Communications

WANN Microphone

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.

Date: 1930s

Baby Street

This black and white etching is a trial proof for a print by Mildred Bryant Brooks (1901-1995).
Description (Brief)
This black and white etching is a trial proof for a print by Mildred Bryant Brooks (1901-1995). It is signed in pencil below the image: "Baby Street, trial proof," with the artist's name and the date, "Mildred Bryant Brooks, 1934." Many of Brooks's works are landscapes or nature scenes; she was considered a particularly talented etcher of trees. Here she used delicate lines to show everyday life: children playing, women and babies in nature, and clothes hanging out to dry. The scene is a composite of several popular subjects of the period. It references European-style architecture and children's illustration. Brooks was a wife and a mother, who studied at the Stickney Art School in Pasadena under artist and critic Arthur Millier. She had her own etching press to print her own work, and that of other artists.
In 1934, Brooks participated in the Public Works of Art Program (PWAP), later absorbed into the more ambitions Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration. In that capacity, like some 3,500 other artists, she was paid to produce prints that were distributed to government agencies, including museums. In March 1936 Brooks was given a solo Smithsonian exhibition by what is now the Graphic Arts Collection. The collection acquired six examples of her PWAP work at that time.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1934
maker
Brooks, Mildred Bryant
ID Number
GA.17118
catalog number
17118
accession number
138775

Kodak Bullet Camera

Special edition souvenir "Bullet" camera sold at the Eastman-Kodak Pavilion at the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair.
Description (Brief)
Special edition souvenir "Bullet" camera sold at the Eastman-Kodak Pavilion at the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. The camera's faceplate features the Fair's dominant architectural features, The Trylon and the Perisphere.
The Trylon was a 610 foot triangular pylon, and the Perisphere a massive globe, 180 feet in diameter. A 950 foot ramp known as the Heliceline connected the two, and together, the three features constituted the Fair's "Theme Center." Images of the Trylon and Perisphere were used as logos for the Fair, and were featured on an abundance of souvenir items.
At the Fair, the "Bullet" camera sold for $2.25. Fairgoers also had the option of buying a Kodak "Brownie" camera for $2.75. After purchasing their cameras, visitors could take advantage of the Kodak-Photo Garden, which featured a number of snapshot ready tableaux as well as views of some of the Fair's most interesting features.
During its run, the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair attracted nearly 45 million people to its site in Flushing Meadows. At the Fair, visitors were introduced to advancements in such technologies as television, color photography, synthetic materials and robotics, as well as a wide variety of consumer goods and entertainments.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1939
Associated Date
1939
1940
ID Number
1989.0438.1740
catalog number
1989.0438.1740
accession number
1989.0438

Radio Receiver

Broadcast radio grew into a major industry in the decade following the First World War as inventors refined the technology and entrepreneurs established supporting companies.
Description (Brief)
Broadcast radio grew into a major industry in the decade following the First World War as inventors refined the technology and entrepreneurs established supporting companies. By the 1930s, so many people wanted radio that the Great Depression slowed but could not stop the industry’s growth. Radio engineering became an attractive field for people interested in advanced technology and research laboratories like that operated by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) pushed advances in components and circuit designs.
Materials research also affected radio, as seen in the plastic casing of this Emerson radio receiver from about 1937. The so-called tombstone design was popular in the 1920s but the receivers typically were made of wood. Aside from being flammable, wood cases could warp and split, and the finishes scratched and stained easily. This radio’s case, made with a plastic called catalin developed by the American Catalin Corporation in the late 1920s, resisted heat and incidental damage like water stains. Available in a variety of colors and designs, catalin radios remain popular with collectors.
date made
ca 1937
maker
Emerson Radio Corporation
ID Number
1988.0304.01
catalog number
1988.0304.01
accession number
1988.0304

Navigational Bell Buoy

Unlike car drivers on land, navigators at sea have no road signs to indicate speed limits, dangers, or routes. Navigational buoys are floating objects anchored to the bottom that serve as aids to navigation.
Description
Unlike car drivers on land, navigators at sea have no road signs to indicate speed limits, dangers, or routes. Navigational buoys are floating objects anchored to the bottom that serve as aids to navigation. Their distinctive shapes, colors, and other markings provide information indicating their purpose and how to navigate around them.
The placement and maintenance of navigational buoys are essential to shipping, since they often provide the only guidance for channel locations, shoals, reefs, and other hazards. If damaged by collisions, extinguished, or broken loose from their moorings, the Coast Guard will repair, replace, refuel, or relocate the failed buoy.
Designated an 8X20 LBR, this particular type of buoy was used by the U.S. Coast Guard Lighthouse Service on the East Coast from around 1930 until the early 1950s. It measures 8 feet in width and 20 feet high, and the letters mean Lighted, Bell, and Radar Reflector. It originally weighed ca. 15,600 pounds, including the 225-lb bell. The bottom of this example was removed to fit into the gallery.
It was designed to be deployed in shallow, protected coastal waters and could be seen about two miles away in daylight. The light on the top was powered by batteries stored under the round hatches in the large bottom compartment. The bell was rung by the rocking of the buoy in the waves.
ID Number
TR.336771
accession number
1978.2285
catalog number
336771

Head of a Woman with Brimmed Hat

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.113
catalog number
2016.0084.113
accession number
2016.0084

Midnight

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1934
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.085
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.085

The Fakir

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1931
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.120
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.120

Lady Godiva

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.070
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.070

Female Nude #74

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1932
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.078
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.078

Nude with Symbols

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1933
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.101
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.101

Seated Nude

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.076
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.076

Cuban Balcony

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1935
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.088
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.088

Abstraction #1

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1935
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.086
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.086

Abstraction #2

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1935
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.087
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.087

Woman on Chair

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1932
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.100
catalog number
2016.0084.100
accession number
2016.0084

Reclining Female in Pantaloons

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.105
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.105

Nude #49

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.072.02
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.072.02

Female Nude #76

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1932
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.080
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.080

Franconia Notch Forest Reservation

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1933
ID Number
2015.3099.03
nonaccession number
2015.3099
catalog number
2015.3099.03

Head of a Woman #3

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1932
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.111
catalog number
2016.0084.111
accession number
2016.0084

drawing; greeting card

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1933
ID Number
2015.0127.01
accession number
2015.0127
catalog number
2015.0127.01

Woman with head scarf

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1932
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.109
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.109

Nude Back #51

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.074
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.074

Man & Woman

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.071
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.071

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