We still make things in this country: Wright Aluminum Company

Harold Wright invented his Wright Aluminum clothesline pulley in 1946:  

He began making these out of his house, but soon had to move to larger premises.  In 2000, the company changed its name to Solar Drying Systems, and also changed from aluminum to zinc die casting.  

According to the company's website:

Benefits for drying your clothes on a clothesline: 

A typical household in the United States consumes a total of about 11,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year
Your clothes dryer could be accounting for ten percent of your total electricity use!
Each year, it costs about $160 just to run your clothes dryer. In contrast, most clotheslines will pay for themselves within 1 year. Also, all of the energy from the sun is free!
There are upwards of 88 million dryers in the US alone, each emitting in excess of one ton of carbon dioxide per year. " Dryers consume approximately 6% of the total household electricity usage.
Line drying is one of the most cost effective ways to reduce your carbon footprint.
Second to the refrigerator, the electric dryer is the second biggest household user of electricity. Each of these consumes approximately 1,079 kilowatt hours of energy per household, emitting 2,224 pounds of carbon dioxide.
Clothes typically last longer without the duress of a machine dryer.
The sun's ultraviolet rays are a Natural antiseptic and kill bacteria.

Sidecar Sunday

photo by Alvin

Barber Vintage 2015

Birth of Mercedes 1901

For 1901 the Daimler agent for the south of France had persuaded the company to build a lower, sleeker car, which he also renamed in order to deflect the anti-German sentiment prevalent at the time.The name he chose was that of his daughter, Mercedes. 

I like the very simple but shapely front fenders, they look like a simple flat piece of sheet metal, twisted into the required shape.

Star Bonifacio Echeverria, S.A. 1961

Just the right size for a lady's purse, or the pocket of your greatcoat.

Continental Holiday.  The American Travel Guide to Europe.  New York, 1961.

Founded around 1905, the company failed in 1997.

Elgin Outboards

Above, from Kijiji.

According to Elgin Outboards, "The Elgin outboard brand was retailed through Sears & Roebuck from 1946 through the early 1960's. No other Sears brand outboard motors (before or since) had the market share or impact of the Elgin name. Two companies provided outboards to Sears bearing the Elgin name; West Bend and Scott McCulloch."

Schooner Stuart H Dunn

Willis Metcalfe, Canvas and Steam on Quinte Waters, South Marysburgh Marine Society, 1979

Schooner Stuart H. Dunn under tow by the fish-tug Nelly Bly in the Eastern Gap, Toronto

 More Stuart H. Dunn history

From Toronto to Vancouver Overnight!

Ontario Public School Geography.  Toronto:  W.J. Gage & Co., Limited, 1937.

The aircraft is likely a Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra.

Gripping Tales: Weber Tools GmbH, Germany

A pair of nippers made by this company.  The original firm was founded in 1952 by Alois Karl Weber to make industrial tools and automotive parts.  His grandson created a new business, Weber Tools, in 2000.

Volkswagen vans, 1981

Popular Science

I owned a 1962 van, like the one on the left- very briefly. I never felt the urge to upgrade, even if they claim to have "gotten it right".

Velocette at Barber

photo  by Alvin

The sign on the headlight gives the price and the letters MSS, which, if it is that model, has been thoroughly Venom-ized ( if that's a word)...