RICHMOND – The much beloved Richfood store brand is disappearing. Richfood was, for most of the 20th century, the dominant grocery name in Virginia; its dairy complex along I-95 in Richmond promoted ubiquitous Richfood milk to anyone driving up and down the East Coast. A friend in Richmond tells meMORE HERE
The Vera brand is continuing its revival, with a new licensing deal. MORE HERE
NEW YORK – The recent release of 870,000 images to the public at the New York City Department of Records has caused excitement for history and photography buffs around the world. The digitization project includes routine street-scape photos taken by the city for tax purposes, as well as other pictures.MORE HERE
One of the biggest stumbling blocks for orphan brand names is the companies that drop them, and then seek to keep them away from new owners by way of lawsuits and intimidation. American business history is rife with hundreds of thousands of brand names that have been dropped, discontinued orMORE HERE
One of the most venerable names in American inventing and entrepreneurship is Powel Crosley (1886-1961), an innovator who is credited with the first economy car, the first fax machine and the first lighted baseball field. Pictured here is the Crosley car, seen at an auto show on St. Armand’s CircleMORE HERE
Last week, I was in a Wells Fargo branch, looking at a beautifully produced booket and story of the company. It included an explanation of how it ran stagecoaches and ran money to the West, and detailed many of the innovations of the hundreds of banks that made up whatMORE HERE
Got to love the funny little American brand names that serve small product niches. With these brands, the product markets are small, and so is the competition. Little advertising is needed, and is mostly word of mouth. One such niche is the category of brands that solve unique problems; inMORE HERE
So many fragrances get forgotten, ruined or changed, but one that has survived for men is Eau Sauvage by Christian Dior. Sadly, most department stores don’t stock it, and you have to find it at those cheesy generic perfume shops located in sub-leased spots in the mall. It’s a stinkyMORE HERE
For those of us who grew up in the 1970s, a Hyatt House was a sort of hotel paradise. Yes, there were Ramada Inns and Holiday Inns, and these were actually decent places for everyday family trips and such. But in terms of a really smart, slick hotel, a reallyMORE HERE
In the heyday of the turntable, there were many great brand names. The turntable was the next step from the Hi-Fi (made by folks like Zenith and Philco Ford), and a turntable and receiver perfectly matched the era of the LP, when audio quality began to be an issue whenMORE HERE