eBay is a service everyone knows as an online marketplace where people sell new and used goods. This much is true. I have used the site for 20 years in both roles and still look at the site almost everyday. What most people do not understand is that eBay is an excellent way to research a variety of topics. Besides my obvious interest in a certain shuttered coke plant, I have a few other equally ‘fringe’ interests. You can learn a hell of a lot by looking at used goods. I have a number of searches saved and eBay notifies me whenever a new item is listed which fits into these queries. Here is a large sampling of items related to Acme and Interlake I have found on eBay. Some I purchased – most I did not – but all of them helped tell the story of the company that once was. I have been working on this post for months and I will continue to add to it as I find more interesting items, whether I buy them or not. This list does not include Acme packaging tools or supplies. I may start to keep track of those things and one day share that separately.
One of the most insane items I’ve come across, but unfortunately it was only a large! What a heartbreaker!Detail from jacket above. Someone wore this for many cold days on 107th. The timeline backs up the date!Too good to be true – wrong size! No way I can fit a large but I wish I could!I did pull the trigger on this one and I do not regret it. This is not just a cool item but a historically relevant one, as it commemorates the Interlake/Acme merger in 1964. The coke plant wouldn’t begin to use the Acme name until 1986.1952 slide rule
This item was relisted so many times I lost track. It might still be listed now! It is a beauty, that’s for sure.I used to see the Acme one from time to time but was never that interested. Then I saw the Interlake version! Immediately had to have both. I later bought one for my brother when I saw he was envious. Not a great bottle opener to be honest but a very cool promotional item demonstrating the packaging divisions capabilities. In this case, to drive a staple through two pieces of steel! I did carry one of them on my everyday keys for a while until I found something a bit cooler….I have mixed feelings about this one. First of all, it looks like it was not woven properly, that doesn’t look like damage, looks like it was fouled up from the beginning. Also, ‘Chicago Plant’ can’t refer to the furnace plant or coke plant (both are in Chicago). Yes it is possible that the Riverdale mill have a force, though it is not in Chicago. Is it phony? I don’t know. A tough pass because I have already made a very cool garment from a patch I found on eBay.
