Agriculture
From butter churns to diesel tractors, the Museum's agricultural artifacts trace the story of Americans who work the land. Agricultural tools and machinery in the collections range from a John Deere plow of the 1830s to 20th-century cultivators and harvesters. The Museum's holdings also include overalls, aprons, and sunbonnets; farm photographs; milk cans and food jars; handmade horse collars; and some 200 oral histories of farm men and women in the South. Prints in the collections show hundreds of scenes of rural life. The politics of agriculture are part of the story, too, told in materials related to farm workers' unions and a group of artifacts donated by the family of the labor leader Cesar Chavez.
4,322
Page 1 of 217
-
Trade catalogs from Huber Mfg. Co.
- Date
- 1900s
- Company Name
- Huber Mfg. Co.
- Related companies
- Huber-Warco Co.; Browning Mfg. Co.
- Record ID
- SILNMAHTL_20115
- Data source
- Smithsonian Libraries
-
Trade catalogs from Palmer Chemical & Equipment Co, Inc.
- Date
- 1900s
- Variant company name
- Omaha, NE
- Company Name
- Palmer Chemical & Equipment Co, Inc.
- Related companies
- Masten-Wright Corp. (New Haven, CT)
- Record ID
- SILNMAHTL_28219
- Data source
- Smithsonian Libraries
-
Untitled (not processed)
- See more items in
- Treadwell Account Books
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0026
- Donor
- Wilkinson, Madeleine
- Collector
- Domestic Life, Division of (NMAH, SI).
- Author
- Treadwell, Sanford L.
- Treadwell, George B.
- Processing Information
- Collection processed by Robert Harding, 1983
- Date
- 1861-1865.
- Provenance
- Collection donated by Miss Madeleine Wilkinson, 1955, November 10.
- Custodial History
- Donated in 1955 by Miss Madeleine Wilkinson. Transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Domestic Life, April 13, 1980.
- Extent
- 3 items (1 folder, 3 books)
- Restrictions
- Collection is open for research.
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection descriptions
- Scope and Contents
- Includes accounts of several employees of George B. and Sanford L. Treadwell of Mittineagus, Massachusetts, written on small pieces of paper sewn between covers of calfskin. One volume is for 1861, one for 1862, and the other for 1863-1865.
- Genre/Form
- Account books -- 19th century
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Donor
- Wilkinson, Madeleine
- Collector
- Domestic Life, Division of (NMAH, SI).
- Author
- Treadwell, Sanford L.
- Treadwell, George B.
- Collector
- Domestic Life, Division of (NMAH, SI).
- Donor
- Wilkinson, Madeleine
- Topic
- Agriculture
- Place
- Mittineagus (Mass.)
- Massachusetts
- Citation
- Treadwell Account Books, 1861-1865, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Gift of Madeleine Wilkinson.
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
-
Untitled (not processed)
- See more items in
- Agricultural and Brick Account Book
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0057
- Donor
- Golovin, Anne Castrodale
- Processing Information
- Collection processed by Robert Harding, 1983
- Date
- 1824-1846.
- Provenance
- Collection donated by Anne Golovin, 1970.
- Ownership and Custodial History
- Transferred from the Division of Ceramics and Glass, 7/12/83. Originally purchased from a dealer by Anne Golovin, NMAH curator.
- Extent
- 0.15 cubic feet (1 folder)
- Restrictions
- Collection is open for research.
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection descriptions
- Scope and Contents
- Account book of an unidentified person, possibly living in Massachusetts or Rhode Island, includes entries regarding items purchased and sold, such as bricks and agricultural products, and a record of himself and other persons employed, including the rental of animal teams for ploughing.
- Genre/Form
- Account books -- 19th century
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Donor
- Golovin, Anne Castrodale
- Golovin, Anne Castrodale
- Topic
- Merchants -- 1820-1850
- Bricks -- 1820-1850
- Farm produce -- 1820-1850
- Agriculture -- 1800-1850
- Other Finding Aids
- Inventory available; contact the Archives Center for more information.
- Place
- Massachusetts -- 19th century
- Rhode Island -- 1820-1850
- Citation
- Agricultural and Brick Account Book, 1824-1846, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
-
Untitled (not processed)
- See more items in
- Alice Weber Photograph Albums
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.1144
- Creator
- Weber, Alice
- Processing Information
- Processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, October 2011.
- Biographical / Historical
- Alice Weber worked in a civilian capacity on a military base in Okinawa, Japan. Her work was connected to sheet metal. Her work and travels took her to California, Japan, Hawaii, China, and Guam.
- Date
- 1945-1948
- Provenance
- Collection donated by Ruth Masters on December 31, 2008.
- Extent
- 1 cubic foot (3 boxes)
- Summary
- Collection consists of two photograph albums documenting Alice Weber's work and travels to California, Japan (specifically Okinawa), Hawaii, China and Guam from 1945-1948. The images depict base housing and facilities, Weber's co-workers, aircraft, sheet metal shops, historic sites, agriculture (including cane, pineapple and coffee cultivation in Hawaii), native people, cities, and other subjects.
- Restrictions
- Collection is open for research. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection descriptions
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged into one series.
- Scope and Contents
- Two photograph albums, captioned (in some instances with brief descriptions, locations, and dates), documenting Alice Weber's travels to California, Okinawa, Japan, Hawaii, China and Guam, from 1945-1948.. The images depict such things as base housing and facilities in Hawaii, Weber's co-workers, aircraft, sheet metal shops, historic sites, agriculture (including cane, pineapple and coffee cultivation in Hawaii), native people, cities, and other subjects. There is also a printed booklet titled First Air Division, 1947. The booklet describes Okinawa and was written and compiled by Captain Robert F. Meritt, staff public information officer for the United States Air Force. Many of the line illustrations in the booklet were drawn by McFadden of the Daily Okinawan.
- Genre/Form
- Photograph albums -- 1940-1950
- Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1940-1950
- Rights
- Copyright status unknown. Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Creator
- Weber, Alice
- Topic
- Airplanes
- Agriculture -- Hawaii
- Aircraft
- Military bases
- Pineapples -- Hawaii
- Coffee -- Hawaii
- Hawaiians
- Sheet-metal work
- Sugar cane -- Hawaii
- Place
- Okinawa
- Shanghai (China) -- 1940-1950
- Kauai (Hawaii)
- Oahu (Hawaii)
- Honolulu (Hawaii)
- China
- Guam
- Hawaii
- Hilo (Hawaii)
- Citation
- Alice Weber Photograph Albums, 1945-1948, dates, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
-
Untitled (not processed)
- See more items in
- Maryland Farm Diary
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.1267
- Source
- Valentino, Carmen D.
- Processing Information
- Processed by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., archives specialist, September 2012; supervised by Vanessa Broussard-Simmons, archivist.
- Biographical / Historical
- This diary is a combined farm journal and account book for a farm located at or near Long Branch, Harford County, Maryland, covering the time period from March 1879 to August 1894, excepting the year 1880. This was a time when American agriculture was on the cusp of mechanization, and a time when increasing urbanization was changing the demographics of farm life. More and more youth were relocating to urban areas, challenging small family farms to continue to run with fewer people, and forcing them to bring on day laborers or other help. Farms in the northern part of Maryland were quite distinct from those in the southern part, where tobacco dominated. The farm documented in this volume featured truck farming, orchards, small grain crops, dairying, and hogs. A possible German or Amish influence is indicated, probably due to its proximity to Pennsylvania, with such products as cider, sauerkraut, wheat and hay being produced, as well as by products from hogs including sausages, lard, and pudding (scrapple). Curing and preservation of meat is documented in the volume as well. The products (wheat, hay, cider, sauerkraut) being sold in nearby towns (as documented in the volume) indicates that the farm was not just self-sufficient but also a profitable participant in the market economy. An interesting entry is found on page 95, for March 11, 1883, "A very perceptible earthquake was experienced here the house shook, & things on sideboard rattled. It lasted about 3 minutes." This is primary documentation of the Fallston, Maryland quake. Other entries mention the Maryland State Fair at Timonium, trips to Hanways' Mill, Ashland and other local destinations.
- Date
- 1879-1884
- Provenance
- This collection was purchased at auction from Carmen D. Valentino of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2012.
- Extent
- 0.15 cubic feet (1 item)
- Summary
- A farm journal and account book for a farm located at Long Branch, Harford County, Maryland, covering the time period March 1879 to August 1884 (excepting 1880) and documenting all aspects of farm life and labor.
- Restrictions
- The collection is open for research use.
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection descriptions
- Arrangement
- The collection is arranged into one series. Series 1, Farm diary, 1879-1884
- Scope and Contents
- The diary bears numerous handwriting styles, denoting more than one author. The farm documented in this volume featured truck farming, orchards, small grain crops, dairying, and hogs. A possible German or Amish influence is indicated, probably due to its proximity to Pennsylvania, with such products as cider, sauerkraut, wheat and hay being produced, as well as by products from hogs including sausages, lard, and pudding (scrapple). Curing and preservation of meat is documented as well. All tasks of day-to-day life on the farm, by whom they were performed and with what equipment as well as the weather were recorded. The compiler recorded other such detail as which fertilizers were used for which crops, variety names, how much was paid to each hand who worked on the farm (in the case of tenant farmers, with firewood or cow pasture), names given to animals, and such things as laborers' travel to nearby towns to purchase goods and supplies. Especially descriptive are the parts of the diary relating to livestock, with entries for births, sales, and activities such as butchering, sausage making, curing and preservation of meat. The farm was comprised of fields, orchards, meadows and gardens, in addition to a number of outbuildings, sheds, smokehouses, a barn, a stable, and a blacksmith shop. Maintenance of these buildings is described in detail in the diary. This volume is rich in detail about the functioning of a typical American farm during this time period. It also includes an entry for the Fallston, Maryland earthquake of March 11, 1883 (page 95).
- Genre/Form
- Record books
- Daybooks -- 1870-1880
- Financial records -- 19th century
- Account books -- 19th century
- Daybooks -- 1880-1910
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions. All duplication requests must be reviewed and approved by Archives Center staff.
- Source
- Valentino, Carmen D.
- Associated name
- Bond, William
- Brown, Annie
- Brown, Charles
- Brown, Edward
- Brown, Henry
- Campbell, William
- Gemmill, Benjamin B.
- Gemmill, Ephraim
- Goodwater, Charles
- Johnston, Thomas
- Johnstone, Samuel
- Jones, William
- Klob, Ella
- Lomax, Joseph
- Morgan, John
- Pugh, Edward
- Schultz, William
- Sewell, Rose
- Spencer, George
- Former owner
- Valentino, Carmen D.
- Associated name
- West, William
- Whitaker, James
- Topic
- Housewives -- United States
- Rural women
- Rural scenes
- Farms -- Maryland
- Sausages
- Rural families
- Work and family
- Farmers
- Agriculture -- 1870-1940 -- Maryland
- Gardens -- Maryland
- Earthquakes -- Maryland
- Gardening
- Weather conditions
- Family farms
- Farmers -- 19th century
- Agriculture
- Agricultural laborers
- Agricultural supplies and equipment -- 1850-1870
- Fairs -- 1880-1889 -- United States
- Agricultural Prices
- Agricultural products
- Place
- Harford County, Maryland
- Fallston, Harford County, Maryland
- Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland
- Watervale, Harford County, Maryland
- Maryland
- Ashland
- Hanways' Mill
- Potspring, Maryland
- Maryland -- Family farms
- Timonium, Maryland
- Fairs -- 1870-1879 -- United States
- Forest Hill, Harford County, Maryland
- Citation
- Maryland Farm Diary, 1879-1884, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
-
Untitled (not processed)
- See more items in
- Robert L. Shurr Script and Scrapbook for the Motion Picture "George Washington Carver"
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0133
- Creator
- Parker, Ben (scriptwriter)
- Shurr, Robert L. (scriptwriter)
- Processing Information
- Processed by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., archives technician, November 2008; supervised by Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist.
- Biographical / Historical
- The film, George Washington Carver, was an independent production of Bryant Productions, directed by Ben Parker and written by Robert L. Shurr. An article on Dr. George Washington Carver in Life magazine reportedly inspired the original idea for Parker. After a personal visit by Parker, Carver consented not only to approve the film but to appear in it. Parker engaged Robert L. Shurr to write the screenplay, originally titled Devil Cotton or the Story of Dr. Carver. The screenplay combined both a documentary and fictional narrative style. The screenplay detailed Carver's early life including a fictitious romantic relationship. The cast included: Ralph Edwards, Raye Gilbert, John J. Marvin, and Milton Sprague. Raising funds for the project and making the film were both difficult. Parker eventually raised $2,000 from Allen McDowell who is listed as one of the film's producers. The film, which reportedly cost $14,000, was shot in Alabama with a small crew and very basic equipment. The film crew and those helping with the filming experienced violence from the white community which reportedly stoned McDowell and two of the film's local white participants. The film was released independently and played in a few RKO owned theatres but apparently never recouped its cost. In 1940, $10,000 was taken in at the film's premiere at Tuskegee Institute. Most likely, this was the film's largest audience. We have no further information about the production or producer, our initial research has been unable to locate any further details concerning this film. A print of the film in its entirety is not known to exist, but portions of it are seen in a thirty minute video from Schlesinger Video Productions entitled Black Americans of Achievement: George Washington Carver. Carver, a world famous agrichemist, was born near Diamond Grove, Missouri, circa 1864 to a woman named Mary. In 1896, he went to Tuskegee Institute as the head of the Agricultural Department and stayed there until his death on January 5, 1943. Carver found many uses for the peanut, sweet potato, pecan, soybean, and cotton stalk. His important contributions to the Southern economy were: to diversify, utilize the land more efficiently, and in an ecologically friendly way, build up the soil, cope with plant diseases, and utilize research results in farm activities. Among the many honors he received were: fellow, British Royal Society of Arts, 1916; Spingarn Medal from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 1923; and the Theodore Roosevelt Medal, 1939. He was widely admired and Henry Ford included a replica of his birthplace at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. In his personal life Carver was never married and current scholarship indicates that he may have been homosexual. The historian, Horace L. Griffin, in his 2006 book Their Own Receive Them Not: African American Lesbians & Gays in Black Churches, details the clandestine homosexual life of Carver and others. Pertaining to Carver's habit of giving peanut oil massages to his male friends, Linda O. McMurry in her 1982 biography of Carver, George Washington Carver, Scientist and Symbol, relates, "Most of his male friends received at least one massage from the professor," but evidence that it ever went beyond massage is not detailed. Beginning in 1935, Carver's constant companion was Austin W. Curtis, Jr. a graduate of Cornell who taught at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College before coming to Tuskegee and joining Carver as his assistant. Rackham Holt, Carver's biographer, describes the relationship between the two men in his 1943 biography, George Washington Carver: an American Biography, "At last someone had been welcomed not merely into Dr. Carver's laboratory, but also into his heart. He believed that there was something providential in the coming of this young man, so intensely serious about his work and extremely competent at it, who was at the same time a genial companion; he was proud of him and loved and depended on him as his own son . . . . And the affection was returned in full measure. Mr. Curtis accompanied him everywhere, seeing to his comfort, shielding him from intrusion, and acting as his official mouthpiece." Carver had a standing invitation to visit Henry Ford at his plantation in Ways, Georgia, where guest rooms were kept prepared for both Carver and Curtis. Carver died in Tuskegee, Alabama on January 5, 1943 and was buried in the churchyard of the college chapel. The National Park Service owns and maintains 210 acres of the farm where Carver was born as the George Washington Carver National Monument.
- Date
- 1939-1940, 1968
- Provenance
- The collection was donated by Robert L. Shurr in October 1984.
- Custodial History
- The collection was transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Community Life (now the Division of Home and Community Life) in 1997. The W. C. Handy Collection (AC0133) forms part of same gift from same donor.
- Extent
- 0.2 cubic feet (2 boxes)
- Summary
- The film, George Washington Carver, starring Carver himself, was filmed in 1939 and released in 1940. Ben Parker was the director and Robert L. Shurr wrote the screenplay.
- Restrictions
- The collection is open for research.
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection descriptions
- Scope and Contents
- This collection consists of a copy of the original script for the motion picture George Washington Carver and a scrapbook detailing the motion picture's press. The bulk of the material dates to the production and release of the film, 1939-1940. There is additional correspondence from Shurr concerning the film dated 1968. The scrapbook contains photographs from the film. There are reference copies for the script and scrapbook.
- Genre/Form
- Film stills
- Clippings -- 1930-1950
- Press releases -- 1930-1940
- Screenplays -- 1930-1940
- Scrapbooks -- 1900-1950
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Creator
- Parker, Ben (scriptwriter)
- Shurr, Robert L. (scriptwriter)
- Names
- RKO Pictures.
- Tuskegee Institute
- Carver, George Washington, 1864?-1943
- Topic
- Motion pictures -- 1930-1940
- Cotton stalks
- Plant diseases
- Pecan
- Peanuts
- Sweet potatoes
- Agricultural chemists
- Agriculture -- Research
- African American scientists
- Agricultural chemistry
- Citation
- Robert L. Shurr Script and Scrapbook for the Motion Picture "George Washington Carver", 1939-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
-
Untitled (not processed)
- See more items in
- Chet and Juanita Howell Rodeo Collection
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0255
- Creator
- Howell, Juanita
- Community Life, Div. of, NMAH, SI
- Howell, Chet
- Biographical/Historical note
- Chet and Juanita Howell were trick riders and ropers who played many of the rodeos and fairs throughout the country in the 1930s until the latter 1950s. They averaged thirty shows per year, with most of their performances being in the western and southwestern United States. Chet was born in San Jose, California, where he learned to ride broncs and bulls and to do trick riding and roping. He doubled for Gene Autrey in "Oh Susanna" and worked in other movies. During the spring of 1935 he performed his act in Yokohama, Japan. Juanita Howell started with the King Brothers rodeo and Wild West in 1931. In 1933 she won a championship trophy as a steer rider. Juanita and Chet were married on horseback in August of 1936 in Centralia, Washington. Chet was drafted in 1943 and served in the South Pacific. Juanita worked in Ogden, Utah, during World War II, in the quartermaster depot, first in the teletype office and then doing guard duty mounted on horseback. After World War II, Chet continued with the rodeo. In the 1950's, the Howells settled in Phoenix, Arizona, where he worked in manufacturing for five years. His last job before he passed away in 1973 was with the post office. Juanita Howell, born in 1910, is still living in their retirement home.
- Processing Information
- Collection processed by Barbara Kemp, 1987
- Date
- 1934-1958
- Provenance
- Collection donated by Juanita Howell, December 14, 1985.
- Ownership and Custodial History
- Manuscript portion transferred from the Division of Community Life (Department of Social and Cultural History) to the Archives Center, March 20, 1987.
- Extent
- 1 cubic foot (2 boxes)
- Restrictions
- Collection is open for research.
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection descriptions
- Arrangement
- Divided into 4 series: 1) Rodeo Programs; 2) Newspaper clippings and newspaper sheets; 3) Contracts; 4) Magazines. Arranged chronologically by type of material.
- Scope and Contents note
- Mostly newspaper publicity and rodeo programs. 67 full- and half-page sheets from mostly small-town papers, with predominantly local news. The programs for performances at fairs sometimes include agricultural information, what was being judged, and the cash prize amounts. Most of the programs contain advertisements for small-town services and products. A description of the sponsors indicate close community-business relationships. Some shows were near Indian reservations and Native Americans took part in the shows. Most of the material consists of newspaper publicity and rodeo programs. There are 67 full and half page sheets from newspapers, mostly from small towns with local news predominating. The programs for performances at fairs sometimes include agricultural information, what was being judged, and the cash prize amounts. Most of the programs contain advertisements for small town services and products. A description of the sponsors indicate close community business relationships. Some of the shows were near Indian reservations and Native Americans took part in the shows.
- Genre/Form
- Contracts
- Programs -- 1930-2000
- Scrapbooks -- 20th century
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Creator
- Howell, Juanita
- Community Life, Div. of, NMAH, SI
- Howell, Chet
- Topic
- Fairs
- Agriculture -- Western states (U.S.)
- Rodeos
- Rodeo performers
- Women in rodeos
- Trick riding
- Place
- Western states (U.S.)
- Southwestern States
- Citation
- Item title and date, Chet and Juanita Howell Rodeo Collection, 1934-1958, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of Juanita Howell.
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
-
Untitled (not processed)
- See more items in
- Underwood & Underwood Agriculture Photonegative Collection
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0219
- Creator
- Underwood & Underwood Studios
- Underwood & Underwood, Inc.
- Biographical / Historical
- These negatives are from the Underwood & Underwood Illustrations stock files, 1930s-1940s.
- Processing Information
- Collection processed by NMAH Staff, undated
- Date
- circa 1930s-1940s
- Provenance
- Collection donated by Underwood and Underwood, date unknown.
- Custodial History
- Transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Agriculture and Forest Products, 1986; transferred from the Division of Photographic History, circa 1971.
- Extent
- 0.5 cubic feet (2 boxes)
- Restrictions
- Collection is open for research.
- Collection is open for research.
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection descriptions
- Arrangement
- 1 series, arranged by size.
- Scope and Contents
- Negatives depict agricultural subjects.,The collection contains 109 4" x 5" glass negatives, 5 5" x 7" glass negatives, 5 5" x 7" film negatives, and 2 6-1/2" x 8-1/2" glass negatives. There are xerographic copies of selected original captions (originals, on enclosures, discarded). Stock file for newspaper and magazine reproduction.
- Genre/Form
- Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film -- 1930-1950
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Creator
- Underwood & Underwood Studios
- Underwood & Underwood, Inc.
- Topic
- Farmers -- 1930-1950
- Agriculture -- Photographs -- 1930-50 -- United States
- Citation
- Underwood & Underwood Agriculture Photonegative Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
-
Untitled (not processed)
- See more items in
- Diane Vogt-O'Connor Lantern Slide Collection
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0280
- Collector
- Vogt-O'Connor, Diane
- Biographical / Historical
- Apparently intended for educational use (high school and college). The donor acquired these slides from unidentified sources.
- Processing Information
- Collection processed by NMAH Staff, undated
- Date
- circa 1910
- Provenance
- This collection was donated by Diane Vogt O'Connor, in 1987.
- Extent
- 0.1 cubic feet
- Restrictions
- The collection is open for research use.
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection descriptions
- Arrangement
- This collection is arranged alphabetically by subject.
- Scope and Contents
- 37 glass plate slides, silver gelatin, black-and-white, mounted with cover glass and tape. primarily depicting industrial and occupational subjects, plus views of Boston and New York City.
- Genre/Form
- Photographs -- Transparencies -- Glass -- 1900-1910
- Lantern slides -- black and white -- 1900-1910
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use.
- Collector
- Vogt-O'Connor, Diane
- Publisher
- Keystone View Company
- Topic
- Agriculture -- 1890-1920
- Education -- Audio-visual aids -- 1900-1910
- Pictures in education -- 1900-1910
- Dollmakers -- 1900-1910
- Shoemakers -- 1900-1910
- Fishers
- Textile industry -- 1900-1910
- Sugar growing -- 1900-1910
- Place
- New York (N.Y.) -- 1900-1910
- Boston (Mass.) -- 1900-1910
- Citation
- Diane Vogt O'Connor Lantern Slide Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
-
Untitled (not processed)
- See more items in
- Paul Duncan Film Collection
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0827
- Creator
- Duncan, James T.
- Duncan, Paul
- Biographical / Historical
- Between 1937 and 1941, amateur film maker, Paul Jasper Duncan (1899-1986), documented non-mechanized farming practices in the eastern Pennsylvania region where he had grown up. Duncan was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania on March 21, 1899. He was the son of Raymond and Nellie Thayer Duncan. Duncan's maternal grandfather, Charles F. Thayer (1848-1933), lived in nearby Atlantic next to the W. Clark McMillen farm. In 1901, Myrna K. Thayer, one of Duncan's maternal aunts, married W. Clark McMillen. Clark McMillen was a full-time farmer. About 1918, Raymond Duncan and his family moved to Atlantic and lived in the Thayer home next door to the McMillen farm. During his youth, Duncan worked on the McMillen farm when labor was needed and when he needed to earn some money but he never had any interest in becoming a farmer. Duncan graduated from Meadville High School in 1919. Duncan attended Pennsylvania State University for a year studying mechanical engineering. He returned to Meadville taking a job as a teacher for manual training (shop, woodworking, etc.). He married Alice Driver but within a month she died of "milk fever". Duncan returned to Penn State completing one more year toward a degree before moving to Chicago in the fall of 1922. He married Gertrude Glover in 1924 and in the fall of 1938 they moved to Des Plaines, Illinois. They had two children: Margaret (b. 1929) and James (b. 1932). Duncan worked as a mechanical design engineer for the Universal Oil Company and the Ludlow Typograph Company. In 1937, Duncan purchased an 8mm movie camera. He had an interest in still photography and this interest extended to motion pictures. During summer family trips to Atlantic in 1937, 1939 and 1941 Duncan documented three farming practices on the McMillen farm: making hay (1937), threshing wheat (1941), and cradling and flailing (1941). During this time the farm was being worked by McMillen and his son-in-law Roy Ferrin (d. 1945). With the exception of cradling and flailing, the farm work was not staged and coincided with the Duncan family visits to Atlantic. At the time that Duncan filmed cradling and flailing the wheat had been cut, so McMillen is seen cutting and binding sheaves of oats instead. In addition to McMillen, Ferrin and Duncan's nephew Neil Duncan are seen in the films. After retiring from the Ludlow Typographic Company in 1968, Duncan and his wife moved to Dos Cabezas, Cochise County, Arizona. He died in 1986.
- Processing Information
- processed by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., January 2005
- Date
- 1937-1941
- Provenance
- Donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian by James T. Duncan, son of Paul J. Duncan, in November 2002.
- Extent
- 0.5 cubic feet
- Abbreviations
- OF = Original Film RV = Reference Video MV = Master Video
- Restrictions
- Collection is open for research.
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection descriptions
- Arrangement
- Collection arranged into one series.
- Scope and Contents
- Filmed entirely on location at the W. Clark McMillen Farm in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the Paul Duncan Film Collection documents three types of now obsolete farming practices using draft horses and manual labor: making hay (1937), threshing wheat (1939), and cradling & flailing (1941). The film is 8mm, black and white and color. Edge codes date from 1926, 1932, and 1934-35.
- Genre/Form
- Motion pictures (visual works) -- 1930-1950
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Creator
- Duncan, James T.
- Duncan, Paul
- Names
- McMillen, Clark
- Topic
- Agriculture -- Pennsylvania
- Draft horses
- Agricultural machinery
- Farmers
- Farm equipment
- Harvesting -- Pennsylvania
- Citation
- Paul Duncan Film Collection, 1937-1941, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
-
Untitled (not processed)
- See more items in
- William C. Kost Farm Records
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0481
- Creator
- Kost, William Elvidge
- Kost, William Cassell, (farmer), 1917-1989
- Source
- Agriculture and Natural Resources, Division of (NMAH, SI).
- Biographical / Historical
- William Cassel Kost (1917-1989) acquired land and began farming in Vermont, Illinois in 1946. The farm consisted of 120 acres where Kost raised small grains, hay, and cattle. Prior to this time, Kost had been a bookkeeper for local taverns and a tenant farmer. Over the next fifty-three years, Kost worked his own farm as well as occasionally renting land, the Maryland Farm and others. In the 1950s, Kost secured a position with Hemp & Company, later known as the King-Sealey Thermos Factory, first in a part-time capacity then as a full-time employee, retiring on disability in 1975. He continued to farm until his death in August 1989. He was married to Maxine Elvidge (1916-1987) and had one son, William Elvidge Kost (1941-).
- Processing Information
- Processed by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., volunteer, 1994; supervised by Vanessa Broussard-Simmons, archivist. Finding aid revised in June 2014.
- Date
- 1939-1989
- Provenance
- Donated to the National Museum of American History, Archives Center by William E. Kost in 1993.
- Extent
- 17.66 cubic feet (53 boxes)
- Summary
- The records of the Kost family farm, Vermont, Illinois. The farm consisted of 120 acres where small grains, hay, and cattle were raised.
- Restrictions
- Collection is open for research. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs, negatives, and slides.
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection descriptions
- Arrangement
- The collection is organized into three series. Series 1, Tavern Accounts, 1939-1945 Series 2, Maryland Farm, 1946 Series 3, William C. Kost Farm, 1946-1989
- Scope and Contents
- The William C. Kost Farm Records is an exhaustive collection of bills, receipts, pay-stubs, and other financial records relating to the business of a small, mid-western family farm. Beginning with Kost's employment as a bookkeeper in 1942 for local Vermont, Illinois area taverns, the financial records intensely cover the period until the year before his death in 1989. The collection is a complete financial picture of a typical mid-western farm during the post WWII period, through the agricultural boom days of the 1950s and 1960s, and into the trying agricultural times of the late 1970s and 1980s. These financial records reconstruct a day to day, week to week, and month to month, financial portrait of the Kost farm. The limited amount of correspondence found in this collection complements the financial record. Tax returns, medical, and personal expense records are all included within the collection. Kost and his wife ran the farm operation with occasional hired help. Kost also took a job off the farm to supplement the farm income.
- Genre/Form
- Housebooks -- 1940-1990
- Receipts -- 20th century
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Creator
- Kost, William Elvidge
- Kost, William Cassell, (farmer), 1917-1989
- Source
- Agriculture and Natural Resources, Division of (NMAH, SI).
- Former owner
- Agriculture and Natural Resources, Division of (NMAH, SI).
- Topic
- Farms -- 1940-1990 -- Illinois
- Hay
- Work and family -- 1940-1990
- Wheat
- Soybean
- Swine
- Rural families -- 1940-1990
- Agriculture -- 1940-1990 -- Illinois
- Livestock
- Corn
- Beef cattle
- Family records -- 1940-1990
- Family farms -- 1940-1990
- Farm equipment -- 1940-1990
- Farm buildings -- 1940-1990
- Farmers -- 1940-1990
- Farm management -- 1940-1990
- Place
- Illinois -- 1940-1990
- Vermont (Ill.) -- 1940-1990
- Citation
- William C. Kost Farm Records, 1939-1989, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
-
Untitled (not processed)
- See more items in
- Walker R. Smith Rural Maryland Photoprints
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0446
- Photographer
- Smith, Walker R., 1910-
- Location of Originals
- Negatives,in collection of Walker R. Smith,,U.S.A.
- Biographical / Historical
- The photographer has been photographing a small Maryland village area, Doubs (and Adamstown) for over fifty years (ca. 1930s to date of gift). Much of his work is personal, but some is semi-professional work for friends and neighbors.
- Processing Information
- Collection processed by Mary June Owen, 1995
- Date
- Circa 1936-1991
- Provenance
- Collection donated by Walker R. Smith, 1992, March 11.
- Ownership and Custodial History
- All photographs have been in Mr. Smith's custody continuously. Many were printed by him, but others were printed by commercial photofinishers.
- Extent
- 0.1 cubic feet (1 box)
- 100,photoprints,,11" x 14", 8" x 10", 6" x 11", 4" x 10", 5"x 7", 4" x 5", and smaller.
- on paper sheets,,max. 11" x 14",,Silver gelatin,unmounted.
- Restrictions
- Collection is open for research.
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection descriptions
- Arrangement
- 1 series. Arranged by size and topic, access at topical level.
- Scope and Contents
- Photographs of the rural Maryland village of Doubs and environs; subjects include trains and railroad subjects, farming activities, grocery stores, people at work and play, etc.
- Genre/Form
- Photographs -- 20th century
- Rights
- Reproduction restricted: donor retains reproduction rights. Some prints are marked with copyright notice.
- Photographer
- Smith, Walker R., 1910-
- Topic
- Railroads -- Trains -- 1930-1990
- Agriculture -- 20th century -- Maryland
- Groceries -- Stores -- 1930-1990
- Stores -- 1930-1990
- Other Finding Aids
- Inventory available.
- Place
- Adamstown (Md.) -- 1930-1990
- Doubs (Md.) -- 1930-1990
- Maryland -- rural -- 1930-1990
- Citation
- Walker R. Smith Rural Maryland Photoprints, Archives Center, ca. 1936-1991, National Museum of American History.
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
-
Atkinson Counting Register, U.S. Patent Office Model
- Description
- This roughly built wooden and metal device is the U.S. patent model for a counter patented by Alexander P. Atkinson of Vermont, Ill., on November 7, 1871. It has an open wooden frame, with a window at the front for viewing the registering wheels. The three wheels are mounted on a crosswise shaft, along with a fourth wheel, which drives the others. Lowering a crank on the right side of the frame moves the driving wheel and the rightmost registering wheel one unit back. Returning the crank upright moves the driving but not the registering wheel.
- The wheels are wooden. The registering wheels are covered with paper bands around the edge which have the digits marked from 0 to 9. Screws are used as gear teeth in much of the mechanism. The device carries. According to the patent, the machine was intended for use in counting the number of bushels or other measures of grain that passed a given point.
- A mark on the front above the window reads: A.P. Atkinson (/) Vermont (/) Ill’s.
- Alexander P. Atkinson (1840-1906) lived in Vermont, Ill., and founded the Vermont Loan and Building Association in 1889. He remained President of that bank into the 20th century.
- References:
- Alexander P. Atkinson, “Improvement in Counting-Registers,” U.S. Patent 120,609, November 7, 1871.
- J. S. McCullough, Twelfth Annual Report of the Condition of Building, Loan and Homestead Associations Doing Business in Illinois, Springfield, Illinois: Phillips Brothers, 1903, p. 307.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1874
- patentee
- Atkinson, Alexander P.
- maker
- Atkinson, Alexander P.
- ID Number
- MA.309342
- accession number
- 89797
- catalog number
- 309342
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
H. M. Wood Windmill Patent Model
- Description
- During most of the 19th century, the U.S. Patent Office required inventors seeking patent protection to submit both a written application and a three-dimensional model. This wood and metal patent model of a windmill succeeded in gaining its inventor, H. M. Wood, Patent Number 222,340, which was issued on December 2, 1879. As farms spread into the American heartland, windmills proved an extremely important technology, allowing settlers to use the renewable power of wind to pump groundwater for agricultural and household use. Efficiency and reliability were key attributes for rural windmills, and professional and lay inventors experimented with hundreds of design variations throughout the years.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1879
- patent date
- 1879-12-02
- inventor
- Wood, Harvey M.
- ID Number
- MC.309136
- catalog number
- 309136
- accession number
- 89797
- patent number
- 222,340
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Smith’s Patent Model of a Windmill - 1878
- Description
- This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 208,208 issued to Elijah H. Smith on September 17, 1878. His invention was an improved design for a windmill with folding sails. The concept of the folding sail windmill was not new. In fact Mr. Smith had received an earlier patent for such a windmill. Folding sails allowed the windmill to automatically regulate its speed in varying wind strengths. As the wind increased the individual arms and sails would progressively fold up to present less area to the wind, thus acting as a governor. Once completely folded the windmill had little more cross section to the wind than would a windmill with a single arm and two sails. In Smith’s first folding sail design the maximum angle between its eight sails was limited by leather straps interconnecting each sail arm. Speed was then controlled by an auxiliary sail attached to the sails on the inner most sail arm. This auxiliary sail was loosely held down onto its host sail by a spring. As the wheel speed became greater the spring was overcome and the auxiliary sail would open to an angle of 90 degrees to the plane of the primary sail. This caused the inner arm and sails to slow until it was behind the next outer arm and sails, and this was repeated for the rest of the arms and sails until the wheel was folded. At that point little more than two sails face the wind and the speed of the wheel would be at a minimum. Smith included a braking wheel on the hub of the inner most arm and sail set. A wooden lever was pivoted at the front of the cross-head and could be pulled down by a rope led to the base of the windmill, thus making the lever contact the brake wheel and stop the windmill. There were two new elements in Smith’s 1878 patent. The first was to replace the function of the leather straps that controlled arm and sail spacing with a new design for the hubs at the center of each arm. Each hub had metal projections on its circumference that limited the motion of the next arm to an angle of 30 degrees to it. The outer-most arm was secured in place with a set screw on the shaft. This allowed the six arms to be evenly spaced around the wheel when fully extended. Folding of the wheel in heavy wind was controlled as in the earlier patent. The second new element was a modification of the braking mechanism. The tail-board beam was pivoted at the rear of the cross-head. This allowed the front of the beam to move upward to contact the brake wheel, and the weight of the tail-board was sufficient to apply friction and stop the windmill. A rod attached to the front of the brake lever was led to the base of the windmill and could be drawn down and pinned to disable the brake for normal operation.
- The patent model is constructed of wood and metal and is mounted on a wooden base. The model illustrates the main elements of the patent including the hubs controlling the spacing of the arms when extended and the braking mechanism. The model also includes a thread representing the rope extending to the base of the windmill tower used to engage the braking mechanism. Not represented on the model is the auxiliary sail used to fold the windmill to govern speed in high winds.
- date made
- 1878
- patent date
- 1878-09-17
- inventor
- Smith, Elijah S.
- ID Number
- MC.309137
- catalog number
- 309137
- accession number
- 89797
- patent number
- 208,208
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Bevil Wind Mill Patent Model
- Description
- Henry H. Beville, the inventor of the “Iron Duke” windmill, was a traveling salesman for a farm implement company in Indiana. He designed the windmill while on the road in the 1870s. A young Union veteran, Beville held a variety of jobs after returning from the war and, at one point, lost all of his possessions in a fire. After receiving his patent in 1880, Beville licensed the Iron Duke for manufacture and sale, making a substantial profit on his invention. That same year, he opened a real estate office in Indianapolis. Between windmill sales and real estate, Beville had a prosperous career. Well-respected in the business community and active in civic life, he helped attract a number of manufacturing companies to Indianapolis.
- In early America, windmills followed the European model. As the wind changed direction, workers manually adjusted the position of large wood and cloth sails. In the 1850s, inventor Daniel Halladay and his business partner, John Burnham, introduced a self-regulating windmill and water pump. In contrast to traditional windmills, self-regulating windmills had a tail vane to turn blades. A centrifugal governor regulated speed by changing the angle of the blades. This allowed the windmill to work efficiently in low winds and slow down for protection in high winds. Windmills provided farmers and ranchers with a reliable power source to pump water from underground. Halladay and Burnham moved from New England to Chicago to take advantage of the expanding Midwestern market, and other manufacturers followed their lead. Between 1870 and 1900, American farmers put about 230 million acres into agricultural production, much of it in the arid Great Plains.
- The Iron Duke, as its name suggests, was an all-iron windmill. Until the 1870s, American windmills were wooden, containing metal only in bolts and other small parts. In 1876, the first metal windmill, J. S. Risdon’s “Iron Turbine,” appeared on the market. Other models followed, but according to historian T. Lindsay Baker, major production of metal windmills did not begin for another twenty years. Beginning in the 1890s, manufacturers were able to take advantage of lower steel prices. The manufacturers of the Iron Duke compared its strength and durability to that of wooden windmills. An advertisement in The American Agriculturist announced, “Will not shrink, warp, split, decay, and will stand more work than any mill extant.” Yet, despite the growing popularity of iron or steel models, many farmers and ranchers preferred wood. They found metal windmills difficult to repair, and many manufacturers had a reputation for using less steel to cut costs.
- date made
- 1880
- patent date
- 1880-04-06
- inventor
- Bevil, Henry H.
- ID Number
- MC.309201
- catalog number
- 309201
- accession number
- 89797
- patent number
- 226,265
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Glidden Fence Making Patent Model
- Description
- On December 8, 1874 Joseph Glidden and Phineas Vaughn patented this machine for making wire fences. This apparatus attached barbs to double stranded wire cables that were used to corral cattle. The machine boasts a mahogany base and metal end pieces that are painted green with gold edging.
- patent date
- 1874-12-08
- inventor
- Glidden, Joseph F.
- Vaughan, Phineas W.
- ID Number
- AG.157508
- catalog number
- 157508
- accession number
- 89797
- catalog number
- 308814
- patent number
- 157,508
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Blount's Daisy Steel Plow Model
- Description (Brief)
- This is an 18-inch model of a one-horse steel plow. This model belonged to Henry F. Blount of Evansville, Indiana and was made in 1890.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.1891A01
- catalog number
- 1891A01
- accession number
- 023873
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Whiteley Harvester Patent Model
- Description
- This model accompanied the patent application for William N. Whiteley’s improvement in harvesters that received patent number 197,192 on November 13, 1877. The combined reaper and mower had a single large wheel with a driver’s seat to steer the horses and manipulate the mower, reaper, or rake attachments This harvester model was manufactured under the brand name “Champion.” The Champion was sold by a variety of company’s across the country from its home in Springfield, Ohio which is still known as the “Champion City.”
- A reaper is a machine for harvesting grain crops, especially wheat. Drawn by horses (or a tractor), a reaper uses a large blade to cut wheat stalks. Early reapers required farmers to rake wheat off the machine by hand. On self-raking models, automatic rakes pushed the wheat across a platform and deposited it on the ground in bunches. Workers followed the reaper, gathering and tying bundles of wheat, called “sheaves.” They stacked the sheaves into piles, called “stooks,” for protection from wind and rain. Later, workers threshed and winnowed the wheat to remove edible grains from the inedible chaff.
- patent date
- 1877-11-13
- inventor
- Whiteley, William N.
- ID Number
- AG.197192
- accession number
- 89797
- catalog number
- 197192
- patent number
- 197,192
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Pages
Filter Your Results
- topic
- Agriculture 4322
- Work 1742
- Photography 1739
- Government, Politics, and Reform 1733
- Bracero Program 1730
- object type
- Photographs 2302
- Trade catalogs 1344
- Archival materials 610
- Labels (identifying artifacts) 381
- Buttons (fasteners) 64
- date
- place
- United States 2849
- California 1272
- México 404
- Nuevo León 330
- Monterrey Processing Center 328
- culture
- set name
- Agriculture 2347
- Work 1742
- Photography 1734
- Government, Politics, and Reform 1733
- Archives Center: Archives 1729
- type
- ead_collection 23
- edanmdm 4299
- r.museum
Facebook