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.

By 1943, the outlook for an Allied victory in World War II was steadily improving. The reign of the U-boats that had plagued Allied convoys in the Battle of the Atlantic was coming to an end.
Description
By 1943, the outlook for an Allied victory in World War II was steadily improving. The reign of the U-boats that had plagued Allied convoys in the Battle of the Atlantic was coming to an end. And the Axis powers were finally losing the tonnage war, which aimed to sink Allied merchant ships faster than replacements could be built. While the mass-produced Liberty ships were faithfully carrying cargo and troops to war zones, these ships were relatively slow. In response, the War Shipping Administration commissioned a new class of emergency vessels called Victory ships. This model represents one of the 534 Victory ships that were built alongside the Liberty ships in seven shipyards around the country.
Speed was the key difference between the Victory and Liberty ships. When Liberty ships were designed, all of the new steam turbine engines were reserved for naval vessels, leaving the Liberty ships with reciprocating steam engines. While these engines were reliable, the ships could only reach 11 knots, leaving them vulnerable to attack. As the war progressed, more turbine engines became available and were installed in the Victory ships, giving them a speed of over 16 knots.
Another improvement of the Victory design was a stronger and larger hull. This meant that more cargo could be transported at once, and improved the odds of the vessels continuing to serve in the merchant fleet during times of peace. After World War II, 170 Victory ships were sold as commercial freighters. About 20 were loaned back to the military and used in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Several Victory ships have been preserved as museum ships and are currently located in California and Florida.
date made
early 1940s
commissioned Victory ships like the ones this model represents
War Shipping Administration
ID Number
TR.313023
catalog number
TR*313023
accession number
170015
This is a rectangular bucket divided by a central splitter edge into two hollow semicylindrical compartments. The bucket is designed to receive and divide the jet upon the slitter edge and direct the water to either side, discharging at the sides.
Description
This is a rectangular bucket divided by a central splitter edge into two hollow semicylindrical compartments. The bucket is designed to receive and divide the jet upon the slitter edge and direct the water to either side, discharging at the sides. No provision is made for the flow of water in a radial direction along bucket, and the outer end of the bucket makes sharp angles with the sides and bottom. The extreme lip of the bucket is very slightly depressed, suggesting the notched lip developed later. The back of the bucket is provided with lugs, which slip over the rim of the wheel center to which it is attached by the bolts passing through the lugs and rim parallel to the shaft. The bucket is made of cast iron, measures about 11.5 inches wide, and weighs 30 pounds. This bucket was made about 1901.
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
ca 1901
ID Number
MC.310386
catalog number
310386
accession number
117363
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to J. and F. M. Cottle, October 21, 1879, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to J. and F. M. Cottle, October 21, 1879, no. 220751.
This mill has a double-rimmed steel wind wheel made up of small wedge-shaped vanes, which are removable to permit regulation of the power of the mill. The wind wheel cannot be swung out of its position, but the shaft is carried in sliding bearings so that the gear on the shaft can be disengaged to let the wheel run free. It is equipped with a selective gear transmission. The model shows the mill attached to the bucket chain of a well.
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
1879
patent date
1879-10-21
inventor
Cottle, Zorah
Cottle, F. M.
ID Number
ER.309131
accession number
89797
catalog number
309131
patent number
220,751
This model was filed to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to G. E. Dow, of San Francisco, California, November 4, 1879, no.
Description
This model was filed to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to G. E. Dow, of San Francisco, California, November 4, 1879, no. 221220.
The model represents a form of valve gear for a direct-connected steam engine in which the main valve is partially operated by a system of cam-shaped levers actuated from the main piston rod and partially by a supplementary steam piston, the movement of which is controlled by valves connected to the same levers.
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
1879
patent date
1879-11-04
inventor
Dow, George E.
ID Number
ER.308703
accession number
89797
catalog number
308703
patent number
221,220
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to William A. Doble, of San Francisco, California, February 7, 1899, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to William A. Doble, of San Francisco, California, February 7, 1899, no. 619149.
The model represents a small sector of the rotor of a water wheel to which are attached three buckets, which illustrate, generally, the characteristics of the modern [1930s] tangential water-wheel bucket, i. e., the notched lip, the splitter wedge, the curved face and back, and the method of attaching the buckets to the rotor.
The feature of this particular bucket is the form of the curved faces, which are designed to disturb the jets of water as little as possible in any way except in the plane of the wheel’s rotation. The curves are developed upon the theory that the water moving at high velocity has a tendency to remain in one plane, called “kinetic stability”, so that the resultant angles of reaction caused by the reversing curves of the bucket faces are not a normal result of these curves but are divergent therefrom.
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
1899
patent date
1899-02-07
inventor
Doble, William A.
ID Number
MC.309207
catalog number
309207
accession number
89797
patent number
619,149
This is a gravity oiler similar to the Hay oiler in which the lubricating oil is contained in a glass reservoir from which it flows by its own weight through a valve in the bottom of the reservoir.
Description
This is a gravity oiler similar to the Hay oiler in which the lubricating oil is contained in a glass reservoir from which it flows by its own weight through a valve in the bottom of the reservoir. The valve through which the oil flows is a small conical valve held closed by the weight of the oil above it. A stem projects downward from the lubricator, which when pushed upward lifts the valve from its seat and allows the oil to flow. It is probable that this lubricator was designed to release a drop of oil upon the surfaces of some slow-moving machine, such as the guides of a planer when a cam or lug on the moving part engaged the valve stem and raised it.
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
1878
patent date
1878-09-24
ID Number
MC.311184
catalog number
311184
accession number
89797
patent number
208,245
This bronze bucket has a notched lip and ellipsoidal face. The bucket bowls are ground but not polished. Cast in the metal is “W. A. Doble – Pat. Sept 19, 1899.” The bucket is 7.5 inches wide, weighs about 9.5 pounds, and has the lug type of back.
Description
This bronze bucket has a notched lip and ellipsoidal face. The bucket bowls are ground but not polished. Cast in the metal is “W. A. Doble – Pat. Sept 19, 1899.” The bucket is 7.5 inches wide, weighs about 9.5 pounds, and has the lug type of back. It was made about 1912.
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
ca 1912
ID Number
MC.310390
catalog number
310390
accession number
117363
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 222,418 issued to Joseph Moore and George W. Dickie of San Francisco, California on December 9, 1879.
Description
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 222,418 issued to Joseph Moore and George W. Dickie of San Francisco, California on December 9, 1879. The patent was for improvements in hydraulic pumps for operations in mines.
The Moore and Dickie concept was based on using a central power plant and pump to distribute water under high pressure to several hydraulic pumps that service multiple mines. A steam engine was used to power a water pump that drew water from a water tank and pumped it into a hydraulic pressure accumulator. The inventors noted that the pump could be powered by a water wheel if available. Pipes led from the accumulator to each mine where a hydraulic ram would lift the vertical rod of the mine’s pump. Provisions were made for the water from the ram to be returned to the central tank for reuse.
The amount of pressure in the system was regulated by adjusting the amount of weight on top of the accumulator ram. Additionally, each mine pump had a local valve that allowed adjustment of pressure to suit the pumping demand of that mine. The inventors suggested having multiple engines available for redundancy and noted the ease with which hydraulic power could be rerouted and managed in the event of an emergency.
Mr. Moore and Mr. Dickie were involved in the business of mining machinery for the gold and silver mines in California and Nevada. They were associated with the Risdon Iron Works of San Francisco where Mr. Moore was Vice President and General Superintendent. In 1877 they jointly authored a detailed book on pumping and hoisting water from such mines.
The model as shown in the image illustrates all of the key elements of the patent. It is constructed of painted tin. It represents a notional layout of the pumping machinery on a hill containing multiple mine shafts. Diagrams showing the complete design can be found in the patent document online (www.USPTO.gov).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879
patent date
1879-12-09
inventor
Moore, Joseph
Dickie, George W.
ID Number
ER.325622
catalog number
325622
accession number
249602
patent number
222,418
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 153,370 issued to John A. Peer of San Francisco, California on July 21, 1874. The patent was for an improvement in gear cutting machines.Mr.
Description
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 153,370 issued to John A. Peer of San Francisco, California on July 21, 1874. The patent was for an improvement in gear cutting machines.
Mr. Peer’s design was for a complex cutting machine that could be set up to construct a variety of different types of gears. The patent claimed that, with only simple adjustments, the machine could cut bevel, spur, crown, mortise, face, spiral and rack-bar gears. The machine was capable of cutting gears in metal and wood, and its design assured the teeth of the gears would be perfectly symmetrical.
As seen in the image of the patent model, the machine consisted of a lathe-bed with a head-block (at the far left of the image) holding a pulley-driven spindle into which the blank to be cut was chucked. The spindle had a control plate mounted at the outer edge. The plate was drilled with holes arranged at appropriate angles for each type of gear to be cut and was indexed into position by a lever and pin.
The cutting blades were mounted in the center of a set of adjustable frames that allowed them to engage the blank at the appropriate horizontal and vertical position. Screw jacks moved the frames into position for each series of cuts. An inner frame (the angled brass frame in the image) could be set for the proper angle for bevel gears, and the cutters could also be moved along that frame to effect the cuts. Mr. Peer made provisions for cutting rack gears by replacing the spindle and chuck with a horizontal rack bed.
This patent model was on display in the Oval Office of the White House from 2009 to 2017.
The patent model is made of brass, steel and wood. All of the key elements of the patent are illustrated by the model. Diagrams showing the complete design can be found in the patent document online (www.USPTO.gov).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1874
patent date
1874-07-21
inventor
Peer, John A.
ID Number
MC.308817
catalog number
308817
accession number
89797
patent number
153,370
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 131,779 issued to Washington R. Pitts and George K. Gluyas of San Francisco, California, on October 1, 1872.
Description
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 131,779 issued to Washington R. Pitts and George K. Gluyas of San Francisco, California, on October 1, 1872. The claim of the inventors was a new design for an improved high pressure condenser for a steam engine. The purpose was for the steam exhausted from the engine’s cylinder to be passed through the condenser and be converted back to water and returned to the boiler for reuse.
The condenser design was intended for use on side-wheel steam boats. It would be located behind the paddle wheel where the water splashed up by the wheel would pass over the condenser and in the process cool the hot steam inside the condenser. The condenser consisted of a series of tubes passing between chambers at each end as shown in the image. Steam entered the condenser via an opening at the bottom left (not shown) and any remaining steam could be exhausted via the outlet pipe shown at the bottom right. This outlet had a valve that would cover it in normal operation since the goal was to have the steam converted to water prior to exiting. However, the engineer could open the valve as needed in operation to reduce any undue buildup of steam pressure within the condenser. The condense water exited via a series of tubes not shown at the back of the picture.
Note, that the condenser was intended to be mounted with the steam exhaust up and to the right and the condense water outlet pipes on the bottom. The chambers at each end of the condenser were divided into compartments to cause the steam to travel back and forth two times prior to reaching the exhaust. The compartments were of decreasing volume with fewer tubes contained within them (seven rows of tubes in the first diminishing to four in the last) as can be seen by the grouping and gaps between tubes in the image. The intent was to balance the amount of condense water collected throughout the condenser.
To control the flow of condense water and prevent steam pressure from blocking it, Pitts and Gluyas provided metal flanges over each of five exit holes for the water. The inventors did not claim as new the tubing, chambers and valves. Their claim was based primarily on two details. The first was division of the chambers at each into compartments having diminishing volumes. The second was the inclusion of the covers over the outlet pipes. Research of available trade literature and other sources has not revealed any commercial product that may have made use of this invention.
The patent model is constructed of brass. The end plate is inscribed “Wash’n R. Pitts and Geo. K. Gluyas, San Fran’co.” The key features of the invention are illustrated by the model to include the end chambers, tubing, condense water outlet pipes, steam inlet, and the steam outlet with rubber valve. Diagrams showing the complete design can be found in the patent document online at www.uspto.gov.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1872
patent date
1872-10-01
inventor
Pitts, Washington R.
Gluyas, George K.
ID Number
ER.309239
accession number
89797
catalog number
309239
patent number
131,779
In the fictional universe of George Lucas' Star Wars films, robots called droids (short for android) come in many shapes and serve many purposes. Two droids-R2-D2 and C-3PO-have won enormous popularity for their supporting roles in all six of the series.
Description
In the fictional universe of George Lucas' Star Wars films, robots called droids (short for android) come in many shapes and serve many purposes. Two droids-R2-D2 and C-3PO-have won enormous popularity for their supporting roles in all six of the series. In the collections of the museum are costumes of R2-D2 and C-3PO from "Return of the Jedi," released in 1983 and the third film in the Star Wars series.
Designed from artwork by Ralph McQuarrie in 1975, R2-D2 looks more like a small blue-and-white garbage can than a human being. In the films, R2-D2 is the type of droid built to interface with computers and service starships-a kind of super technician suited for tasks well beyond human capability. By turns comic and courageous, this helpmate communicates with expressive squeals and head spins, lumbers on stubby legs, and repeatedly saves the lives of human masters .
Several R2-D2 units, specialized according to function and edited into a final composite, were used for making a single movie scene. Some units were controlled remotely. Others, like this one, were costume shells, in which actor Kenny Baker sat and manipulated the droid movements.
R2-D2's sidekick and character foil, also based on art by Ralph McQuarrie, is C-3PO. Termed a protocol droid in the films, C-3PO can speak six million languages and serves the diverse cultures of Lucas' imaginary galaxy as a robotic diplomat and translator. Where R2 is terse, 3PO is talkative. Where R2 is brave, 3PO is often tentative and sometimes downright cowardly. Where R2 looks like a machine, 3PO-in spite of the distinctive gold "skin" -more closely resembles a human in movements, vision, and intelligence
In each of the Star Wars films, actor Anthony Daniels wore the C-3PO costumes. Like the R2-D2 units, more than one C-3PO costume was used for each movie.
The Star Wars films are much more than pop entertainment. Since the first of the series was released in 1977, they have been so immensely popular that they have become cultural reference points for successive American generations. And like other popular works of science fiction, they play a powerful role in shaping our vision of the future.
Likewise, the droids are more than movie stars in these influential films. They are also indicators of the place of robots in the American experience. Conceived at a time when more robots inhabited the imaginative worlds of science fiction than the real world, R2-D2 and C-3PO represent the enduring dream of having robots as personal servants, to do things we will not or cannot do for ourselves. Today, real robots are more numerous. They mostly work on industrial production lines, but researchers are working to extend the use of robots for tasks not humanly possible. It is likely we will see more of them in the future--as aids for medicine and surgery, for military and security, and even for exploring, if not a galaxy far away, at least the far reaches of our own solar system.
ID Number
1984.0302.01
catalog number
1984.0302.01
accession number
1984.0302
copyright date
1949
patent date
1933-01-17
ID Number
1989.0493.01
catalog number
1989.0493.01
accession number
1989.0493
In the fictional universe of George Lucas' Star Wars films, robots called droids (short for android) come in many shapes and serve many purposes. Two droids--R2-D2 and C-3PO--have won enormous popularity for their supporting roles in all six of the series.
Description
In the fictional universe of George Lucas' Star Wars films, robots called droids (short for android) come in many shapes and serve many purposes. Two droids--R2-D2 and C-3PO--have won enormous popularity for their supporting roles in all six of the series. In the collections of the museum are costumes of R2-D2 and C-3PO from "Return of the Jedi," released in 1983 and the third film in the Star Wars series.
Designed from artwork by Ralph McQuarrie in 1975, R2-D2 looks more like a small blue-and-white garbage can than a human being. In the films, R2-D2 is the type of droid built to interface with computers and service starships--a kind of super technician suited for tasks well beyond human capability. By turns comic and courageous, this helpmate communicates with expressive squeals and head spins, lumbers on stubby legs, and repeatedly saves the lives of human masters.
Several R2-D2 units, specialized according to function and edited into a final composite, were used for making a single movie scene. Some units were controlled remotely. Others, like this one, were costume shells, in which actor Kenny Baker sat and manipulated the droid movements.
R2-D2's sidekick and character foil, based on art by Ralph McQuarrie, is C-3PO. Termed a protocol droid in the films, C-3PO serves the diverse cultures of Lucas' imaginary galaxy as a robotic diplomat and translator, speaking six million languages. Where R2 is terse, 3PO is talkative. Where R2 is brave, 3PO is often tentative and sometimes downright cowardly. Where R2 looks like a machine, 3PO--in spite of the distinctive gold "skin"--more closely resembles a human in movements, vision, and intelligence.
In each of the Star Wars films, actor Anthony Daniels wore the C-3PO costumes. Like the R2-D2 units, more than one C-3PO costume was used for each movie.
The Star Wars, films are much more than pop entertainment. Since the first of the series was released in 1977, they have been so immensely popular that they have become cultural reference points for successive American generations. And like other popular works of science fiction, they play a powerful role in shaping our vision of the future. Likewise, the droids are more than movie stars in these influential films. They are also indicators of the place of robots in the American experience. Conceived at a time when robots inhabited the imaginative worlds of science fiction rather than the real world, R2-D2 and C-3PO represent the enduring dream of having robots as personal servants, to do things we will not or cannot do for ourselves. Today, real robots are more numerous. They mostly work on industrial production lines, but researchers are working to extend the use of robots for tasks not humanly possible. It is likely we will see more of them in the future--as aids for medicine and surgery, for military and security, and even for exploring, if not a galaxy far away, at least the far reaches of our own solar system.
ID Number
1984.0302.02
accession number
1984.0302
catalog number
1984.0302.02

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