Matchbook Monday (was 2 days ago) but I bring you this matchbook with which to light the peace pipe of forgiveness. I have always considered the elevator business to be - break-even - because Ups = Downs Otis elevator has been in the news lately due to a very large merger in Connecticut. More interesting is how Otis came to be - Elisha Graves Otis was a mechanic in Albany in the 1840s. He was employed by a factory with large machinery and knew how to maintain and install it. Assisting the installation of machines at another factory he knew the perils of hoisting heavy equipment and the danger of it breaking or coming loose. He developed a braking design to make heavy lifting safer. When he applied it to existing designs for elevators the result was skepticism. It took a public exhibition with Otis himself in a demonstration where the elevator cable was cut with the inventor inside. His system worked and the rest is history. He created a solution that lead to the expansion of elevator use and the proliferation of high rise buildings. Otis didn’t invent the elevator he invented the breaking device that would make an elevator safer. This matchbook from 1953 commemorates the 100th year of the company’s existence. Amazing how the prevalence of smoking could place this kind of spot advertising in the hands of millions so confidently. Today, it’s hard to imagine what the relationship between smoking and elevators could be. On the upside - the merger, which involves the parent company of Otis Elevator, will not result in the company leaving Connecticut. #found #Matchbook #vintage #collecting #otiselevator #matchbookmonday #estatesalefinds #foundastory #urbanarcheology

Matchbook Monday (was 2 days ago) but I bring you this matchbook with which to light the peace pipe of forgiveness. I have always considered the elevator business to be - break-even - because Ups = Downs Otis elevator has been in the news lately due to a very large merger in Connecticut. More interesting is how Otis came to be - Elisha Graves Otis was a mechanic in Albany in the 1840s. He was employed by a factory with large machinery and knew how to maintain and install it. Assisting the installation of machines at another factory he knew the perils of hoisting heavy equipment and the danger of it breaking or coming loose. He developed a braking design to make heavy lifting safer. When he applied it to existing designs for elevators the result was skepticism. It took a public exhibition with Otis himself in a demonstration where the elevator cable was cut with the inventor inside. His system worked and the rest is history. He created a solution that lead to the expansion of elevator use and the proliferation of high rise buildings. Otis didn’t invent the elevator he invented the breaking device that would make an elevator safer. This matchbook from 1953 commemorates the 100th year of the company’s existence. Amazing how the prevalence of smoking could place this kind of spot advertising in the hands of millions so confidently. Today, it’s hard to imagine what the relationship between smoking and elevators could be. On the upside - the merger, which involves the parent company of Otis Elevator, will not result in the company leaving Connecticut. #Matchbook #vintage #collecting #otiselevator #matchbookmonday #estatesalefinds #foundastory #urbanarcheology

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