The 1903 Crestmobile... Only $750!

Back in 1903, you could buy a Crestmobile for just $750.  Adjusted for inflation, that would be approximately $21,160 today.  While this ad does not say where their factory was, their main office was at 193 Broadway, Cambridge MA.  I wasn't able to pinpoint #193 on modern maps, but finally located it on a 1930 atlas (marked with a red star).  

NECCO Wafers... and Pineapple Loaf? (1921)

The recent history of Necco (New England Confectionery Company) is a sad example of business in Boston (where, in my humble opinion, physical real estate is worth more than lost manufacturing jobs, rail infrastructure, and history), but many Americans are still familiar with Necco Wafers, which were originally invented in 1845 and brought under the Necco banner after the company was formed in 1901.

As we can see in this 1921 ad, in addition to the famous wafers, Necco also offered a Pineapple Loaf, consisting of "wedges of juicy ripe pineapple imbedded in cream... chocolate coated". 

Both could be had for 5 cents.

American Car Sprinkler Company - Worcester MA

Depending on where you live, many modern Americans rarely encounter unpaved roads.  When they do, the whole concept can seem a bit "ancient".  (Of course, here in Massachusetts some paved roads are just as rough as unpaved ones, but I digress...)

Above is a 1908 ad for The American Car Sprinkler Company of Worcester MA.  One definition of the verb "lay" is "to cause to subside or settle".  And that is just what this device did, it sprayed water over roads that were either totally unpaved, or paved with cobbles or bricks, in order to settle dust, ashes, or even dry horse manure!  

According to the 1912 Massachusetts Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners: 

The American Car Sprinkler Company, of Worcester, operates electric sprinkler cars in the cities of Worcester, Lynn, Lowell, Lawrence, Springfield, Holyoke, Brockton, Taunton, Fall River and New Bedford and in the town of Revere, under contracts with said cities and town and the Worcester Consolidated, Boston and Northern, Springfield, Holyoke, Taunton and Pawtucket, East Taunton, Norton and Taunton, Old Colony and Union Street railway companies, operating therein.

The 1901 ad above lists an M.J. Whittall as the company's vice-president.  That was Matthew Whittall, and this is interesting, as the offices were located on Brussells Street in Worcester, which just so happened to be the location of Whittall's carpet mills.  By 1917, his son M. Percival Whittall was vice president.  

The ad above is from 1912 and finally gives us a more realistic view of the sprinkler equipment in action.