Messmore & Damon
American mechanical model company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Messmore & Damon was a twentieth-century company which specialized in the creation of mechanical models, used in fairs, advertising, television and theater.
- George Harold Messmore
- Joseph Damon
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mechanical models, display design, special effects |
| Founded | 1914 |
| Founders |
|
| Fate | Defunct |
| Headquarters | New York City, United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people |
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History
The company was founded in New York City in 1914 by George Harold Messmore and Joseph Damon.[1] Messmore had experience with building animal automata for advertising use; Damon, an artist, built clay figures for their creations.[2]
The firm's business included the manufacture of parade floats and department store displays.[3] Their most famous work was their 1924 mechanical brontosaurus, the "Amphibious Dinosaurus Brontosaurus".[3][4] Their display at the Chicago World's Fair included thirty-seven different mechanical creatures.[5]
Starting with a Coney Island display in 1935, the company branched out into torture shows,[2] inciting public criticism.[6] In the 1950s, Messmore & Damon designed the game board for the game show Concentration.[7]