1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. 4 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 2: Wilson. 5 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 1: This episode is brought to you by Everything is Depressing 6 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:21,760 Speaker 1: and I'm curious. 7 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:27,479 Speaker 2: I also have a forthcoming episode that has similar motivations. 8 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:32,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't know what day it is. What day 9 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 1: it was. I have been traveling a lot for work, 10 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: and there was one day. You know, my husband and 11 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: I had been a part for like over a week, 12 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:42,559 Speaker 1: which is very unusual for us. I don't know that 13 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 1: it's ever happened before, save one exception, because he was 14 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: traveling and I was traveling some of that with surprisers. 15 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: But we got home and I was like, hey, let's 16 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 1: go out for lunch because I flew in early in 17 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: the morning, early meaning in the morning period. And we did, 18 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: and we were at this place that we loved in 19 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: our house that is near train tracks, and as trains 20 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,959 Speaker 1: were going by, I, in my somewhat exhausted state, kept 21 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: gazing at them, and I was looking at all the 22 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: graffiti and I had this moment of like, I wonder 23 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,120 Speaker 1: what train people of the eighteen hundreds would think of 24 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 1: trains today, and then I went, they didn't even have 25 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 1: spray paint, And then I went, when did that happen? 26 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: So here we are. 27 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 2: I love when that kind of train of thought leads 28 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 2: to an episode. 29 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:31,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, to be clear, I don't want to disappoint anyone, 30 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:35,480 Speaker 1: because I know it is a much beloved subject for 31 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: some people. We're not talking about graffiti art, even though 32 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: I think that is fascinating. It'll get a little chatter 33 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:46,679 Speaker 1: on our Friday episode because I stumbled into a hotbed 34 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: of people discussing it. But the invention of spray paint, 35 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: like a lot of inventions, is kind of a matter 36 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: of debate. But this isn't just a case that we've 37 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: had in some instances where a bunch of different inventors 38 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 1: are onto the same idea kind of around the same time, 39 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: and there's like a race for a patent or arguments 40 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: over like when people filed the possible contenders for the 41 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: title of inventor are actually spread across decades for this one, 42 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,360 Speaker 1: and some of this becomes more of an argument about 43 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: what the definition of spray paint is. Uh. But there 44 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,360 Speaker 1: are also kind of clusters of moments, particularly at the 45 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: beginning where there are disagreements about maybe who was where 46 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: and what they knew of what other people were doing. Really, though, 47 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:33,720 Speaker 1: if you look at it in kind of its grander scale, 48 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:36,399 Speaker 1: it's more a matter of all of these people contributing 49 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:39,839 Speaker 1: pieces to the story, and in some cases, in one 50 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,799 Speaker 1: in particular, we know a pretty decent amount about the 51 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: various characters involved, and we're going to talk about them, 52 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:48,920 Speaker 1: But others, unfortunately, don't offer a whole lot of information 53 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,320 Speaker 1: about their personal history in any kind of definitive record. 54 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: So we're going to step through a number of people 55 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,360 Speaker 1: and moments that get us to the point where you 56 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: could just go to the hardware store and a can 57 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: of paint and paint something at your house. 58 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 2: One of the earliest figures cited as an inventor of 59 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:12,040 Speaker 2: a sprayable pigment is Joseph Binks, and this is already 60 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 2: a tricky part of the story because it is hard 61 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 2: to find information to back this up. There's also not 62 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 2: a lot of information on who Binks was as a person. 63 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:26,640 Speaker 2: Most of the references about this are on pages from 64 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:30,679 Speaker 2: body shops that use spray booths, which is cool. I've 65 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 2: had a similar experience sometimes when I have been researching 66 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 2: something that would be used in some particular capacity today. 67 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 2: But that's not a primary source. So it could be 68 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 2: entirely true, but there's not hard evidence that we can 69 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,160 Speaker 2: verify this with. There is a book that does include 70 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 2: this information. It's titled Collision Repair and Refinishing, a foundation 71 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 2: course for technicians. Holly was not able to get a 72 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 2: copy of that. It may or may not have a 73 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 2: more concrete source of where that detail comes from. 74 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, Also, since that is a book that is about 75 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: I mean I was able to get a preview of 76 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: it and see the contents. It definitely is about the 77 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 1: hard need information of doing the job of collision repair. 78 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: So I can't imagine the historical element is real heavy. 79 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: But in any case, according to the often repeated story, 80 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:30,360 Speaker 1: Banks was working as a maintenance manager at Marshall Fields 81 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 1: department store in Chicago, and as part of his routine 82 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:38,040 Speaker 1: work schedule, he had to oversee the whitewashing of the basement. 83 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: So just in case you don't know what that means 84 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: or why it's done, because I think some people think 85 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: whitewashing just means painting a thing white. That's not actually accurate. 86 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:50,479 Speaker 1: Whitewashing is a way to manage moisture and bacteria, as 87 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: well as to brightness space. True whitewash uses lime putty 88 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,200 Speaker 1: as a base, so it is not a matter of 89 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 1: applying white pigment, but a wash that happens to be 90 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: white that also helps to keep the space clean, and 91 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: because of its white color, there is also an improvement 92 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,839 Speaker 1: to visibility because it brightens the space, and it offers 93 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:12,599 Speaker 1: a way to strengthen the mortar or brickwork. So a 94 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:15,800 Speaker 1: big department store would have a vested interest in all 95 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:17,479 Speaker 1: of those benefits in its basement. 96 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 2: But whitewashing all the corridors of Marshall Fields took weeks, 97 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 2: even with the whole team working on it. The basement 98 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 2: had many levels. Every level had its own series of 99 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:34,440 Speaker 2: corridors and rooms, and all of that needed whitewashing. As 100 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 2: a supervisor, Banks recognized that sending his men to do 101 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 2: this job with buckets of paint and paint brushes was 102 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 2: not efficient, and this was not the only job in 103 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 2: the store that needed to be done, so he decided 104 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:51,600 Speaker 2: to try to create a faster method. The resulting device 105 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 2: had a reservoir for the whitewash, a hose with a 106 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:57,840 Speaker 2: nozzle and a hands pump that could pressurize the liquid 107 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 2: in the reservoir and then spray out of the nozzle. 108 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, I've seen this compared to like a modern lawn 109 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:09,880 Speaker 1: care insecticider weed killer nozzle, like the way that those 110 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:14,159 Speaker 1: are kind of handheld while you're carrying the reservoir. Also 111 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: as an aside, sometimes Banks's story is told with the 112 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 1: detail that he invented this sprayer as a way to 113 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,480 Speaker 1: repaint a lot of buildings quickly after the scourge of 114 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:28,920 Speaker 1: the Great Chicago Fire. That creates a wildly different timeline. 115 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: That fire happened in eighteen seventy one, way before he 116 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 1: was working on this project at Marshall Fields, and most 117 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:37,919 Speaker 1: sources do mention his sprayer as having been invented in 118 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:40,279 Speaker 1: the late eighteen eighty, so I do not think the 119 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:42,000 Speaker 1: Chicago fire was a part of the equation. 120 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:46,159 Speaker 2: There is a Banks company operating today, and while the 121 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 2: company doesn't offer a comprehensive history of its namesake, there 122 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:54,599 Speaker 2: are some photos of Banks's sprayer base and an invention 123 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:57,159 Speaker 2: by another man that we'll talk about in just a bit. 124 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,719 Speaker 2: So the next figure to enter this story of spray 125 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 2: paint is Francis Davis Millet maybe really, but sometimes he's 126 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 2: held up as a maybe. This part of the story 127 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 2: takes place a few years after Banks is said to 128 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 2: have come up with his whitewash spray invention, and it 129 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 2: involves an event that is essentially a recurring character on 130 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:21,040 Speaker 2: stuff you missed in history class, the World Columbian Exposition, 131 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,440 Speaker 2: also known as the Chicago World's Fair, which took place 132 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:28,600 Speaker 2: from May through October of eighteen ninety three. Millet is 133 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 2: worthy of a little exploration because his life story touches 134 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 2: on a lot of significant events. Francis Davis Millett was 135 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 2: born on November third, eighteen forty six, in Mattapoise At, Massachusetts, 136 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 2: and was delivered at home by his father, who was 137 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 2: a doctor. The family moved around Massachusetts while he was 138 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 2: a kid, and in eighteen fifty seven, his father, Asa 139 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 2: lost everything during a financial crisis in the United States. 140 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 2: When the Civil War began, Asa Millet worked as a 141 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 2: surgeon for the Union Army, and Francis, who went by Frank, 142 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 2: traveled with him as an assistant. In eighteen sixty four, 143 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 2: Frank enlisted and was made the drummer for the Massachusetts 144 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 2: volunteer Militia. After the war, Millett attended Harvard University and 145 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 2: he studied language and literature there. He graduated in eighteen 146 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 2: sixty nine and started working as a reporter and editor 147 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:25,200 Speaker 2: in various Boston area newspapers. But while he was working 148 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 2: in journalism, he started studying lithography. We've talked a little 149 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:33,440 Speaker 2: bit about lithography printmaking on the show before. It uses 150 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:36,840 Speaker 2: Greece as a repellent of water based inks, so images 151 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 2: etched into an oil or grease coded material would absorb 152 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 2: the ink to then be transferred onto the paper. And 153 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:45,120 Speaker 2: he also started taking life. 154 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 1: Drawing classes at this time at the Lowell Institute. He 155 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: had been artistically inclined even before he started all these studies, 156 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:55,960 Speaker 1: and he was producing paintings even while he was still 157 00:08:55,960 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 1: in undergrad But once he finished school, his artistic output accelerated, 158 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 1: even though he was also holding down a full time job. 159 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:07,880 Speaker 2: Although he was working as a journalist, as early as 160 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:11,360 Speaker 2: eighteen seventy, Millet was listing himself in the City Directory 161 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 2: of Boston as an artist, and he set up his 162 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 2: own studio that year. As well as his skills approved 163 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:23,080 Speaker 2: with art school training, he started producing portraits. By the 164 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,079 Speaker 2: spring of eighteen seventy one, Millet was ready to leave 165 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 2: his journalism work behind and go to art school full time, 166 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:33,079 Speaker 2: and he went abroad to do that, enrolling at the 167 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 2: Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. While in Europe, 168 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 2: he traveled to Germany, London, Hungary, turkeya Greece, Italy, and 169 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:45,800 Speaker 2: mor Locales on study trips. Millet had never been to 170 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:48,120 Speaker 2: Europe before, and it seems like he was eager to 171 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 2: take in as much as he could while he was abroad. 172 00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 2: His art style during these years became more complex and 173 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:59,240 Speaker 2: vivid in its color choices. He also started winning awards 174 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 2: in student compet titians at the Royal Academy. He eventually 175 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 2: became the only American to win a gold medal. 176 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:08,800 Speaker 1: At the school. And coming up, we'll talk about Millet's 177 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:12,600 Speaker 1: very busy career and how frequently he was involved with 178 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:15,960 Speaker 1: world's fairs. But first we're going to take a sponsor break. 179 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 1: In eighteen seventy three, Millett got his first experience working 180 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: at a world's fair when he was selected to work 181 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: at the Vienna Universal Exposition as secretary to the Chairman 182 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,480 Speaker 1: of the Massachusetts Board of Commissioners to the fair. In 183 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:43,199 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy five, Millet was back in Massachusetts and built 184 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:45,840 Speaker 1: a studio on a piece of land his father gave 185 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 1: him in Bridgewater. The following year, he co founded the 186 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:52,720 Speaker 1: Boston Museum School of Art and taught there. 187 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:57,319 Speaker 2: His next notable career achievement was in murals. These were 188 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:01,520 Speaker 2: murals that adorned the interiors of Boston Trinity Church that 189 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:03,720 Speaker 2: was over the course of eighteen seventy six. In eighteen 190 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:08,600 Speaker 2: seventy seven, he started exhibiting his canvas paintings throughout the 191 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:12,560 Speaker 2: northeastern United States. Millet had gained a degree of fame 192 00:11:12,679 --> 00:11:15,360 Speaker 2: as an artist at this point, and made portraits of 193 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:20,840 Speaker 2: society people and celebrities like Mark Twain. When the Russo 194 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:24,760 Speaker 2: Turkish War began in eighteen seventy seven, Millet combined his 195 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:28,559 Speaker 2: art in his journalism experience and became a war correspondent. 196 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,040 Speaker 2: He sketched what he saw on the battlefield for publication 197 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:36,640 Speaker 2: in newspapers. He'd already been living temporarily in Paris when 198 00:11:36,679 --> 00:11:39,600 Speaker 2: the war started, and once it concluded, he went back 199 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:43,160 Speaker 2: to the French capital. When the Paris Exposition took place 200 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,280 Speaker 2: in eighteen seventy eight, Frank was selected as a fine 201 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:50,559 Speaker 2: arts ter. He lived and worked in London and Paris 202 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:53,920 Speaker 2: for several years, and married Lily Greeley in Paris in 203 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:57,079 Speaker 2: eighteen seventy nine. After the wedding, the two of them 204 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:00,680 Speaker 2: returned to Massachusetts again and the Bridgewaters The studio was 205 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:03,559 Speaker 2: expanded into a home for the newlyweds. 206 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,559 Speaker 1: But they didn't really settle down. They were there long 207 00:12:06,679 --> 00:12:09,280 Speaker 1: enough to have their first child, a daughter named Catherine, 208 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,120 Speaker 1: and then a second child, Edwin, who sadly died as 209 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:14,920 Speaker 1: an infant, and then they were on the go again. 210 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 1: Throughout the eighteen eighties, Millet seemed to be constantly in motion, 211 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 1: traveling throughout Europe and the US, while also constantly producing 212 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:27,600 Speaker 1: paintings and having exhibitions. His third child with Lily, a 213 00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:30,600 Speaker 1: son named Lawrence, was born while the Millets were living 214 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:34,640 Speaker 1: in England, and he eventually maintained a pretty regular schedule 215 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,440 Speaker 1: of living in two places, England from May to October 216 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:41,720 Speaker 1: each year, and the US for the remaining months, normally 217 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:45,440 Speaker 1: in Massachusetts or New York as determined by his work schedule. 218 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:49,000 Speaker 1: Frank and Lily's fourth child was also born in England, 219 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,959 Speaker 1: in eighteen eighty eight. That was another son named John 220 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:54,439 Speaker 1: Alfred Parsons, and. 221 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:56,840 Speaker 2: Frank was kind of a renaissance man in terms of 222 00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 2: the art he created. He kept being selected for a 223 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 2: variety of high profile jobs, including the design of the 224 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:08,400 Speaker 2: stained glass throughout Saint Stephen's Church in Lynn, Massachusetts. He 225 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:12,800 Speaker 2: also designed theatrical costumes for a lot of productions. He 226 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:16,920 Speaker 2: was considered an expert in historical clothing and worked alongside 227 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 2: Lewis Comfort Tiffany to decorate lavish interiors. He also started 228 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:26,079 Speaker 2: writing and publishing short fiction. In the early eighteen nineties, 229 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 2: he became vice president of New York's National Academy of Design. 230 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:33,320 Speaker 1: This is like such a stripped down version of his 231 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:37,079 Speaker 1: stuff too, that like we'll talk about Frank on Friday. 232 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:40,760 Speaker 1: He also continued to be involved in world's fairs, including 233 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:44,440 Speaker 1: the Munich International Exposition in eighteen eighty three, where he 234 00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:47,240 Speaker 1: was once again a juror but also was part of 235 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:50,640 Speaker 1: the executive committee. He was again a juror for the 236 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:55,040 Speaker 1: Paris Exposition of eighteen eighty nine, So when preparations began 237 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:58,480 Speaker 1: for the eighteen ninety three World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 238 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:03,040 Speaker 1: it isn't really surprising that Millet was involved. He was 239 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:06,520 Speaker 1: selected to be the director of decorations, and that is 240 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:08,680 Speaker 1: how his story ties into spray paint. 241 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 2: For the exposition, a full array of neoclassical buildings was 242 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,640 Speaker 2: designed to house the various exhibit halls, and according to 243 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:22,240 Speaker 2: the lore, things got behind schedule. The buildings were made 244 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 2: of a composite of plaster and jute fiber that was 245 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:29,600 Speaker 2: spread over steel frames, and they were supposed to look 246 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:33,120 Speaker 2: like white marble once they were painted, but the finishing 247 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:36,160 Speaker 2: touch of the paint started too late, and there was 248 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:39,400 Speaker 2: no way that even a massive workforce of people could 249 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 2: manage it if they were just using paint brushers, so 250 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:44,119 Speaker 2: they brought in paint sprayers. 251 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:47,760 Speaker 1: This is one of the points of contention regarding spray 252 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:52,120 Speaker 1: paint history. So the paint sprayer is sometimes described as 253 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: a new invention created by Millet to solve this problem, 254 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:57,840 Speaker 1: but this has been a matter of doubt for a 255 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:00,680 Speaker 1: lot of people over the years. Give the fact that 256 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:03,440 Speaker 1: Joseph Banks is said to have invented a sprayer in 257 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 1: Chicago several years prior, it's pretty normal to consider that 258 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:10,360 Speaker 1: he may have been called into help, and that seems 259 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:14,080 Speaker 1: like a pretty rational explanation, and some accounts you read 260 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:20,440 Speaker 1: will say exactly that. But that version that Joseph Banks 261 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: was the inventor and they were using his versus Millet 262 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:27,240 Speaker 1: invented a new thing. These two possibilities are very much 263 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:30,640 Speaker 1: the ones that are found bandied about every time you 264 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:33,479 Speaker 1: can find information about spray paint history online. 265 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 2: That could have been where Holly left it. But then 266 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 2: she stumbled across an illustration on a dead University of 267 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:46,320 Speaker 2: Chicago page that showed ben in nineteenth century hats spraying 268 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:49,560 Speaker 2: paint while standing on scaffoldings sitting on top of a compressor. 269 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:54,240 Speaker 2: The caption just read spray paint, but the attribution led 270 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:58,080 Speaker 2: to a book by Hubert Howe Bancroft titled The Book 271 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:02,320 Speaker 2: of the Fair and Historical and Descriptive Presentation of the 272 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:06,160 Speaker 2: World's Science, Art, and Industry as Viewed through the Columbian 273 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:11,080 Speaker 2: Exposition at Chicago at eighteen ninety three. This book, published 274 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:14,320 Speaker 2: in eighteen ninety three, details the process of setting up 275 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:17,600 Speaker 2: the fare. The architects involved planning of the layout and 276 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 2: expo buildings, and there was the illustration, and in this 277 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:26,240 Speaker 2: it was labeled in the book as Millet spraying machine. 278 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:29,800 Speaker 1: So this book has a very long footnote, like a 279 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:34,000 Speaker 1: footnote that takes up the next page about construction and 280 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 1: mentions why things fell behind schedule in the first place. Quote. 281 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 1: Among the many difficulties encountered by the construction department was 282 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:46,240 Speaker 1: the intensely cold and stormy weather, accompanied with heavy snowfalls, 283 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:49,240 Speaker 1: which marked the winter preceding the opening of the fair, 284 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:53,200 Speaker 1: one of the severest in the Annals of Chicago. For 285 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 1: weeks the buildings were capped with snow and ice, the 286 00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 1: melting of which caused a severe strain on the roofs, 287 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:03,239 Speaker 1: crushing in portions, and causing slight interior damage. 288 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:07,920 Speaker 2: That long footnote also spells out exactly how the buildings 289 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:08,600 Speaker 2: were painted. 290 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:09,080 Speaker 1: Quote. 291 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:11,720 Speaker 2: To paint the buildings by the ordinary method was found 292 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:15,080 Speaker 2: to be an impossible task within the time allotted. A 293 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:18,879 Speaker 2: contrivance was therefore fashioned by Frank D. Millet, in charge 294 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,920 Speaker 2: of the decoration department, whereby four men working in unison, 295 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:26,600 Speaker 2: could accomplish the task of fifty. It consisted of a 296 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:29,400 Speaker 2: piece of gas pipe so shaped at one end as 297 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:32,399 Speaker 2: to discharge a spray of paint, and from which a 298 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:36,639 Speaker 2: rubber hose connected with an air pump driven by electric power. 299 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,679 Speaker 2: By the pump, paint was drawn from a barrel and 300 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:42,640 Speaker 2: scattered by force of air over the surface to be coated. 301 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:46,840 Speaker 1: Millet is also quoted in the book explaining the whole 302 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:50,320 Speaker 1: decision making process behind the sprayer and how the paint 303 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:53,880 Speaker 1: was mixed for it quote. Every experiment which has been 304 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:57,399 Speaker 1: made to produce esthetic effects of texture suggested by the 305 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 1: usual treatment of plaster objects has resulted in partial or 306 00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:04,280 Speaker 1: in total failure. And every time the warm white of 307 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:07,560 Speaker 1: the staff, the staff is that mixture of plaster and jute. 308 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:10,120 Speaker 1: Every time the warm white of the staff has been 309 00:18:10,119 --> 00:18:14,000 Speaker 1: meddled with its glory has departed. But the conditions imposed 310 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:17,560 Speaker 1: by the climate, by the impossibility of securing a homogeneous surface, 311 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:21,200 Speaker 1: and by the exposure and consequent discoloration of a certain 312 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,160 Speaker 1: portion of the work, have made it necessary to apply 313 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:28,200 Speaker 1: some sort of paint to all the buildings. Ordinary white 314 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:30,399 Speaker 1: lead and oil have been found to give the best 315 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:33,639 Speaker 1: results for the irregular absorption of the staff, and the 316 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:37,800 Speaker 1: weathering rapidly produce an agreeable and not too monotonous effect, 317 00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:41,600 Speaker 1: and the surface deteriorates less rapidly after this treatment. 318 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:45,800 Speaker 2: So this Millet sprayer was a lot different from the 319 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 2: bank sprayer. Whether Millet knew about the bank sprayer is 320 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:53,520 Speaker 2: not known, but the sprayer created for the expo appears 321 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,280 Speaker 2: to have been a more industrial design, both in the 322 00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:58,960 Speaker 2: size and the use of electrical current to run it. 323 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:04,159 Speaker 1: Meanwhile, in Toledo, Ohio, a physician had run into his 324 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:07,000 Speaker 1: own problem that led him to create a means to 325 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:11,040 Speaker 1: spray fluid in a fine mist. That physician was doctor 326 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:14,560 Speaker 1: Allan de Vilbis born in eighteen forty one. By the 327 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:17,399 Speaker 1: late eighteen eighties he was an experienced doctor and he 328 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:21,879 Speaker 1: was an ode laryngologist, an ear nosen throat specialist, and 329 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 1: in the course of his work he often prescribed treatments 330 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:28,119 Speaker 1: or anesthetics that involved coating the throat or the sinuses 331 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:31,240 Speaker 1: with medicine. But there wasn't a great way to get 332 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:34,800 Speaker 1: even distribution, so often these liquids would end up swallowed 333 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:37,600 Speaker 1: by the patient or they would only coat one portion 334 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:38,960 Speaker 1: of the affected area. 335 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:44,160 Speaker 2: De Vilbis's solution was the atomizer. He created an apparatus 336 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:46,960 Speaker 2: with a hollow bulb on one end which connected to 337 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:50,600 Speaker 2: a spray er nozzle via tube. Another tube led to 338 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:54,919 Speaker 2: a reservoir where the liquid needing administration was held pinched 339 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:58,320 Speaker 2: the bulb in the resulting pressure burst would create a 340 00:19:58,359 --> 00:19:59,919 Speaker 2: fine spray of droplets. 341 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:04,280 Speaker 1: Devilbis started marketing this invention to other physicians and it 342 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: rapidly caught on. He opened the Devilbis Manufacturing Company in 343 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:12,080 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety to produce his atomizers at a larger scale, 344 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,480 Speaker 1: and as de Vilbis's sons grew up, they joined and 345 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:19,000 Speaker 1: then eventually took over the family business and through them 346 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:24,040 Speaker 1: the product line expanded that included perfume atomizers. By the way, 347 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 1: vintage Devilbis adamizers are very popular on the collector's market 348 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:32,040 Speaker 1: and also thanks to his son Thomas D. Vilbis, in 349 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:35,040 Speaker 1: nineteen oh seven, it included a paint sprayer. 350 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:40,639 Speaker 2: The paint sprayer was quickly adopted by furniture makers and 351 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 2: the company continued to expand and grow. The Banks company 352 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:48,119 Speaker 2: we mentioned just a little while ago includes the Devilbis 353 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:49,679 Speaker 2: Company as part of it today. 354 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:53,000 Speaker 1: Yet those companies, as any time we've talked about companies 355 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: and inventions, have gone through numerous ownerships, iterations, et cetera. 356 00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:00,040 Speaker 1: But that's their current status. The Devilbis adamizer is the 357 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:03,120 Speaker 1: other model that is shown on the Bank's page next 358 00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 1: to the Bank sprayer, also as the Devilbis paint atomizer, 359 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:11,200 Speaker 1: was gaining popularity. Frank Millet died at sea at the 360 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 1: age of sixty six because he was a passenger on 361 00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:16,400 Speaker 1: the Titanic when it struck an iceberg and sank. 362 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:19,840 Speaker 2: Coming up, we will talk about the evolution of these 363 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:23,399 Speaker 2: sprayers to the paint can that we are familiar with today. 364 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:26,679 Speaker 2: First we will hear from the sponsors that keep stuffumis 365 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:27,800 Speaker 2: in history class going. 366 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:39,879 Speaker 1: The paint sprayers that we have been talking about so 367 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,679 Speaker 1: far were propelled by compressed air, but none of them 368 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:46,879 Speaker 1: were aerosol based. So all an aerosol is, by definition, 369 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:51,119 Speaker 1: is simply small particles of liquid or even solid suspended 370 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:55,240 Speaker 1: in a gas. Today, the US National Institute of Standards 371 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:59,720 Speaker 1: and Technology defines an aerosol product as quote a self dispensing, 372 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:03,359 Speaker 1: pre urized packaging form consisting of a metal, glass, or 373 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:07,879 Speaker 1: plastic container with a permanently attached, continuous or metering valve 374 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:13,760 Speaker 1: and designed to dispense products as sprays, streams, gels, foams, lotions, 375 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:14,560 Speaker 1: or gases. 376 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:19,480 Speaker 2: There are instances of aerosols going back to the eighteenth century. 377 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:22,720 Speaker 2: Some of aerosol history is related to a topic we 378 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:25,280 Speaker 2: have covered on the show before. That's in our twenty 379 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:29,320 Speaker 2: twenty three episode on Johann Jakob's Steppa and the rise 380 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:33,840 Speaker 2: of carbonation. In that case, some drinks were aerosolized to 381 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:37,040 Speaker 2: give them bubbles, and there were efforts to create spray 382 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:40,560 Speaker 2: cans in the nineteenth century, but they weren't really usable. 383 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:43,160 Speaker 2: The cans had to be heavy to keep the contents 384 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:46,439 Speaker 2: from exploding out, and that made them too heavy to 385 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:51,240 Speaker 2: easily carry. It wasn't until a Norwegian scientists named Eric 386 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:55,600 Speaker 2: Rotheim that an aerosol can became a realistic product. Rothheim 387 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:58,160 Speaker 2: was born in eighteen ninety eight or eighteen ninety nine, 388 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,800 Speaker 2: and he got a chemical engineering degree in Switzerland and 389 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,200 Speaker 2: in his late twenties. In nineteen twenty six, he applied 390 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:09,200 Speaker 2: for a Norwegian patent for an aerosol can. He also 391 00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:12,679 Speaker 2: filed for and received a US patent under the title 392 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:16,360 Speaker 2: Method and Means for the Atomizing or Distribution of Liquid 393 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 2: or Semi liquid Materials. That patent opens with quote. This 394 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:24,320 Speaker 2: invention has for its object a method for the atomizing 395 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:27,720 Speaker 2: or distribution of liquid or semi liquid materials, as well 396 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:31,360 Speaker 2: as means for carrying the method into effects. The invention 397 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,800 Speaker 2: also comprises a method of preparing the liquids or materials 398 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:38,200 Speaker 2: to be atomized or distributed, as well as the products 399 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:42,280 Speaker 2: obtained by the said preparation. According to the invention, the 400 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:45,560 Speaker 2: material to be dispensed is enclosed in a pressure resisting 401 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:50,040 Speaker 2: vessel together with dimethyl ether under a pressure sufficient to 402 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:54,879 Speaker 2: affect liquefaction of the dimethyl ether by condensation. The substance 403 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,359 Speaker 2: dimethyl ether is a gas at ordinary temperature. In a 404 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,960 Speaker 2: liquefied condition, it has a boiling point of negative twenty 405 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:05,280 Speaker 2: four point nine degrees celsius twenty four point nine degrees 406 00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:09,040 Speaker 2: celsius below zero, Its vapor density is one point six 407 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:12,120 Speaker 2: one seven, and its specific volume in a gaseous condition 408 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:15,600 Speaker 2: is three hundred and fifty times its specific volume in 409 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:19,600 Speaker 2: a liquid condition at ordinary atmospheric pressure and room temperature. 410 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:24,360 Speaker 2: Rotheim initially started his own company to produce the cans, 411 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 2: but then partnered with the Oslo, Norway company Furnace Fabric 412 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:31,439 Speaker 2: to develop a version for the mass market, with the 413 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:35,240 Speaker 2: intent to use the can for paints and varnishes. He 414 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:39,159 Speaker 2: worked alongside a scientist named Froda Mortensen on the cans design. 415 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:43,440 Speaker 2: They did well overall producing a prototype, but they kind 416 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:45,520 Speaker 2: of hit a wall when it came to developing a 417 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:47,520 Speaker 2: novel that would not clog. 418 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:52,000 Speaker 1: Eventually, in frustration, Rotheim is said to have sold the 419 00:24:52,040 --> 00:24:55,920 Speaker 1: patent to US company for one hundred kroner. That would 420 00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:59,320 Speaker 1: have been a little less than ten dollars. What company 421 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:02,439 Speaker 1: bought it has proven really tricky to track down, and 422 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:05,480 Speaker 1: there might be a reason. There is actually a contradictory 423 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:08,960 Speaker 1: account on the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology site 424 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 1: written by museum curator dog Andriessen, and that version states 425 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:15,800 Speaker 1: that while Rothheim was in talks with a number of 426 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:19,720 Speaker 1: US companies to sell the patent, including DuPont, there was 427 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:21,040 Speaker 1: never actually a deal. 428 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 2: Eric Rotheim did not live very long after all of 429 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:27,880 Speaker 2: this would or would not have happened. He died quite young, 430 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 2: at the age of thirty nine. That was in nineteen 431 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:34,600 Speaker 2: thirty eight, so just before World War Two. The company 432 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:39,080 Speaker 2: he had founded, ell Remix, shut down by nineteen forty. 433 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:40,679 Speaker 1: The war did prove. 434 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:44,520 Speaker 2: To be a time though, when his invention received rapid adoption. 435 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:50,439 Speaker 2: The widespread encounters with malaria and typhus the soldiers experienced 436 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 2: drove US researchers Lyle Goodhue and William Sullivan from the 437 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:59,600 Speaker 2: Department of Agriculture to use Rothheim's basic design to create 438 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:03,200 Speaker 2: small spray cans of insecticide that could be carried into 439 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:06,840 Speaker 2: the field. According to that same museum account, good You 440 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:10,119 Speaker 2: had been working at DuPont at the time when Rothheim 441 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:14,000 Speaker 2: was in talks with the company about the patent. Rotheim's 442 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,200 Speaker 2: prototype spray can is in the collection of the Oslo 443 00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:20,639 Speaker 2: Science Park. And now we have to jump ahead just 444 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:22,800 Speaker 2: a few years to talk about a man named Ed 445 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:26,600 Speaker 2: Seymour in nineteen forty nine, Ed, who was in the 446 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:30,080 Speaker 2: paint business, had developed a unique aluminum coating that was 447 00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:33,200 Speaker 2: intended to be used on radiators, and he wanted to 448 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:35,840 Speaker 2: be able to show this paint off in demonstrations with 449 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:38,800 Speaker 2: an easy way to apply it that wouldn't require a 450 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:43,639 Speaker 2: full shop of equipment. According to the story, Ed's wife, 451 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:46,560 Speaker 2: Bonnie was the one who suggested maybe he could put 452 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:49,560 Speaker 2: the paint into a spray gun. She compared it to 453 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:53,040 Speaker 2: the insecticide sprays they were already in use at the time. 454 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:58,200 Speaker 2: Years later, in twenty fourteen, Seymour's daughter, Nancy Seymour Heatley 455 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 2: told a reporter quote, there's an herb legend that says 456 00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:03,480 Speaker 2: my mother was using what they called a bug bomb 457 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:06,560 Speaker 2: and said, hey, why don't you put paint in an 458 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:09,840 Speaker 2: aerosol can. I have no idea if that is true, 459 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,679 Speaker 2: true or not ed. Seymour never claimed that the invention 460 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:16,520 Speaker 2: happened any other way, and he went with what was 461 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:20,560 Speaker 2: perhaps Bonnie's idea. He combined the paint with aerosol in 462 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:23,320 Speaker 2: a can, and then he used a sprayhead to make 463 00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:26,200 Speaker 2: it easy to spread. So not only did he meet 464 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:26,920 Speaker 2: his need. 465 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:29,359 Speaker 1: Of being able to easily show off his coatings, but 466 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:31,600 Speaker 1: he also realized that the finish he could get from 467 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:34,400 Speaker 1: Aerosoli's spray was really smooth. 468 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:38,199 Speaker 2: In December of nineteen fifty one, he was granted a 469 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:42,720 Speaker 2: patent on his invention hermetically sealed package for mixing and 470 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:47,520 Speaker 2: discharging paint. This design included an agitator attached to the 471 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:50,400 Speaker 2: end of the uptake toe for the paint for easy mixing. 472 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:53,960 Speaker 2: This is described in the patent this way quote in 473 00:27:54,119 --> 00:27:57,480 Speaker 2: use of the package before depressing buttons to affect spraying 474 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:01,040 Speaker 2: of the paint, the package is agitated sample by giving 475 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:05,080 Speaker 2: it a whirling motion. This causes the flexible tube to 476 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,240 Speaker 2: move the agitator in an arc over the base. This 477 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 2: movement and the agitation thus imparted to the paint, removes 478 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:16,320 Speaker 2: pigments settled on the base and affects the redispersion of 479 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:19,800 Speaker 2: this pigment in the vehicle. In practice, that has been 480 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:22,880 Speaker 2: found that shaking or whirling the package for a few 481 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:27,280 Speaker 2: seconds is adequate to affect redispersion of the pigment within. 482 00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:31,920 Speaker 1: According to the Seymour Company's website, this was initially meant 483 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:34,040 Speaker 1: to be something. As we said that he just used 484 00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:36,880 Speaker 1: to show off his paints to other businesses, but then 485 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:41,000 Speaker 1: he realized that he had invented a new consumer product. Quote, 486 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:44,240 Speaker 1: though intended to show sales prospects how the paint would 487 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:47,760 Speaker 1: look when applied to surfaces, the aerosol sprayer proved so 488 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:51,000 Speaker 1: popular that Ed borrowed a few thousand dollars from a 489 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:55,760 Speaker 1: local bank to develop this revolutionary idea. Soon after perfecting 490 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:58,520 Speaker 1: the first break in, Ed and the employees of his 491 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:01,920 Speaker 1: new company formulated the paint, which was mixed and filled 492 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:07,080 Speaker 1: with aerosol using a combination of customized and specially engineered machinery. 493 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:13,080 Speaker 2: The Daily Chronicle of Decalb, Illinois reported on Seymour's patents 494 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:17,160 Speaker 2: the following year, quote, a Sycamore paint manufacturer and inventor 495 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:20,240 Speaker 2: has been issued a patent on a new development in 496 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:23,800 Speaker 2: spray painting, which he calls a rattle in a can. 497 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:27,680 Speaker 2: Seymour's development is a new device which permits perfect and 498 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 2: complete enamel spraying from an eleven ounce can, resembling an 499 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:35,800 Speaker 2: insect spray device. All you do is shake the can 500 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:38,640 Speaker 2: and press the button. Almost any job of painting around 501 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:41,880 Speaker 2: the home, farm, or factory becomes a simple operation with 502 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:45,800 Speaker 2: no mass, sticky brushes, or turpentine. Officials of the company said. 503 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:50,120 Speaker 2: The write up then mentions the metal agitator and the 504 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:54,320 Speaker 2: fact that Seymour manufactures the paint in Sycamore, Illinois, and 505 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:56,680 Speaker 2: then the paint is shipped to Chicago for packaging in 506 00:29:56,760 --> 00:29:59,960 Speaker 2: the cans. By the time of that writing, twenty five 507 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:04,920 Speaker 2: colors were available in shipping throughout the United States. Eventually, 508 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:08,760 Speaker 2: the Seymour Company expanded to include an automotive division, an 509 00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:14,040 Speaker 2: industrial division specializing in coatings for industrial equipment, traffic paints, 510 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:18,040 Speaker 2: cast iron coatings, and more, and that company still exists today. 511 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:21,720 Speaker 2: Ed's daughter, Nancy, who we quoted earlier ran the company 512 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:24,240 Speaker 2: after her father, and she was the CEO until her 513 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:27,640 Speaker 2: death in twenty seventeen. Also as an aside of something 514 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:29,520 Speaker 2: that I found that just seems nice at a time 515 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:33,280 Speaker 2: when we need nice things. In nineteen sixty Ed Seymour 516 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,040 Speaker 2: was awarded Boss of the Year by the local chapter 517 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:41,560 Speaker 2: of the National Secretaries Association. As Seymour was developing his business, 518 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:45,880 Speaker 2: Precision Valve, Company owned by Richard Nixon's close friend Robert 519 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:50,760 Speaker 2: Henry Applanapp was developing a more reliable nozzle. Up to 520 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:53,720 Speaker 2: the point when Apple and App filed his patent application 521 00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:57,680 Speaker 2: for valve mechanism for dispensing gases and liquids under pressure, 522 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:01,880 Speaker 2: nozzles continued to be problematic, just as they had been 523 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:05,720 Speaker 2: for Rothheim. Apple and Apps patent mentions that quote the 524 00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:13,200 Speaker 2: full utilization of the aerosol principle of dispensing and the insecticidal, germicidal, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, paint, wax, 525 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:17,320 Speaker 2: and many other similar fields had been really slowed quote 526 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:21,120 Speaker 2: because the large variety of formulations which have been developed 527 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:24,640 Speaker 2: and which require various sizes, shapes, and types of containers 528 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:28,360 Speaker 2: cannot conveniently be used with the types of dispensing valves 529 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:32,840 Speaker 2: presently available. Furthermore, the present valves do not provide safe 530 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:37,040 Speaker 2: and efficient operation in conjunction with simplicity of assembly. To 531 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:42,200 Speaker 2: assure low cost in mass production, Precision Valve had invented 532 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:43,400 Speaker 2: the plastic nozzle. 533 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:45,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, up to that point, they were all metals, so 534 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:48,840 Speaker 1: they would clog, they would get rusted, they were just 535 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:50,920 Speaker 1: a pain in the neck. They didn't have enough interior 536 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:54,720 Speaker 1: flexibility to allow multiple sizes of pigments to get through. 537 00:31:55,480 --> 00:31:57,920 Speaker 1: But at this point, with the plastic nozzle in place, 538 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:02,000 Speaker 1: the spray paint industry exploded, a lot of new companies emerged, 539 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:04,840 Speaker 1: including all the ones you're familiar with, and for decades 540 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:08,320 Speaker 1: it seemed to be a constant growth industry. Then in 541 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:11,880 Speaker 1: the nineteen seventies, regulations against lead paint were put into 542 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:16,040 Speaker 1: place and many companies had to reformulate. The Clean Air Act, 543 00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:19,440 Speaker 1: which is the quote comprehensive federal law that regulates air 544 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:24,000 Speaker 1: emissions from stationary and mobile sources, was established in nineteen seventy. 545 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:27,160 Speaker 1: It got a pretty significant update in nineteen ninety and 546 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:31,880 Speaker 1: it has similarly led to reformulations to create low voc products, 547 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:36,240 Speaker 1: removing or reducing the volatile organic compounds and efforts to 548 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:41,360 Speaker 1: remove chlorofluorocarbons and ozone depleting chemicals. The Seymour Company, I 549 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:43,600 Speaker 1: will say, was ahead of the game on this and 550 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:47,840 Speaker 1: had things removed before they were required to, so there 551 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:49,640 Speaker 1: are lots of companies still working on it. There's a 552 00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:52,760 Speaker 1: cool development that I think is interesting of trying to 553 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:56,480 Speaker 1: develop a truly sustainable spray paint. I hope that happens 554 00:32:56,560 --> 00:32:59,840 Speaker 1: really soon. That's the slow invention of spray paint. 555 00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:03,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, do you have listener mail? I do. 556 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,640 Speaker 1: This is from our listener, Lindsay, and I'm not even 557 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:09,720 Speaker 1: going a joke. Part of the reason I selected this 558 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,600 Speaker 1: is because of the name of her pet. It's so good. 559 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:16,520 Speaker 1: Lindsay writes, Greetings. I would like to say first and 560 00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:19,160 Speaker 1: foremost that I appreciate and adore the podcast. Having grown 561 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:21,800 Speaker 1: up in Cincinnati, there have been many episodes that have 562 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:24,959 Speaker 1: delighted me with personal connections, but this one has finally 563 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:28,160 Speaker 1: prompted me to write in. I studied in Salzburg for 564 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:31,600 Speaker 1: an academic year abroad. While I lived in House Humboldt. 565 00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:34,280 Speaker 1: Another possible episode, I spent quite a bit of time 566 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:38,600 Speaker 1: visiting friends and Howe's Paracelsus. I smiled when you mentioned 567 00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:41,400 Speaker 1: that the Salzburg Peasant Revolt could be its own episode. 568 00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:44,120 Speaker 1: If it does become an episode, which I highly encourage, 569 00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:46,680 Speaker 1: please do not leave out the painted cow. It is 570 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:50,680 Speaker 1: hands down my absolute favorite history story, and then we 571 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:53,680 Speaker 1: get a link to some story behind it. Finally, I 572 00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:55,600 Speaker 1: want to thank both of you for the various times 573 00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:57,920 Speaker 1: that you've taken a few moments, especially this year at 574 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:00,240 Speaker 1: the beginning of the show, to affirm your stance and 575 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:03,480 Speaker 1: express concern over the attacks on equality, science and education. 576 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:06,080 Speaker 1: It's not easy to speak up to a large audience 577 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:08,319 Speaker 1: like that, but it is very important. Again, thank you. 578 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:10,880 Speaker 1: Thank you also over taking the time to read a 579 00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:13,640 Speaker 1: silly email from a fan that got so excited she 580 00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:15,960 Speaker 1: stopped her workday to write in over the story of 581 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:20,160 Speaker 1: a cow. Pet tax of my dog named paul Anka 582 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:24,640 Speaker 1: is attached. This dog is very cute. It appears to 583 00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:29,920 Speaker 1: be a very precious sheet too, is my guess. This 584 00:34:29,960 --> 00:34:33,319 Speaker 1: is a black and white baby. It is a very 585 00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:37,600 Speaker 1: good poser. It knows its angles and how to take portraits. 586 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:41,160 Speaker 1: This dog is precious. I would kiss this dog so 587 00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:44,560 Speaker 1: much it would grow tired of me. Good. Thank you 588 00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:49,120 Speaker 1: so much, lindsay, I love the idea of having personal 589 00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:54,120 Speaker 1: connections to Paracelsus and his important and also problematic history. 590 00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:58,200 Speaker 1: Every time I think of in my laugh a little bit. 591 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:02,560 Speaker 1: And also and I needed these dog pictures and I 592 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:05,520 Speaker 1: may have shown them to my best friend who loves sheetsoos, 593 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:09,520 Speaker 1: especially now, because we all need cute puppies in our lives. 594 00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:12,520 Speaker 1: Images of cue. One of these, paul Anka is on 595 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:14,360 Speaker 1: a set where it looks like he's in front of 596 00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:19,640 Speaker 1: a cottage. It's just perfect. I love everything about it. 597 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:23,080 Speaker 1: It's like a no Renaissance painting is any better. If 598 00:35:23,080 --> 00:35:26,440 Speaker 1: you would like to write to us with your pet pictures, thoughts, 599 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:29,120 Speaker 1: connections to histories, et cetera, you can do that at 600 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:33,000 Speaker 1: History podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. You can also find 601 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:36,279 Speaker 1: us on wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts, and 602 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:39,480 Speaker 1: we hope you subscribe there. The iHeartRadio app being one 603 00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:44,800 Speaker 1: among them. 604 00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:48,040 Speaker 2: Stuff you missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 605 00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:53,000 Speaker 2: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 606 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:55,400 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.