Engineering, Building, and Architecture

Not many museums collect houses. The National Museum of American History has four, as well as two outbuildings, 11 rooms, an elevator, many building components, and some architectural elements from the White House. Drafting manuals are supplemented by many prints of buildings and other architectural subjects. The breadth of the museum's collections adds some surprising objects to these holdings, such as fans, purses, handkerchiefs, T-shirts, and other objects bearing images of buildings.

The engineering artifacts document the history of civil and mechanical engineering in the United States. So far, the Museum has declined to collect dams, skyscrapers, and bridges, but these and other important engineering achievements are preserved through blueprints, drawings, models, photographs, sketches, paintings, technical reports, and field notes.

This is a 1/8-scale model of the tobacco ship Brilliant, a 250-ton vessel built in Virginia in 1775 for British owners.
Description
This is a 1/8-scale model of the tobacco ship Brilliant, a 250-ton vessel built in Virginia in 1775 for British owners. The Brilliant's first and probably only commercial venture from Virginia took place when it set sail for Liverpool, with a full hold of tobacco, in the summer of 1775. Typically the Brilliant would have returned with manufactured goods, but because of growing hostilities between Britain and the colonies, the ship remained in England. Records show that the Brilliant made one voyage to Jamaica and returned to London in 1776. Later that year, the Royal Navy purchased the vessel for just over £3,000 and converted it to a ship of war for service in the American Revolution.
The ship Brilliant had three masts and square-rigged sails. Its lower deck was 89'-3" long, its breadth was 27'-1/2", and the depth of the hold was 12'-2". The ship was built of oak, pine, and cedar. When purchased for war service, the Royal Navy assessed its hull, masts, and yards at £2,143. The cordage, including halyards, sheets, tack, and anchor cables, were assessed at £340. Brilliant's sails, 27 in all, were valued at £143. Five anchors were assessed at £58, while a long boat with a sailing rig and oars was estimated to be worth £45. Other items aboard the Brilliant were inventoried, including block and tackle, metal fittings, iron-bound water casks, hour and minute glasses, compasses, hammocks, an iron fire hearth, and 10 tons of coal.
After its conversion in 1776 as a ship of war in the Royal Navy, the Brilliant was commissioned as the HMS Druid. Its first voyage westbound across the Atlantic was as an escort for a convoy to the West Indies. The vessel served as the Druid until 1779, after which it became the fire ship Blast. In 1783, it was sold out of the service for £940 and, for the next 15 years, the former Virginia tobacco ship served as a whaler in Greenland. The vessel was lost in the Arctic in 1798.
This model was built by Charles and N. David Newcomb of Bolingbroke Marine in Trappe, Md. The model makers began their work in March 1975, scaling every timber to size and making everything out of the same type of wood as the original. They devised miniature rope-making equipment to manufacture the 5,000 feet of rigging and anchor cable required in 20 different sizes. Women from the Newcomb family and the surrounding community made the rigging and sails.
The model makers left the starboard side of the vessel unplanked to reveal the timbering and joinery of the hull and to permit a view of the vessel’s living accommodations in the stern and cargo stowage, complete with tobacco hogsheads.
Date made
1978
ship built
1775
voyage to Jamaica
1776
became a ship of war in Royal Navy
1776
ship lost at sea
1798
maker
Newcomb, Charles J.
Newcomb, N. David
ID Number
TR.335672
catalog number
335672
accession number
1978.0403
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Nicolaus A. Otto, of Deutz, Germany, and Francis W. and William J. Crossley, of Manchester, England, October 23, 1877, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Nicolaus A. Otto, of Deutz, Germany, and Francis W. and William J. Crossley, of Manchester, England, October 23, 1877, no. 196473.
The gas engine described is designed to effect a gradual combustion of the charge by the use of a weak mixture in the cylinder. In order that the mixture would not ignite too slowly a strong or explosive mixture was introduced into a separate but connecting chamber and ignited in the conventional way. The flame issuing with some force from the chamber into the cylinder effected a sufficiently rapid ignition of the weak charge.
The inventors also describe a means of raining the pressure on the cavity of the slide valve carrying the burning ignition charge in a flame ignition engine, high enough to equal the compression pressure within the cylinder of the engine.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1877
patent date
1877-10-23
inventor
Otto, Nicolaus A.
Crossley, Francis W.
Crossley, William J.
ID Number
MC.308695
catalog number
308695
accession number
89797
patent number
196,473
The Elliot Bros. of London manufactured this steam engine indicator.
Description
The Elliot Bros. of London manufactured this steam engine indicator. It consists of a small diameter brass piston; a vented brass cylinder; an internal, single wound spring, which can be changed; a small drum with a coil spring; a roll of paper inside the drum, which is hand fed; and a heavy brass slide and stylus.
An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine.
A mechanical indicator consists of a piston, spring, stylus, and recording system. The gas pressure of the cylinder deflects the piston and pushes against the spring, creating a linear relationship between the gas pressure and the deflection of the piston against the spring. The deflection is recorded by the stylus on a rotating drum that is connected to the piston. Most indicators incorporate a mechanical linkage to amplify the movement of the piston to increase the scale of the record.
When the ratio of the frequency of the pressure variation to the natural frequency of the system is small, then the dynamic deflection is equal to the static deflection. To design a system with a high natural frequency, the mass of the piston, spring, stylus, and mechanical linkage must be small, but the stiffness of the spring must be high. The indicator is subjected to high temperatures and pressures and rapid oscillations, imposing a limitation on the reduction in mass. Too stiff a spring will result in a small displacement of the indicator piston and a record too small to measure with accuracy. Multiplication of the displacement will introduce mechanical ad dynamic errors.
The parameters of the problem for designing an accurate and trouble free recorder are such that there is no easy or simple solution. Studying the variety of indicators in the collection shows how different inventors made different compromises in their designs.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1981.0217.05
accession number
1981.0217
catalog number
1981.0217.05
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to James Howard and Edward Bousfield, of Bedford, England, April 4, 1871, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to James Howard and Edward Bousfield, of Bedford, England, April 4, 1871, no. 113298.
The model represents a sectional marine water-tube boiler in which the proportions of the elements and the manner of their connections are designed by the inventor to facilitate the removal of tubes or sections within a relatively small space.
The boiler is constructed of sections, each of which consists of a vertical tube at the back of the boiler from which projects a vertical row of horizontal tubes. Each horizontal tube is closed at the front end with a screw plug through which a short central tube connects to a small vertical tube, common to all the horizontal tubes of a vertical row. These vertical tubes at the front are closed at the bottom end and are joined by a transverse steam pipe at the top. The horizontal tubes are staggered and may be withdrawn horizontally by disconnecting them from the two vertical tubes at front and back. Each horizontal tube has an internal tube designed to improve the circulation. The back vertical tubes are flat sided and placed together to form the back of the boiler. The horizontal tubes in the outside sections are assembled close together to form the sides of the boiler.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1871
patent date
1871-04-04
inventor
Howard, James
Bousfield, Edward Tenney
ID Number
MC.309212
catalog number
309212
accession number
89797
patent number
113,298
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to John Robinson and James Gresham, of Manchester, England, May 29, 1866, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to John Robinson and James Gresham, of Manchester, England, May 29, 1866, no. 55218.
The feature of this injector is to provide a means of varying the area of the annular space through which the water enters the combining tube for the purpose of properly proportioning the steam and water supplies. The combining tube is made free to slide in the direction of the axis of the tube and is adjusted by a hand wheel at the side of the injector, the shaft of which projects into the injector and carries a small pinion that meshes with a short rack formed on the tube. Packing around the sliding tube is dispensed with by forming the tube in two parts, a fixed part and a sliding part, and proportioning the two parts so that the ends of the sliding part will be “opposite that part of the passing current where it has attained its highest velocity; and by this arrangement the passing liquid has no tendency to escape but rather to draw in air or fluid.”
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1866
patent date
1866-05-29
inventor
Robinson, John
Gresham, James
ID Number
ER.309189
accession number
89797
catalog number
309189
patent number
55,218
This white glazed earthenware plate is part of a set of four commemorative plates manufactured in England to celebrate the completion of the Erie Canal. This plate honors New York Governor DeWitt Clinton.
Description
This white glazed earthenware plate is part of a set of four commemorative plates manufactured in England to celebrate the completion of the Erie Canal. This plate honors New York Governor DeWitt Clinton. Clinton was one of the Erie Canal's biggest supporters as a New York politician. He believed that the canal would be, in his words , “a work more stupendous, more magnificent, and more beneficial than has hitherto been achieved by the human race.”
The plate reads: "THE GRAND ERIE CANAL, A SPLENDID MONUMENT OF THE ENTERPRISE & RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, INDEBTED FOR ITS EARLY COMMENCE-MENT & RAPID COMPLETION TO THE ACTIVE ENERGIES & ENLIGHTENED POLICY OF DE WITT CLINTON, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE."
ID Number
CE.62.998B
catalog number
62.998B
accession number
171126
An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the cylinder pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine.
Description
An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the cylinder pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine. This is a replica of the original steam indicator invented in the late 18th Century by James Watt of Scotland. This was the first device intended to measure the varying pressures within a stem engine’s cylinder as it was working.
Originally consisting of only the brass cylinder and piston, Watt’s assistant (John Southern) made the important improvement of the recording tablet and pencil that resulted in the ability to make a lasting recording of a complete cycle of the engine under measurement. The piston of the engine moved the tablet horizontally via an attached cord, and the indicator’s piston moved the pencil vertically. A weight attached to the tablet via a pulley caused the tablet to move back horizontally as the engine’s piston returned to its original position. The result is a steam pressure-volume diagram which is used to measure the efficiency and other attributes of the steam engine.
The introduction of this steam indicator in the late 1790s by James Watt had a great impact on the understanding of how the steam behaved inside the engine's cylinder and thereby enabled much more exacting and sophisticated designs. The devices also changed how the economics and efficiency of steam engines were portrayed and marketed. They helped the prospective owner of a machine better understand how much his fuel costs would be for a given amount of work performed.
Measurement of fuel consumed and work delivered by the engine was begun by Watt, who in part justified the selling price of his engines on the amount of fuel cost the purchaser might save compared to an alternate engine. In the early days of steam power, the method to compare engine performance was based on a concept termed the engine’s “duty”. It originally was calculated as the number of pounds of water raised one foot high per one bushel of coal consumed. The duty method was open to criticism due to its inability to take into consideration finer points of efficiency in real world applications of engines. Accurate determination of fuel used in relation to work performed has been fundamental to the design and improvement of all steam-driven prime movers ever since Watt’s time. And, the steam indicators’ key contribution was the accurate measurements of performance while the engine was actually doing the work it was designed to do.
date made, reproduction
ca 1920s
Associated Date
ca 1796
maker, reproduction
U.S. National Museum
ID Number
MC.309680
catalog number
309680
accession number
107401
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 196,451 issued to Andrew Higginson of Liverpool, England on October 23, 1877. The patent was for an improved design for reciprocating steam engines.
Description
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 196,451 issued to Andrew Higginson of Liverpool, England on October 23, 1877. The patent was for an improved design for reciprocating steam engines. His patent application described three designs. One was for a single rectangular piston, non-reversing engine. The second was for a three piston version that was non-reversing. The third design, and the one represented by this model, was for a three piston engine that could be reversed. The control lever seen at the right of the image of the model was for controlling the direction of rotation.
Higginson provided two ports in the walls of each of the steam “cylinders.” As a piston oscillated up and down, a port in the skirt of the piston alternately exposed each of the ports in the wall. The control lever determined which port received steam and which acted as the exhaust and, thus, the direction of rotation. He claimed that the use of rectangular “cylinders” made the engine easier to construct and to obtain tight seals with the pistons.
The patent model is constructed of brass and illustrates of the important elements of Higginson’s design. Although not visible in the image, the rear of the model has cut-away sections to reveal parts of the pistons and valve ports. A full description of the operation of the engine along with complete diagrams of the patent can be found in the patent document online at the United States Patent and Trademark Office website, www.uspto.gov.
date made
1877
patent date
1877-10-23
inventor
Higginson, Andrew
ID Number
MC.309194
catalog number
309194
accession number
89797
patent number
196,451
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 2,668 issued to Joseph Maudslay and Joshua Field of Lambeth, England on June 11, 1842. The patent was for improvements to steam engines intended for use in steam ships.
Description
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 2,668 issued to Joseph Maudslay and Joshua Field of Lambeth, England on June 11, 1842. The patent was for improvements to steam engines intended for use in steam ships. The type of ship envisioned for their engine was one with paddle wheels mounted on each side. This required that the shaft powering the wheels be placed relatively low in the hull. This in turn required a very compact engine to fit in the constrained vertical space.
Maudslay and Field responded with a design which had its crankshaft located just above the top of the cylinder. Two piston rods extended upwards to a cross head above the cylinder. A single connecting rod extended downward from the cross head to the crankshaft. The images of the model show the steam cylinder at the bottom center. To its left is the slide type steam valve, and to the right is the air pump which is operated by rocker arms attached to connecting rods from the cross head.
The inventors were owners of Maudslay, Sons and Field, a major manufacturer of steam engines located in Lambeth, England. Their marine engines were widely used by the British Admiralty. They also built the engine for the SS Great Western, one of the first paddle wheel steamers designed for the Atlantic trade.
The patent model is constructed of steel and wood. All of the key elements of the patent are illustrated by the model. It includes a small hand crank to permit demonstration of actual operation. A section of a paddle wheel is present at the rear of the model. A full description of the operation of the engine along with complete diagrams of the patent can be found in the patent document online at the United States Patent and Trademark Office website, www.uspto.gov.
date made
1842
patent date
1842-06-11
inventor
Maudslay, Joseph
Field, Joshua
ID Number
MC.251298
catalog number
251298
patent number
2,668
accession number
48865
It represents a very historic boiler design by the English scientist and engineer John Smeaton (1724-1792). Smeaton is often credited with inventing a boiler with an internal flue.
Description
It represents a very historic boiler design by the English scientist and engineer John Smeaton (1724-1792). Smeaton is often credited with inventing a boiler with an internal flue. Prior to Smeaton’s introduction of the “flue boiler” type design, boilers were normally spherical with heat being applied externally. Although the dimensions of the actual boiler are not known, Smeaton’s papers indicate that the original designs were about 6 feet in diameter and slightly taller. The firebox for the boiler is shown in the image of the model slightly below the center. Fuel could be introduced to the firebox via a door on the right. Air was drawn into the furnace through the opening in the bottom of the boiler, and exhaust gases passed to the left and then upwards through the chimney at the left. Feed water for the boiler entered via the copper pipe seen just to the right of chimney and passed into a metal jacket surrounding the lower part of the chimney. This water was preheated by the flue gasses before passing upwards via the angled copper pipe and into the boiler. The water level in the boiler was designed to be at the top of the darker blue coloring in the model. Steam under pressure exited the boiler via the canted pipe to right top. The pipe at the center top was a poppet valve intended to blow off excess steam pressure and avoid a boiler explosion.
This model was built by John Siske of Arlington, Virginia in 1963 and was donated to the Smithsonian in the same year.
date made
1765
ID Number
MC.323417
catalog number
323417
accession number
251554
An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine. The J.
Description
An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine. The J. Hopkinson & Company of Huddersfield, England manufactured this steam engine indicator ca 1855. Made of brass, it consists of an internal cylinder and piston which is surrounded by a concentric brass drum holding the recording paper. The piston causes the stylus to rise and fall with pressure changes thereby directly recording the indicator’s pressure-volume diagram output on the paper. Around the drum’s base is wound a cord that is attached to the connecting rod of the piston on the steam engine being measured. This causes the drum to rotate as the engine’s piston moves. An internal coil spring causes the cord to retract and the drum to counter rotate back to its original position as the connecting rod returns.
The introduction of the steam indicator in the late 1790s and early 1800s by James Watt and others had a great impact on the understanding of how the steam behaved inside the engine's cylinder and thereby enabled much more exacting and sophisticated designs. The devices also changed how the economics and efficiency of steam engines were portrayed and marketed. They helped the prospective owner of a machine better understand how much his fuel costs would be for a given amount of work performed. Measurement of fuel consumed and work delivered by the engine was begun by Watt, who in part justified the selling price of his engines on the amount of fuel cost the purchaser might save compared to an alternate engine. In the early days of steam power, the method to compare engine performance was based on a concept termed the engine’s “duty”. It originally was calculated as the number of pounds of water raised one foot high per one bushel of coal consumed. The duty method was open to criticism due to its inability to take into consideration finer points of efficiency in real world applications of engines . Accurate determination of fuel used in relation to work performed has been fundamental to the design and improvement of all steam-driven prime movers ever since Watt’s time. And, the steam indicators’ key contribution was the accurate measurements of performance while the engine was actually doing the work it was designed to do.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1855
ID Number
1979.0344.01
accession number
1979.0344
catalog number
1979.0344.01

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