Gift of the artist. (27-1/4" x 21-1/4") P.81.80.
Coal Town shows how the employment of large numbers of workers in the coal regions necessitated the building of nearby towns. The drawing also reveals a cross section of the labor force, including children, in the mines.
Bosák Horké Vino products and tools.
Gift of Bosák/Gold Seal Manufacturing Co. Cooper's hammer, used for beating truss hoops on and off and for riveting hoops to follow the bulge of the cask: (12" x 5" x 1-1/4") S.84.61. Bung start: (23" x 6" x 3") S.84.57. Cooper's mallet: (9" x 5-3/4" x 2") S.84.58. Box scraper plane, used for erasing marks and brands on casks, boxes etc.: (12-3/4" x 2-3/4") S.84.56. Cooper's adze, used for beveling the stave ends: (8" x 8") S.84.53. Label: (5" x 4-3/8") S.84.49.a&b. Bottle: (7-1/4" x 2-3/4" x 2") S.84.50. Crate: (15" x 11-1/2" x 10-1/4") S.84.51.
Horké Vino founder Michal Bosák (1869-1937) arrived penniless in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in 1885 from his native Slovakia. At first he was employed by a coal company as a slate picker, but by 1893 he had opened a tavern in nearby Olyphant. In less than four years he had become a wholesale distributor of liquor and beer. While his wife ran the tavern, Michal Bosák often was on the road with a horsedrawn wagon. Well respected throughout the large immigrant community, he was entrusted with exchanging foreign currency and selling steamship tickets to those immigrants who wanted to buy passages to America for their relatives. By 1902 he had helped found an immigrant bank in Olyphant. At the same time, he successfully managed his liquor business until he sold it in 1940. From 1920 to 1933, the company circumvented the restrictions of Prohibition with its Bosák Horké Vino (Bitter Wine), which was classed as a laxative despite an alcohol content of eighteen to twenty percent.
Wire sculp tures made by Raysik Wireworks, Philadelphia (c. 1920s).
Gift of Joseph and Edward Janco.
Crescent with Irish harp (60" x 30") S.88.183. Fire engine (56" x 23" x 21") S.88.83. Elk (25-1/2" x 19") S.88.192.a.
Raysik Wireworks was a Slovak immigrant business in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia. It manufactured and sold wire sculptures, primarily to florists for use at funerals. Wireworking is a traditional Slovak craft, but the designs and emblems produced by the Raysik Wireworks include a variety of symbols associated with other ethnic groups as well as trade symbols and emblems of fraternal orders with no specific ethnic association. The donors, whose stepfather started the business, continued it until 1988.
Journeyman's certificate (c. 1907).
Gift of Irene Wildgrube. (7" x 4-1/2"). S.88.5.
The donor's father, John (Janos) Wacula, was a journeyman tool and die maker in Slovakia. After a year's schooling, he received this certificate. He worked in machine shops in Austria-Hungary, Germany, and elsewhere, between 1909 and 1913. In each shop he learned a different aspect of the trade. When he was deemed competent, the shop owner stamped the certificate and gave him a recommendation for his next stop. By the time he had completed this process in 1913, there was little work available. Many men were joining the army, but two of Wacula's brothers were already in the military. He decided to come to the United States instead. Here he found work in his trade and became foreman of a machine shop on Lafayette Street in New York City.
Ceramic elephant (c. 1970).
Museum Purchase. (8-1/2" x 10" x 4-1/4"). V.91.227.
This elephant figurine was one of many brought here by a Vietnamese merchant when he was forced to flee his country in the early 1970s. Broken during the passage, the pieces were painstakingly glued back together to be sold.
Atlantis sign. Library Transfer.< /strong>
Gift of Atlantis National Greek Daily Newspaper. (9-1/4" x 13-1/4"). GR.89.24.a.
The Greek language newspaper Atlantis was founded in New York City in 1894 by brothers Solon and Demetrius Vlasto. By providing extensive coverage of the homeland and retaining the Greek language throughout the duration of its release, Atlantis reflected many Greek immigrants' view that their residence in the United States was only temporary. Written in "Katharevousa" dialect, Atlantis attempted to preserve the "purity" of the nationalist language against the use of slang, phonetics, and Americanisms, but it was beyond the comprehension of most Greek immigrants. Atlantis operated, with few interruptions, until 1973.
Advertising fan.
Museum Purchase. (9-3/4" x 10-1/2"). AA.73.3&4.
This fan apparently was produced by a group of African-American businesses in Washington D.C. The pictures celebrate middle-class family life.
Hmong "American flag" (1979-80).
Gift of Margaret Rowan.
(83" x 81-1/2"). HMG.84.88.
This piece was made by Hmong students in a sewing class at John F. Kennedy Vocational Technical School in Philadelphia. The donor, their teacher, asked her class to create their own version of the American flag. The result incorporates the familiar red, white and blue into a typical, Hmong symmetrical design. Many Hmong refugees in the United States have earned a living by practicing their traditional sewing skills.
Cart (c. 1935).
Gift of the La Rosa Pasta Company. (41" x 94" x 60"). IT.87.406.
Made in Sicily, this cart is decorated with scenes from Italian history on the outside and floral and checkerboard designs on the inside and wheels. It was acquired by the La Rosa company as a symbol of Italian heritage and displayed in the company's offices.
[Ethnic Business and Labor: Introductory Essay]
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© 1996 The Balch Institute For Ethnic Studies
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