metal – Ruth E. Hendricks Photography

Did You Ever Own a Metal Lunchbox?

They were banned in schools in the 1970s after parents complained they were used as weapons and caused serious head injuries. Their history is here from the first Hopalong Cassidy box, to the the last of Rambo Sylvester Stallone model.

I had a red Stewart plaid one in third grade that I remember, complete with a thermos. There were no ice packs included, ever.

The Antique Trader attributes the popularity of metal lunchboxes to television.

Take a tour of the museum with this YouTube video if you can’t get to Columbus Georgia.

Allen Woodall’s Lunchbox Museum in Columbus, Georgia…..has More than 3,000 lunchboxes and 1,000 thermoses sit on floor-to-ceiling shelves that line the walls. Others hang from the ceiling

Mr Woodall has written an encyclopedia shown below

You can get a pricing guide if you want to start a metal lunchbox collection

September 12, 2023September 12, 2023 by Ruth Categories: PhotographyTags: Allen Woodall, childhood, collection, lunch box, lunchbox museum, metal, metal lunch box, museum, nostalgia, photography, postaday, school, television, vintage 14 Comments

Remembering the Combination Can Be Tricky

A six word Saturday post

February 8, 2019 by Ruth Categories: Photography, Six Word SaturdayTags: combination lock, door, lock, memory, metal, photography, postaday, rust, rusting lock, Six Work Saturday, texture 7 Comments

30 Years Ago the Price was $5.99

Can you guess what it cost to bronze a pair of baby shoes in 2016?*

I’ve seen a lot of bronze baby shoes mounted on a photo stand. Derek Jeter had a hat bronzed, I read on their site. (Doesn’t have to be baby shoes)

Wednesday night, I was cleaning out a desk drawer and found this envelope and special value certificate to “use by Aug 11, 1986”. Oooops! My money saver certificate has long expired.

American Bronzing Company is still in business (since 1934) I checked them out and there are a lot of options. Not sure if the ashtray is still available but the company has bronzed over ” 14,000,000 baby shoes.”

Our story begins in 1934, when Violet Shinbach, the “mother of baby shoe bronzing,” established a business that would soon become the American Bronzing Company, the largest and most-trusted baby shoe bronzing company in the world.

*And today it would cost $79.00 to get a pair of baby shoes bronzed, unmounted.

I should have ordered in 1986.

I see you can get silver plate restored too if you have an old tea service that needs spiffing up.

History of American Bronzing link

July 13, 2016 by Ruth Categories: PhotographyTags: 1986, American Bronzing Company, baby shoes, bronze baby shoes, memories, metal, ohio, retro, silver plate, vintage 11 Comments

Unexpected Gift

The seniors in sixth period finished their Digital Photography exam. And after homeroom, the seniors were allowed to go home.

One of the young women in the class and my homeroom, handed me this two tone metal dog pin and said, “Here Ms. Hendricks. This is for you.”

I was so surprised. She’d made it in Jewelry Class.

I took the highly polished pin and pinned it on my shirt collar, fastening the safety clasp, thanked her and told her how lovely it was…. but then as I thought about it, I asked her if maybe she should give it to someone in her family, it was so beautiful.

She said, “No, I want you to have it.”

My first year teaching high school is coming to a close. I’m touched when asked to sign a yearbook. They want me to bring my camera to graduation on Saturday.

I’ve learned a lot.

Thank you Jaquea. (p.s. It is really difficult to photograph highly polished metal)

June 4, 2013June 4, 2013 by Ruth Categories: dogs, PhotographyTags: art, copper, digital photography, dog, fashion, handcrafted, high school, jewelry, metal, postaday, present, school, student, style 15 Comments

Bronze Elevator Doors in the City County Building, Pittsburgh PA

Sometimes you see something on the fly- take a quick picture and later you think, oh,

I should have taken a little more time, shot more views or gotten better photographs as you review what you captured.

I left these photos the way I took them- a bit crooked, a partial door- as a reminder to take my time and get the detail, watch the angle,

*note to self– take a few more pictures when you see something magnificent, unusual and interesting. Take the entire door in the frame!

When we hung the art show at the City County Building downtown Pittsburgh, we were getting into the elevators and I took a couple of photographs of the bronze elevator doors. You almost felt like you were in Florence.

Henry Hornbostel was the architect of the building (and about fifty other building that are still in the city) but I couldn’t find who designed and sculptured/cast the elevator doors specifically. They were amazing to see. Figures with earlier government buildings in hand. Definitely need to get to the Carnegie Library for some detailed research but just look at the doors and think about how they don’t make buildings like this anymore. There’s a lot of history in the story of the doors that I don’t have at hand. Details later.

Brass vs. Bronze the difference in the two metals information here

May 15, 2013May 15, 2013 by Ruth Categories: Photography, Pittsburgh PhotosTags: architecture, art, bronze elevator doors, cast bronze, City-County Building, Henry Hornbostel, metal, Pittsburgh PA, postaday, sculpture 13 Comments

Tag: metal

Did You Ever Own a Metal Lunchbox?

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Remembering the Combination Can Be Tricky

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30 Years Ago the Price was $5.99

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Unexpected Gift

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Bronze Elevator Doors in the City County Building, Pittsburgh PA

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