From at least 1938 through the 50’s the Automotive Service Industry Show at Navy Pier in Chicago was the main place for suppliers to show off their new products. The shows / conventions were highly attended; around 21,000+ people in their peak years of 1947 and 48 and 500-600 manufacturers . There was no show in 1949 and by 1950 the numbers began to drop off. (16,000)
The Alemite display booth was well attended, with a merchandiser displayed right in the center. Some displays cost north of $10,000 at the time, and companies used everything from key rings to smoking pipes to attract visitors.
The show floor; 1938
The Shure Sales Promotion Manager, Stan Lenehan, at the International A.S.I. show with one of the first Shure Mfg. Merchandisers
The Show floor in 1946; I can see a Graco booth on left along with many other companies
We have been acquiring Chilton's “Motor Age” magazines for our history collection, and these are the Merchandiser related ads or images found within. These are mostly from 1949-1950.
I found this merchandiser years ago and purchased it. The fact that there was not much information on these workbenches online, is the reason we started collecting vintage literature and photos.
This began our quest to uncover the full history of these different models.
