Yeah, Hubbell built 'em to last!
Things like surface-mount tumbler switches and porcelain and plastic surface-mount sockets still remind me of my childhood since I grew up in apartments and apartments that used such stuff.
Ditto the un-grounded T-slot receptacles, screw-in mini-circuit breakers with Edison bases, Bakelite NON-POLARIZED triple-taps, etc.
I have an old two-pin T-slot single receptacle by Hubbell here...bought it in a salvage shop for a dollar because I liked the design on the face (oh boy..
).
There's still a good amount of tension on the contacts and it still grips the plugs fairly tightly (it's not in service, just an elegant little paperweight)
When I once lucked on to a couple of Hubbell/Bryant receptacles in a hardware store and installed one, I fell in love with the suckers. You practically need two hands to disconnect something from them. And it's easy to get the wire around the terminal screws!
Too bad they're so hard to find in run-of-the-mill hardware stores - especially places like the big orange that now seems to be in love with Leviton.
Leave-It-On doesn't hold a candle to Hubbell!!!!! You get better quality for a bit less money with Hubbell....and it's made in the USA!
What did your friend wind up doing with all that stuff? I'm sure he was pulling his hairs out when he opened some of those boxes ("what did I do???")...