Communications

Tools of communication have transformed American society time and again over the past two centuries. The Museum has preserved many instruments of these changes, from printing presses to personal digital assistants.

The collections include hundreds of artifacts from the printing trade and related fields, including papermaking equipment, wood and metal type collections, bookbinding tools, and typesetting machines. Benjamin Franklin is said to have used one of the printing presses in the collection in 1726.

More than 7,000 objects chart the evolution of electronic communications, including the original telegraph of Samuel Morse and Alexander Graham Bell's early telephones. Radios, televisions, tape recorders, and the tools of the computer age are part of the collections, along with wireless phones and a satellite tracking system.

This postcard view of the Garden of Mission Santa Barbara was published by the Edward H. Mitchell company of San Francisco about 1908, as a photomechanical lithograph. The Edward H.
Description (Brief)
This postcard view of the Garden of Mission Santa Barbara was published by the Edward H. Mitchell company of San Francisco about 1908, as a photomechanical lithograph. The Edward H. Mitchell company published postcards between about 1900 and 1928.
Founded in 1786, Mission Santa Barbara was the tenth of twenty-one Spanish Franciscan missions established in California between 1769 and 1823. The mission was built to convert American Indians of the Chumash tribe to Catholicism.
Today the mission serves as a parish church and includes a museum, a Franciscan friary, or monastery, and a retreat site.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
graphic artist
Mitchell, Edward H.
ID Number
GA.24880.016
catalog number
24880.016
accession number
1978.0801
This postcard view of Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma was printed by the Curt Teich Company using photomechanical processes. The card was published in about 1914 by the I. L.
Description (Brief)
This postcard view of Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma was printed by the Curt Teich Company using photomechanical processes. The card was published in about 1914 by the I. L. Eno company in San Diego, Calif.
The Chicago-based Curt Teich Company manufactured postcards between 1898 and 1978 in association with several publishers. It used the term "Photochrom" and later "Colortone" to describe its color printing processes.
Mission San Francisco Solano De Sonoma founded in 1823, was the last of twenty-one missions built by Spanish Franciscans in California between 1769 and 1823. The mission was established to convert American Indians of the region to Catholicism.
Today the mission is a historical site managed by the Sonoma State Historic Parks system.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1914
graphic artist
Eno, I. L.
ID Number
1986.0639.0322
accession number
1986.0639
catalog number
1986.639.0322
This American common press was made by Francis Shield in about 1811. The press included an American open hose, a platen attached by hose bolts and faced with iron. It includes is original tympan and frisket, but its plank was repaired in the Museum.
Description (Brief)
This American common press was made by Francis Shield in about 1811. The press included an American open hose, a platen attached by hose bolts and faced with iron. It includes is original tympan and frisket, but its plank was repaired in the Museum. It is marked on the hose “F SHIELD.” The press has a height of 75 inches, a width, at cheeks, of 29.5 inches, and a length of 70 inches. The platen measures 12.5 inches by 18 inches.
The press was made by Francis Shield, a Londoner, who set
up his press-building factory in New York in 1811 soon after
arriving in the country. In England Shield had built iron Stanhope
presses. Here, he produced a press that is typically American in
style, with open hose and heavy simple timbers instead of the box
hose and lighter timbers of English presses. This may be the press
that he made for the Long Island Star—one of the first two presses
that he built in the United States.
The press arrived at the Museum with an unusual “stone,” or type
bed seated in plaster, which was a cast-iron plate measuring 20 inches by 26.25 inches. The bed was one inch thick and it included a raised iron box in the center. It was evidently a late addition recycled from some other kind of apparatus, that was probably not a printing press. The plate has been removed.
Donated by the Friends of Long Island’s Heritage, 1987
Citations: Philip Gaskell, “A Census of Wooden Presses,” in
Journal of the Printing Historical Society 6, 1970 (census no.
17, p. 31); Elizabeth Harris, “The American Common Press,” p.
46, in Journal of the Printing Historical Society no. 8, 1978; Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Date made
circa 1811
date made
ca 1811
maker
Shield, Francis
ID Number
1987.0471.01
accession number
1987.0471
catalog number
1987.0471.01
William Dougal (1822–1895) of Washington, D.C.
Description (Brief)
William Dougal (1822–1895) of Washington, D.C. engraved this print of “Phrynosoma regale [Girard] and Doliosaurus m’callii [Girard]”—now "Phrynosoma solare" (Regal horned lizard) and "Phrynosoma mcallii" (Flat–tail horned lizard); from one or more original illustrations by John H. Richard (c.1807–1881) of Philadelphia. The illustration was published as Plate 28 in the “Reptiles” section of the second part of volume II of the Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, written by S.F. Baird (1823–1887). The volume was printed in 1859 by Cornelius Wendell of Washington, D.C.
Description
William Dougal (1822–1895) of Washington, D.C. engraved this print of “Phrynosoma regale [Girard] and Doliosaurus m’callii [Girard]”—now "Phrynosoma solare" (Regal horned lizard) and "Phrynosoma mcallii" (Flat–tail horned lizard); from an original sketch by John H. Richard (c.1807–1881) of Philadelphia. The illustration was printed as Plate 28 in the “Reptiles” section of the second part of volume II of the Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, written by S.F. Baird (1823–1887). The volume was printed in 1859 by Cornelius Wendell of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date of book publication
1859
author
Baird, Spencer Fullerton
original artist
Richard, John H.
graphic artist
Dougal, William H.
printer
Wendell, Cornelius
author
Emory, William H.
publisher
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Army
ID Number
2009.0115.062
catalog number
2009.0115.062
accession number
2009.0115
This American common press dates from about 1815. It was incomplete upon its arrival at the Smithsonian, but was restored in 1972.
Description (Brief)
This American common press dates from about 1815. It was incomplete upon its arrival at the Smithsonian, but was restored in 1972. The press has a height of 75 inches a width, at cheeks, of 32 inches and a length of 67 inches; its platen measures 13.5 inches by 19.5 inches.
The press has its original cheeks, spindle, plank with coffin,
and bar, but is missing all of its other original parts, including the
nut and the hose, which often carried the maker’s name. The
surviving parts are typical of presses made in about 1815 by Adam Ramage of Philadelphia. The press has been restored in that
style. Its previous owner, John Lant, incorrectly believed it to be the
press used by William Bradford in New York in 1690.
Purchased from John A. Lant, 1901.
Citations Philip Gaskell, “A Census of Wooden Presses,” in Journal of the Printing Historical Society 6, 1970 (census no. 6, p.27); Elizabeth Harris, “The American Common Press,” pp. 42-52, in Journal of the Printing Historical Society no. 8, 1978; Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Date made
1815
date made
ca 1815
maker
unknown
ID Number
GA.09287
accession number
1900.36751
catalog number
GA*09287
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a type-cutting machine which was granted patent number 31333.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a type-cutting machine which was granted patent number 31333. The patent details a machine for sawing type from a solid block of letters by first cutting a strip of letters from the block, then notching the strip, and finally cutting apart the letters. The block could be cast by Smith's patent of 1859.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1861
patent date
1861-02-05
maker
Smith, John J. C.
ID Number
GA.89797.031333
patent number
031333
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.031333
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a portable and adjustable copy holder on which the reader could tilt the manuscript backwards or spin it sideways, "with reference to light, etc., to suit himself." The invention was granted patent number 155202.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a portable and adjustable copy holder on which the reader could tilt the manuscript backwards or spin it sideways, "with reference to light, etc., to suit himself." The invention was granted patent number 155202. Nutting (1803-1887) was one of the first generation of American lithographers, working at the profession as early as 1826. Later in his life he was also an art teacher, and published a series of art teaching manuals.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1874
patent date
1874-09-22
patentee
Nutting, Benjamin F.
maker
Nutting, Benjamin F.
ID Number
GA.22843
accession number
249602
patent number
155202
catalog number
22843
GA*22843
William Dougal (1822–1895) of Washington, D.C. engraved this print of “Euphryne obesus [Baird]" from an original illustration by John H. Richard (c.1807–1881) of Philadelphia.
Description (Brief)
William Dougal (1822–1895) of Washington, D.C. engraved this print of “Euphryne obesus [Baird]" from an original illustration by John H. Richard (c.1807–1881) of Philadelphia. The illustration was published as Plate 27 in the “Reptiles” section of the second part of volume II of the Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, written by S.F. Baird (1823–1887). The volume was printed in 1859 by Cornelius Wendell of Washington, D.C.
Description
William Dougal (1822–1895) of Washington, D.C. engraved this print of “Euphryne obesus [Baird]”, now "Sauromalus ater" or Northern chuckwalla, from an original sketch by John H. Richard (c.1807–1881) of Philadelphia. The illustration was printed as Plate 27 in the “Reptiles” section of the second part of volume II of the Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, written by S.F. Baird (1823–1887). The volume was printed in 1859 by Cornelius Wendell of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date of book publication
1859
author
Baird, Spencer Fullerton
original artist
Richard, John H.
graphic artist
Dougal, William H.
printer
Wendell, Cornelius
author
Emory, William H.
publisher
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Army
ID Number
2009.0115.068
catalog number
2009.0115.068
accession number
2009.0115
William Dougal (1822–1895) of Washington, D.C. engraved this print of “Crotaphylus wislizenii [B & G]" from an original illustration by John H. Richard (c.1807–1881) of Philadelphia.
Description (Brief)
William Dougal (1822–1895) of Washington, D.C. engraved this print of “Crotaphylus wislizenii [B & G]" from an original illustration by John H. Richard (c.1807–1881) of Philadelphia. The illustration was published as Plate 31 in the “Reptiles” section of the second part of volume II of the Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, written by S.F. Baird (1823–1887). The volume was printed in 1859 by Cornelius Wendell of Washington, D.C.
Description
William Dougal (1822–1895) of Washington, D.C. engraved this print of “Crotaphylus wislizenii [sic] [B & G],” now "Gambelia wislizenii" or Longnose leopard lizard, from an original sketch by John H. Richard (c.1807–1881) of Philadelphia. The illustration was printed as Plate 31 in the “Reptiles” section of the second part of volume II of the Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, written by S.F. Baird (1823–1887). The volume was printed in 1859 by Cornelius Wendell of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date of book publication
1859
author
Baird, Spencer Fullerton
original artist
Richard, John H.
graphic artist
Dougal, William H.
printer
Wendell, Cornelius
author
Emory, William H.
publisher
U.S. Department of the Interior
ID Number
2009.0115.060
catalog number
2009.0115.060
accession number
2009.0115
William H. Dougal (1822-1895) of Washington, D.C. produced this engraving of "Dryophis Vittatus, Grd" from an original illustration by John H. Richard (1807- ca 1881).
Description (Brief)
William H. Dougal (1822-1895) of Washington, D.C. produced this engraving of "Dryophis Vittatus, Grd" from an original illustration by John H. Richard (1807- ca 1881). The image was published as Plate XXXVI in Volume 2, following page 210 of Appendix F (Zoology Reptiles) by Charles Girard (1822-1895) in the report describing "The U.S. Naval Astronomical Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere during the Years 1849, 1850, 1851, and 1852" by James M. Gillis (1811-1865). The volume was printed in 1855 by A. O. P. Nicholson (1808-1876) of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1855
original artist
Richard, John H.
graphic artist
Dougal, William H.
printer
Nicholson, A. O. P.
publisher
United States Navy
author
Gilliss, James Melville
ID Number
2008.0175.30
accession number
2008.0175
catalog number
2008.0175.30
William H. Dougal (1822-1895) of Washington, D.C. produced this pre-press engraving proof of “Mastodon andium,” from an original illustration by O. J. Wallis (fl. 1850s).
Description (Brief)
William H. Dougal (1822-1895) of Washington, D.C. produced this pre-press engraving proof of “Mastodon andium,” from an original illustration by O. J. Wallis (fl. 1850s). The image was published as Plate XIII in Volume 2, following page 278 of Appendix H (Fossil Mammals) by Jeffries Wyman (1814-1874) in the report describing "The U.S. Naval Astronomical Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere during the Years 1849, 1850, 1851, and 1852" by James M. Gillis (1811-1865). The volume was printed in 1855 by A. O. P. Nicholson (1808-1876) of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date of book publication
1855
original artist
Richard, John H.
graphic artist
Dougal, William H.
printer
Nicholson, A. O. P.
publisher
United States Navy
author
Gilliss, James Melville
ID Number
2008.0175.24
accession number
2008.0175
catalog number
2008.0175.24
William H. Dougal (1822-1895) of Washington, D.C. produced this pre-press engraving proof of "Cnemidophorus Presignis, B&G" now Ameiva ameiva (Giant ameiva or Amazon racerunner), from an original illustration by John H. Richard (1807- ca 1881).
Description (Brief)
William H. Dougal (1822-1895) of Washington, D.C. produced this pre-press engraving proof of "Cnemidophorus Presignis, B&G" now Ameiva ameiva (Giant ameiva or Amazon racerunner), from an original illustration by John H. Richard (1807- ca 1881). The image was published as Plate XXXVIII in Volume 2, following page 226 of Appendix F (Zoology Reptiles) by Charles Girard (1822-1895) in the report describing "The U.S. Naval Astronomical Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere during the Years 1849, 1850, 1851, and 1852" by James M. Gillis (1811-1865). The volume was printed in 1855 by A. O. P. Nicholson (1808-1876) of Washington, D.C. The print is signed "Correct CGirard."
Location
Currently not on view
date of book publication
1855
original artist
Richard, John H.
graphic artist
Dougal, William H.
printer
Nicholson, A. O. P.
publisher
United States Navy
author
Gilliss, James Melville
ID Number
2008.0175.25
accession number
2008.0175
catalog number
2008.0175.25
This tinted lithograph of “Mission and Plain of San Fernando” was originally drawn by an expedition artist Charles Koppel (fl. 1853-1865). It was printed as Plate VI following page 74 in the "Geological Report by W. P.
Description (Brief)
This tinted lithograph of “Mission and Plain of San Fernando” was originally drawn by an expedition artist Charles Koppel (fl. 1853-1865). It was printed as Plate VI following page 74 in the "Geological Report by W. P. Blake (1826-1910), Geologist and Minerologist to the Expedition," as part of Volume V, Part II of the "Report of Lieutenant R. S. Williamson (1825-1882), Corps of Topographical Engineers, Upon the Routes in California to Connect with the Routes Near the Thirty-fifth and Thirty-second Parallels" by Lieutenant R. S. Williamson ... in 1853."
The volume was printed as part of the "Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean" in 1856 by A. P. O. Nicholson (1808-1876) in Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1856
publisher
U.S. War Department
printer
Tucker, Beverley
author
Williamson, Robert Stockton
Blake, William Phipps
original artist
Koppel, Charles
graphic artist
unknown
publisher
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Topographic Command
ID Number
GA.10729.38
accession number
62261
William H. Dougal (1822-1895) of Washington, D.C. produced this engraving of "Elaps nigrocinctus [Grd]," now "Micrurus nigrocinctus nigrocinctus" or Central American coral snake, from an original illustration by John H. Richard (1807- ca 1881).
Description
William H. Dougal (1822-1895) of Washington, D.C. produced this engraving of "Elaps nigrocinctus [Grd]," now "Micrurus nigrocinctus nigrocinctus" or Central American coral snake, from an original illustration by John H. Richard (1807- ca 1881). The image was published as Plate XXXV in Volume 2, following page 210 of Appendix F (Zoology Reptiles) by Charles Girard (1822-1895) in the report describing "The U.S. Naval Astronomical Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere during the Years 1849, 1850, 1851, and 1852" by James M. Gillis (1811-1865). The volume was printed in 1855 by A. O. P. Nicholson (1808-1876) of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date of book publication
1855
original artist
Richard, John H.
graphic artist
Dougal, William H.
book printer, publisher
Nicholson, A. O. P.
publisher
United States Navy
author
Girard, Charles
Gilliss, James Melville
ID Number
2008.0175.08
accession number
2008.0175
catalog number
2008.0175.08
This tinted lithograph of “Mirage on the Colorado River” was prepared after an original sketch by ah expedition geologist and artist William P. Blake (1826-1910). It was printed as Plate XII in Volume V, Part II following page 250 in the "Geological Report by W. P.
Description
This tinted lithograph of “Mirage on the Colorado River” was prepared after an original sketch by ah expedition geologist and artist William P. Blake (1826-1910). It was printed as Plate XII in Volume V, Part II following page 250 in the "Geological Report by W. P. Blake, Geologist and Minerologist to the Expedition," as part of Volume V, Part II of the “Routes in California, to Connect with the Routes near the Thirty–Fifth and Thirty–Second Parallels, Explored by Lieutenant R. S. Williamson, Corps of Topographical Engineers, in 1853."
The volume was printed as part of the "Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean" in 1856 by A. P. O. Nicholson (1808-1876) of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1856
publisher
U.S. War Department
printer
Tucker, Beverley
expedition leader
Williamson, Robert Stockton
author
Blake, William Phipps
original artist
Blake, William Phipps
graphic artist
unknown
publisher
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Topographic Command
ID Number
GA.10729.32
accession number
62261
William H. Dougal (1822-1895) of Washington, D.C. produced this pre-press engraving proof of "Proctotretus Tenius, Proctotretus Femoratus, and Proctotretus Stantoni" from an original illustration by John H. Richard (1807- ca 1881).
Description (Brief)
William H. Dougal (1822-1895) of Washington, D.C. produced this pre-press engraving proof of "Proctotretus Tenius, Proctotretus Femoratus, and Proctotretus Stantoni" from an original illustration by John H. Richard (1807- ca 1881). The image was published as Plate XL in Volume 2, following page 216 of Appendix F (Zoology Reptiles) by Charles Girard (1822-1895) in the report describing "The U.S. Naval Astronomical Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere during the Years 1849, 1850, 1851, and 1852" by James M. Gillis (1811-1865). The volume was printed in 1855 by A. O. P. Nicholson (1808-1876) of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date of book publication
1855
original artist
Richard, John H.
graphic artist
Dougal, William H.
printer
Nicholson, A. O. P.
publisher
United States Navy
author
Gilliss, James Melville
ID Number
2008.0175.29
accession number
2008.0175
catalog number
2008.0175.29
William H. Dougal (1822-1895) of Washington, D.C. produced this pre-publication engraving proof of “Trichomycterus maculatus [Cuv.
Description (Brief)
William H. Dougal (1822-1895) of Washington, D.C. produced this pre-publication engraving proof of “Trichomycterus maculatus [Cuv. -Val.], Cheiroden pisciculus [Grd], Cystignathus taeniatus [Grd], and Phyllobates auratus [Grd]” now "Trichomycterus maculatus," "Cheiroden pisciculus," "Batrachyla taeniata," (Banded tree frog), and "Dendrobates auratus" (Poison dart frog, Green poison frog, Green and black poison dart frog) from an original illustration by John H. Richard (1807- ca 1881). The image was published as Plate XXXIV in Volume 2, following page 208 of Appendix F (Zoology-Fishes) by Charles Girard (1822-1895) in the report describing "The U.S. Naval Astronomical Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere during the Years 1849, 1850, 1851, and 1852" by James M. Gillis (1811-1865). The volume was printed in 1855 by A. O. P. Nicholson (1808-1876) of Washington, D.C. The print is also signed in pen "Correct, C.Girard."
Location
Currently not on view
date of book publication
1855
original artist
Richard, John H.
graphic artist
Dougal, William H.
printer
Nicholson, A. O. P.
publisher
United States Navy
author
Girard, Charles
Gilliss, James Melville
ID Number
2008.0175.16
accession number
2008.0175
catalog number
2008.0175.16
William H. Dougal (1822-1895) of Washington, D.C. produced this engraving of “Nematogenys inermis [Grd]” from an original illustration by John H. Richard (1807- ca 1881).
Description (Brief)
William H. Dougal (1822-1895) of Washington, D.C. produced this engraving of “Nematogenys inermis [Grd]” from an original illustration by John H. Richard (1807- ca 1881). The image was published as Plate XXXII in Volume 2, following page 248 of Appendix F (Zoology-Fishes) by Charles Girard (1822-1895) in the report describing "The U.S. Naval Astronomical Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere during the Years 1849, 1850, 1851, and 1852" by James M. Gillis (1811-1865). The volume was printed in 1855 by A. O. P. Nicholson (1808-1876) of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1855
original artist
Richard, John H.
graphic artist
Dougal, William H.
printer
Nicholson, A. O. P.
publisher
United States Navy
author
Girard, Charles
Gilliss, James Melville
ID Number
2008.0175.17
accession number
2008.0175
catalog number
2008.0175.17
This tinted lithograph of “Great Basin from the Summit of Tejon Pass” was produced after an original sketch by expedition artist Charles Koppel (fl. 1853-1865). It was printed as Plate V in Volume V, Part II following page 50 in the "Geological Report by W. P.
Description (Brief)
This tinted lithograph of “Great Basin from the Summit of Tejon Pass” was produced after an original sketch by expedition artist Charles Koppel (fl. 1853-1865). It was printed as Plate V in Volume V, Part II following page 50 in the "Geological Report by W. P. Blake, Geologist and Minerologist to the Expedition," as part of the “Routes in California, to Connect with the Routes near the Thirty–Fifth and Thirty–Second Parallels, Explored by Lieutenant R. S. Williamson, Corps of Topographical Engineers, in 1853."
The volume was printed as part of the "Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean" in 1856 by A. P. O. Nicholson (1808-1876) of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1856
publisher
U.S. War Department
printer
Tucker, Beverley
author
Williamson, Robert Stockton
original artist
Koppel, Charles
Koppel, Charles
graphic artist
unknown
publisher
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Topographic Command
original artist
Koppel, Charles
ID Number
GA.10729.33
accession number
62261
Thomas Sinclair (ca 1805-1881) of Philadelphia produced this chromolithographic print of "Phalacrocorax brasilianus [GM]" or Neotropic cormorant, from an original illustration by William Dreser (ca 1820, fl. 1849-1860).
Description (Brief)
Thomas Sinclair (ca 1805-1881) of Philadelphia produced this chromolithographic print of "Phalacrocorax brasilianus [GM]" or Neotropic cormorant, from an original illustration by William Dreser (ca 1820, fl. 1849-1860). The image was published as Plate XXVIII in Volume 2, following page 204 of Appendix F (Zoology-Birds) by John Cassin (1813-1869) in the report describing "The U.S. Naval Astronomical Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere during the Years 1849, 1850, 1851, and 1852" by James M. Gillis (1811-1865). The volume was printed in 1855 by A. O. P. Nicholson (1808-1876) of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date of book publication
1855
graphic artist
Sinclair, Thomas
original artist
Dreser, William
publisher
United States Navy
printer
Nicholson, A. O. P.
author
Cassin, John
Gilliss, James Melville
ID Number
2008.0175.02
accession number
2008.0175
catalog number
2008.0175.02
This patent model demonstrates an invention for Day's shading medium, an important tool in chromolithography and later in other kinds of commercial illustration.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for Day's shading medium, an important tool in chromolithography and later in other kinds of commercial illustration. A flexible glue sheet, cast from the surface of a plate ruled with parallel lines, was inked and then pressed over an image to shade it. The invention was granted patent number 214493. The model consists of a very fragile pack of samples.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1879
patent date
1879-04-22
maker
Day, Jr., Benjamin Henry
ID Number
GA.89797.214493
accession number
089797
patent number
214493
catalog number
GA*89797.214493
This patent model demonstrates an invention for printing and decorating the surface of celluloid. A celluloid sheet was printed, and then heated under pressure against a polished sheet to finish the surface. The invention was granted patent number 346376.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for printing and decorating the surface of celluloid. A celluloid sheet was printed, and then heated under pressure against a polished sheet to finish the surface. The invention was granted patent number 346376. Model consists of two photogravure specimens.
The patent rights were assigned to the Celluloid Manufacturing Company, New York. Marshall Clifford Lefferts (born 1848) first worked with the American Telegraph Company. In 1870 he joined with the new Celluloid Manufacturing Company, of which he became president in 1890.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1886
patent date
1886-07-27
patentee
Lefferts, Marshall C.
ID Number
GA.89797.346376
accession number
089797
patent number
346376
catalog number
GA*89797.346376
This patent model demonstrates an invention for an apparatus for feeding sheets or blanks into an envelope-making machine; the invention was granted patent number 39872.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for an apparatus for feeding sheets or blanks into an envelope-making machine; the invention was granted patent number 39872.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1863
patent date
1863-09-15
maker
Allen, Edwin
ID Number
GA.89797.039872
accession number
089797
patent number
039872
catalog number
GA*89797.039872
Minna Citron (1896-1991) was an American printmaker, whose style dramatically transformed from representational to abstract art in the 1940s.
Description (Brief)
Minna Citron (1896-1991) was an American printmaker, whose style dramatically transformed from representational to abstract art in the 1940s. She became a member of Atelier 17, a renowned avant-garde print studio in New York, and was known for her experimental printmaking techniques.
"Slip Stream" is an etching and aquatint printed in 1956. The creation of "Slip Stream" and similar prints, collectively known as the series "The Uncharted Course," grew out of Citron's interest in the relationship between spontaneity and control. She embraced the inherent mishaps of printmaking and found inspiration in the accidental forms they produced. This is an example of the first state of the etching in blue.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1956
maker
Citron, Minna
ID Number
GA.21149
catalog number
21149
accession number
240678

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