William H. Mumler and the Birth of Spirit Photography

They Pressed Play on an Old Answering Machine. They Weren’t Prepared for What They Heard.

It looked like nothing special. An old beige answering machine sat on a table at an estate sale with a $5 price tag. Most people walked right past it. One person took it home. Inside was a tiny microcassette. They plugged the machine in, pressed Play and heard a man’s voice. “Hi, it’s Dad. We’ll see you Sunday.” [https://i0.wp.com/urbanartantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Panasonic-Anrufbeantworter.jpg?resize=913%2C1024&ssl=1]By Norbert Schnitzler – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2376470 [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2376470] The messages that followed weren’t mysterious or dramatic. They were ordinary conversations about birthdays, dinner plans and grocery lists. But that’s what made them unforgettable. The people leaving those messages had no idea a stranger would hear their voices decades later. For some families, those forgotten recordings may be the last time a loved one’s voice was ever captured. It raises a fascinating question: How many answering machines are still sitting in attics, closets and thrift stores with hidden time capsules waiting to be discovered? This week on the podcast, we look back at the answering machine, the device that quietly recorded everyday life and, in some cases, preserved memories no one knew they would one day treasure. Answering machines evolved over more than a century as technology for recording and replaying sound improved. * Late 1800s: The idea became possible after Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877, which could record and play back sound. Early recording devices were too expensive and impractical for everyday telephone use. * Early to mid-1900s: As telephones became common, inventors experimented with devices that could automatically answer calls and record messages. Most early systems were used by businesses rather than households. * 1949: One of the first commercially successful answering devices, the Electronic Secretary, was introduced in the United States. It used wire recording technology and was large and expensive. * 1960s: Compact magnetic tape technology made answering machines smaller, more reliable, and more affordable. Reel-to-reel tape systems gradually gave way to cassette-based machines. * 1970s–1980s: Answering machines became a common household appliance. Features such as remote message retrieval, outgoing message recording, call screening, and message counters became standard. Prices fell enough for widespread consumer adoption. * 1990s: Digital answering machines replaced tape in many homes. They stored messages in electronic memory, eliminating tapes and allowing quicker access to recordings. * 2000s to today: Standalone answering machines declined as voicemail services provided by telephone companies and mobile carriers became standard. Smartphones and internet-based communication further reduced their use, though voicemail remains the direct descendant of the traditional answering machine.

Why Were Shoes Hidden Inside Old Walls?

For centuries, builders and homeowners across Britain—and later North America—deliberately concealed worn shoes inside the walls, chimneys, fireplaces, and doorways of their homes. These weren’t forgotten belongings or construction accidents. The shoes were carefully placed before the walls were sealed, where they often remained hidden for hundreds of years. [https://i0.wp.com/urbanartantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/shoerubble.png?resize=1024%2C627&ssl=1] Today, thousands of these discoveries have been recorded, leading historians to believe the practice was a form of household protection. According to folklore, a well-worn shoe carried the essence of its owner and could ward off evil spirits or other supernatural forces that might enter through doors, windows, or chimneys. Although no written explanation of the custom has ever been found, concealed shoes continue to turn up during renovations, offering a fascinating glimpse into the beliefs and traditions of earlier generations. Discover the remarkable story behind one of history’s most unusual archaeological mysteries in this episode of Antiques Mysteries.

August Art Openings 🎨 … First Thursday, Aug 6

The post outlines multiple art exhibitions in Portland galleries, including Russo Lee Gallery, Augen Gallery, Froelick Gallery, Blue Sky Gallery, and more, each hosting receptions at various times. A suggested walking route encourages visitors to explore these galleries efficiently. ---------------------------------------- 1. Russo Lee Gallery Exhibition: Guest Curator, John Hoke III Reception: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Address: 805 NW 21st Avenue, Portland, OR 97209 Website: russoleegallery.com [https://russoleegallery.com] ---------------------------------------- 2. Augen Gallery Exhibition: Reception: 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM Address: 716 NW Davis Street, Portland, OR 97209 Website: augengallery.com [https://augengallery.com] ---------------------------------------- 3. Froelick Gallery Exhibition: Reception: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Address: 714 NW Davis Street, Portland, OR 97209 Website: froelickgallery.com [https://froelickgallery.com] ---------------------------------------- 4. Blue Sky Gallery Exhibitions: Mark Maio: Against the Grain, Dawn Surrat: Real But Not True Reception: 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM Address: 122 NW 8th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209 Website: blueskygallery.org [https://blueskygallery.org] ---------------------------------------- 5. Blackfish Gallery Exhibitions: Reception: 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM Address: 938 NW Everett Street, Portland, OR 97209 Website: blackfish.com [https://blackfish.com] ---------------------------------------- 6. Gallery 114 Exhibitions: Reception: 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM Address: 1100 NW Glisan Street, Portland, OR 97209 Website: gallery114.com [https://gallery114.com] ---------------------------------------- 7. Elizabeth Leach Gallery Exhibition: Let’s Play: Group Exhibition Reception: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM Address: 417 NW 9th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209 Website: elizabethleach.com [https://elizabethleach.com] ---------------------------------------- 8. Waterstone Gallery Exhibitions: Reception: 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM Address: 124 NW 9th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209 Website: waterstonegallery.com [https://waterstonegallery.com] Portland Art Events Calendar [https://i0.wp.com/urbanartantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/portlandarteventscalendar-1.png?resize=729%2C90&ssl=1]https://urbanartantiques.com/portland-art-events-calendar/ 🗺 [https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/17.0.2/72x72/1f5fa.png] SUGGESTED ROUTE To make the most of your evening, here’s a recommended walking route starting from the northernmost gallery and moving southward. You’d have to be really fast to see them all, so looking at the websites ahead of time and leaving the ones that stay open later to last is also a potential strategy. 1. Russo Lee Gallery (805 NW 21st Ave) 2. Augen Gallery (716 NW Davis St) 3. Froelick Gallery (714 NW Davis St) 4. Blue Sky Gallery (122 NW 8th Ave) 5. Blackfish Gallery (938 NW Everett St) 6. Gallery 114 (1100 NW Glisan St) 7. Elizabeth Leach Gallery (417 NW 9th Ave) 8. Waterstone Gallery (124 NW 9th Ave) 9. Laura Vincent Gallery (824 NW Davis St) 10. NEW: Imperfecta Gallery (809 NW Flanders) 11. NEW: Lucky Girl Gourmet Gallery (1604 NW 15th Ave) Making time for it won’t be easy, but admission is free at the Portland Art Museum [https://portlandartmuseum.org/event/free-first-thursday-june05/]. Please note: First Thursday galleries are numbered in blue. This route covers approximately 1.5 miles and allows you to experience a diverse range of exhibitions. Be sure to check each gallery’s website for any updates or changes to event details. Enjoy your art-filled evening in Portland! Know of something else going on? Leave a comment!

William H. Mumler and the Birth of Spirit Photography

Here’s a short introductory article that sets up the episode while giving readers enough historical context without repeating the entire script. In the years following the American Civil War, the United States was a nation defined by loss. Hundreds of thousands of families mourned loved ones who would never return, often with little more than a letter and a single photograph to remember them by. At the same time, photography was still a remarkable new technology. Unlike paintings or sketches, photographs were widely believed to capture reality exactly as it was. If the camera showed something, people assumed it must have been there. It was into this world that Boston photographer William H. Mumler introduced one of the most controversial ideas of the nineteenth century. During ordinary portrait sessions, faint, ghostly figures began appearing alongside his subjects. Many grieving clients believed these mysterious forms were departed family members reaching out from beyond the grave. Mumler insisted that the camera could sometimes reveal spiritual presences invisible to the human eye. Others strongly disagreed. Critics argued the images were simply the result of photographic manipulation, accidental double exposures, or deliberate fraud. The debate became so intense that Mumler was eventually brought to trial in 1869, where photographers, skeptics, and even the famous showman P. T. Barnum testified about whether his spirit photographs were genuine or cleverly manufactured illusions. [https://i0.wp.com/urbanartantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-02-at-9.22.22-AM.png?resize=625%2C1024&ssl=1] Although Mumler was acquitted, his reputation never fully recovered. Yet his photographs remain among the most fascinating artifacts of nineteenth-century America—not because they prove the existence of ghosts, but because they reveal something deeply human. They show what can happen when revolutionary technology meets overwhelming grief. This episode explores the remarkable story of William H. Mumler, the rise of spirit photography, and why so many people placed their faith in images that seemed to promise one impossible thing: another chance to see someone they had lost. This version is suitable as a podcast description, blog post, or episode introduction. If you’d like, I can also make it feel more like a magazine feature or a cinematic historical essay.

The Companies Behind America’s Restaurant China

For much of the twentieth century, Americans ate from remarkably similar dinnerware whether they were enjoying breakfast in a roadside diner, lunch aboard a railroad dining car, dinner in a grand hotel, or a meal in a hospital cafeteria. Behind those plates and coffee cups stood a handful of American manufacturers whose products became the standard for commercial food service. Unlike delicate porcelain intended for display, restaurant china was built to work. Made from vitrified china or semi-porcelain, it was designed to resist chipping, survive industrial dishwashers, and withstand years of constant use. While millions of pieces were produced, much of this dinnerware was discarded as restaurants modernized, making surviving examples surprisingly collectible today. Here are the companies that built America’s restaurant tables. BUFFALO CHINA (1901–2004) Founded in Buffalo, New York, as Buffalo Pottery in 1901, the company gradually shifted its focus from art pottery to commercial dinnerware. In 1956 it officially became Buffalo China, reflecting its dominance in the institutional china market. Buffalo supplied restaurants, hotels, railroads, military facilities, hospitals, and schools throughout the United States. Its china appeared aboard the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, the Union Pacific Railroad, and numerous other passenger railroads during the golden age of dining cars. Luxury destinations including The Greenbrier in West Virginia and The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park also commissioned Buffalo ware, as did the U.S. Navy and many government institutions. Collectors appreciate Buffalo China for its durability, clean designs, and the wide variety of custom backstamps bearing the names of hotels, restaurants, and railroads. [https://i0.wp.com/urbanartantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-28-at-2.13.55-PM.png?resize=550%2C452&ssl=1] SYRACUSE CHINA (1871–2009) [https://i0.wp.com/urbanartantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-28-at-2.12.03-PM.png?resize=560%2C522&ssl=1] Founded as the Onondaga Pottery Company in Syracuse, New York, Syracuse China became one of America’s premier manufacturers of commercial dinnerware. The company earned a reputation for combining durability with elegant design, making it a favorite of luxury hotels and first-class dining rooms. Its customers included the Waldorf Astoria, The Plaza Hotel, numerous Pullman dining cars, and major passenger railroads. During the Jet Age, Syracuse China also produced dinnerware for airlines, including Eastern Air Lines, United Air Lines, American Airlines, and other commercial carriers seeking attractive yet durable in-flight service. The company also embraced modern design, producing patterns by industrial designers such as Russel Wright. Today, Syracuse remains one of the most sought-after names in restaurant china collecting. SHENANGO CHINA (1901–1991) Founded in New Castle, Pennsylvania, Shenango China specialized almost exclusively in commercial food service. While many manufacturers balanced retail and institutional production, Shenango built its reputation supplying restaurants, hotels, railroads, schools, and government agencies. Its dinnerware appeared aboard several passenger railroads and in hotel dining rooms throughout the country. Shenango also produced china for military contracts during both World Wars and later became known for manufacturing pieces used in the White House and other government facilities through affiliated lines. [https://i0.wp.com/urbanartantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-28-at-2.19.48-PM.png?resize=1024%2C934&ssl=1] Collectors often encounter Shenango pieces with custom restaurant logos, hotel names, and institutional backstamps, making the company a favorite among those interested in American dining history. HOMER LAUGHLIN CHINA COMPANY (1871–PRESENT) Founded in 1871 in Newell, West Virginia, Homer Laughlin is one of the last great survivors of America’s commercial china industry. Although best known today for Fiesta dinnerware, Homer Laughlin has supplied restaurants, diners, hospitals, schools, military dining facilities, and institutional cafeterias for well over a century. Unlike many of its competitors, the company successfully balanced consumer dinnerware with commercial production, allowing it to remain in business while many rivals disappeared. Because Homer Laughlin documented its production so thoroughly, many of its restaurant pieces can be dated quite accurately using factory backstamps and date codes. [https://i0.wp.com/urbanartantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-28-at-2.16.44-PM.png?resize=404%2C488&ssl=1] IROQUOIS CHINA COMPANY (1905–1969) [https://i0.wp.com/urbanartantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-28-at-2.17.47-PM.png?resize=518%2C470&ssl=1] Operating in the Syracuse, New York, area, Iroquois distinguished itself by bringing modern industrial design to commercial dinnerware. The company worked with celebrated designers including Russel Wright and Ben Seibel, producing restaurant and hotel china that reflected changing American tastes after World War II. Its products appeared in hotels, restaurants, institutional dining rooms, and airline service while introducing cleaner, more contemporary forms to commercial table settings. Although the company closed in 1969, Iroquois remains highly respected among collectors of mid-century modern design. MAYER CHINA COMPANY (1910–1990S) Founded in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, Mayer China focused on institutional dining rather than luxury hospitality. Its durable products served schools, universities, hospitals, factories, and large corporate cafeterias where reliability mattered more than elaborate decoration. [https://i0.wp.com/urbanartantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-28-at-2.15.30-PM-1.png?resize=418%2C434&ssl=1] While Mayer seldom produced the highly customized hotel china that attracts some collectors, it became an important supplier to educational and industrial food service operations throughout the twentieth century. The company gradually disappeared through mergers and industry consolidation during the 1990s. WALLACE CHINA COMPANY (1924–1964) Based in Vernon, California, Wallace China helped furnish the rapidly expanding hospitality industry of the American West. Its products were found in California hotels, roadside restaurants, coffee shops, and regional railroad dining services during the postwar travel boom. Wallace became particularly well known for colorful mid-century designs that reflected Southern California’s optimistic, modern aesthetic. [https://i0.wp.com/urbanartantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-28-at-2.22.29-PM.png?resize=266%2C220&ssl=1] Today, Wallace pieces are especially popular among collectors of West Coast restaurant memorabilia and mid-century design. TEPCO CHINA (1920S–1970S) The Technical Porcelain and Chinaware Company, better known simply as TEPCO, operated in El Cerrito, California, and became one of the defining names in West Coast restaurant china. [https://i0.wp.com/urbanartantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-28-at-2.21.45-PM.png?resize=456%2C392&ssl=1] TEPCO supplied diners, cafeterias, schools, hotels, and military facilities throughout the western United States. It is perhaps best remembered for its close association with Chinese-American restaurants, particularly in California, where countless family-owned establishments ordered customized TEPCO dinnerware bearing their own names and logos. Because many of these restaurants have disappeared, surviving TEPCO pieces have become an important record of Chinese-American culinary history. JACKSON CHINA COMPANY (EARLY 1900S–LATE 20TH CENTURY) Located in Falls Creek, Pennsylvania, Jackson China produced durable vitrified dinnerware for restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals, and institutional kitchens across the country. [https://i0.wp.com/urbanartantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-28-at-2.27.55-PM.png?resize=1024%2C939&ssl=1] Although it never achieved the national recognition of Buffalo or Syracuse, Jackson earned a reputation for dependable commercial china that could withstand years of heavy use. Today, collectors most often encounter Jackson pieces bearing the names of regional restaurants, schools, hospitals, and hotels, offering a glimpse into local dining history. COLLECTING RESTAURANT CHINA TODAY One of the pleasures of collecting restaurant ware is that every piece tells a story. The easiest way to identify a piece is by its backstamp, which usually identifies the manufacturer and sometimes the customer. Restaurant names, hotel logos, railroad heralds, airline insignias, military markings, and university seals can often narrow a piece to a particular period or location. Collectors also pay close attention to pattern names, shape numbers, and company trademarks. For example, Buffalo pieces marked “Buffalo Pottery” predate the company’s 1956 name change, while Homer Laughlin’s factory date codes can often identify the exact year—and sometimes even the month—a piece was produced. Custom china made for famous railroads, luxury hotels, early airlines, national parks, or long-closed restaurants is often especially desirable because it preserves a tangible piece of American history. AN ENDURING LEGACY Restaurant china was never intended to become collectible. It was designed to be practical, affordable, and nearly indestructible. Yet these sturdy plates and cups have become some of the most evocative artifacts of twentieth-century America. They recall the elegance of railroad dining cars, the glamour of grand hotels, the optimism of early air travel, and the countless neighborhood diners where generations gathered over coffee and pie. For collectors, every backstamp is more than a maker’s mark. It is a connection to the places Americans traveled, the meals they shared, and the companies that quietly helped define everyday life.