B. Heller & Co. Collection

Selections from the newly acquired B. Heller & Co.
Collection will be on view in the Special Collections Research Center from
March 30-June 26, 2009.

Founded by Benjamin Heller, whose family practiced
sausage-making for generations, Chicago-based B. Heller & Co. began in 1893 as a wholesale manufacturer of
dry powders used in the preparation of meat products. Eager to take advantage
of new developments in food science and chemistry as well as his skills as a
salesman, Benjamin Heller was the quintessential American entrepreneur. Over
the years, the company expanded into the manufacture of a variety of food
ingredients, as well as insecticides, cleaning agents, and a broad range of
kitchen and office supplies. The company continues today as Heller Seasonings
& Ingredients, a wholesale supplier based in Chicago.

The B. Heller & Co. Collection was assembled by
Americana collectors Sally and Herb Loeb; Benjamin Heller was Sally Loeb’s
grandfather. The Loebs presented a collection of sample labels, publicity
material, business records and photographs
to the University of Chicago, which also acquired a selection of
packaging materials. This exhibition features a
sampling from the B. Heller & Co. Collection, which is a marvelous
resource for students of advances in food technology, as well as developments
in product marketing and design in the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries.