Extensive Collection of Antique Paint Color Cards Comes Back to Chicago After 40 Years

May 24, 2010 - PRLog -- A beautiful and unique collection of Chicago paint memorabilia has made it back to Chicago after being in storage for 40 years in Minneapolis, thanks to a determined Valspar employee in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Painting in Partnership of Palatine, Illinois.

After conversations with the Chicago History Museum and the Minnesota Museum, the Valspar employee ascertained that their interest in the collection was limited to only a few items.  So, she searched again and found Painting in Partnership, a house painting contractor located in the Barrington area, with a national reputation as a collector and custodian of the painting industry’s past.  Visit http://paintpartner.com/historic-home-restoration to see examples of Painting in Partnership's work on historic restoration projects in the Chicago area.

How did this collection end up in Minneapolis in the first place? Following the acquisition of several Chicago paint manufacturers by Rockcote Paint of Rockford, Illinois in the 1950’s and 60’s, Rockcote had inherited the paint memorabilia of seven old-time Chicago paint manufacturers. Then in 1970, Rockcote and Minnesota Linseed Oil and Paint Co. merged and adopted Valspar as their corporate name.  The decision was made to move the Chicago paint memorabilia collection to the Minneapolis office for storage and safekeeping.  Earlier this year, Valspar made the decision to find another suitable custodian for the collection.  

So, what is in the collection?   It includes items from these seven old-time Chicago paint manufacturers: Armstrong Paint & Varnish Works, Enterprise Paint Manufacturing Co., Chicago Paint Works, Republic Paint and Varnish Works, Stetson Paint Works, Continental Works, Co. and The Elliott Paint and Varnish Company.  There are books and binders given to dealers to promote the lines of paint manufacturers offered through the dealer stores, complete with color cards for each type of paint, plus product descriptions and samples of promotional materials.  These items cover a period from 1920 to the early 1960’s.  Below is sampling of a few items from Chicago Paint Works.

The collection also includes old photographs, as well as a bound edition of eight supplements that were published in 1946-47 by Armstrong Paint to celebrate their century in business.  These supplements provide a fantastic amount of information and pictures tracing the history of Chicago and the development of the painting industry from the mid-1800’s to the mid 1900’s.

Painting in Partnership has been rescuing Chicago paint industry memorabilia for over 20 years.  Its collection has grown to well over five hundred items, including: signs, advertisements, tools, cans, equipment, catalogs and dealer binders from manufacturers.  PIP owner and president, Mario Guertin, has largely assembled it through tips about the closings of old paint stores and old-time painting contractors in the Chicago area.  PIP maintains a "Paint Memorabilia Corner" online at http://paintpartner.com/about-pip/paint-memorabilia-corner.

Thanks to Valspar for entrusting Painting in Partnership with the safekeeping of this unique slice of the history of the house painting industry in Chicago.

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Painting in Partnership has served the Chicago area as a house painting and decorating contractor for over 20 years. PIP is nationally accredited through PDCA and has won many national awards for interior and exterior painting, including multiple TOP JOB awards from American Painting Contractor magazine and PDCA's Craftsman of the Year award.

Painting in Partnership does interior painting, exterior painting, historical restoration, decorative painting, color consulting, venetian plaster, cabinet re-finishing, wallpapering, murals, stain matching, "green" painting, gilding, deck and concrete finishing. Visit http://paintpartner.com for complete details.