Sangamon County

Broadwell Pharmaceutical Bottle

Image of Broadwell Pharmaceutical bottle.

“Meet me at Broadwell’s.”

They said this in “Young Mr. Lincoln’s” time – and they say it today.

~“Young Mr. Lincoln” was a theater production advertised in 1939.

Close inspection of a bottle produced for sale at the Stuart Broadwell Drug Store in Springfield, Illinois, shows the minor imperfections and bubbles in the handmade blown glass. Whitall, Tatum Co., of Millville, New Jersey, manufactured the bottles with the druggist’s name embossed on the side.

Bressmer Pharmaceutical Bottle

Image of Bressmer Pharmaceutical bottle.

Ca. 1889-1914

Embossed “THE John Bressmer/ Co./ SPRINGFIELD, ILL” and “C.L.G. CO”

John Bressmer’s dry goods business remained at the same location in downtown Springfield, Illinois, for his entire 54-year career. Whitall, Tatum Co., of Millville, New Jersey, produced this embossed, blown glass bottle for Bressmer’s store.

Frank Pierson Richards

Image of General Grant on horseback, hand-carved and painted wood sculpture, Frank Pierson Richards, ca. 1880-1888
General Grant on Horseback
ca. 1880-1888
hand-carved and painted wood
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Earl Richards, Springfield, Illinois
Frank P. Richards was a farmer living near Rochester, Illinois, who spent his evenings and winters carving. He quit farming and moved to Edinburg, Illinois, and eventually Springfield, Illinois, where he did odd jobs and became known as an inventor. 

Death Portrait of Charlotta Richardson

Image of Death Portrait of Charlotta Richardson
Today in the United States, many people feel very uncomfortable looking at a death portrait. However, in earlier times, it was an accepted means of remembering and memorializing someone who had died. In the 19th century, many families lost children to accident and disease.

Edward Richardson Jr., Self Portrait

Image of Oil painting on canvas, Edward Richardson Jr., self-portrait
Edward Richardson Jr. worked as an artist in Springfield, Illinois, from 1850 until his death in 1858 at the age of 31. He advertised himself in the local newspaper as a portrait artist and decorative painter.

Tornado

Image of Robert Larson painting, Tornado.
Illinois' predominately flat landscape leaves us with ample sky to contemplate, making us all forecasters of coming storms. Nothing is more indicative of the powerful and unpredictable forces of weather than tornadoes, a not uncommon sight on our horizons.

WWI Helmet; Photo of Kent Hagler

Photo of WWI helmet; framed photo of Kent Hagler

WWI helmet, (1917) worn by by Kent Hagler (shown in framed image) during his service in France.

When American forces joined World War I, Kent Hagler of Springfield, Illinois, was desperate to join the military, but a childhood injury prevented him from serving. Undeterred, he joined the American Field Service in France as a volunteer ambulance driver on July 17, 1917. He wore this helmet throughout his time in France.

Jet Brooch

Image of Jet Brooch

Jet Brooch, (c. 1861 -1868), M.W. Galt & Bro, Jewelers, purchased in Washington D.C. by Sally Logan Lamon.

This jet mourning brooch was purchased by Sally Logan Lamon in Washington D.C. during the 1860s, possibly in the wake of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.

Taxidermied Canary

This canary’s name is Nicodemus. He belonged to an Illinois woman in the 19th century. Nicodemus was free from his cage and sitting on a window sash one day when someone threw open the sash and smashed him. His owner was so distraught that she had him stuffed and mounted, and he sat on display in the family parlor for the next several decades.

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