Family & Social Life

Bennet Family Record

Donations to the Museum have preserved irreplaceable evidence about generations of ordinary Americans. Objects from the Copp household of Stonington, Connecticut, include many items used by a single family from 1740 to 1850. Other donations have brought treasured family artifacts from jewelry to prom gowns. These gifts and many others are all part of the Museum's family and social life collections.

Children's books and Sunday school lessons, tea sets and family portraits also mark the connections between members of a family and between families and the larger society. Prints, advertisements, and artifacts offer nostalgic or idealized images of family life and society in times past. And the collections include a few modern conveniences that have had profound effects on American families and social life, such as televisions, video games, and personal computers.

Topic: Models (representations)

"Tom Thumb" Locomotive Model

This model of the Tom Thumb Locomotive was made by Bathe & Williams of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1933. Greville Bathe was a machinist and steam engine hobbyist who would fashion his own parts to complete toy steam engines and models like this one.
Description (Brief)
This model of the Tom Thumb Locomotive was made by Bathe & Williams of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1933. Greville Bathe was a machinist and steam engine hobbyist who would fashion his own parts to complete toy steam engines and models like this one. This model is a representation of the Tom Thumb Locomotive, and early American locomotive built by Peter Cooper in 1830 to prove that a steam-powered locomotive could navigate the hills and twists of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The model consists of an upright boiler, vertical engine, and geared drive.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1933
ID Number
MC.329095
catalog number
329095
accession number
278175

Frying Pan Patent Model

Packard’s improvement in “Cooking Utensils,” her only patented invention, included a new design for a frying pan using rounded recesses to keep eggs in place on the pan while cooking.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Packard’s improvement in “Cooking Utensils,” her only patented invention, included a new design for a frying pan using rounded recesses to keep eggs in place on the pan while cooking.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1870
patent date
1870-10-18
inventor
Packard, Elizabeth L.
ID Number
DL.65.0339
catalog number
65.0339
patent number
108,385
accession number
249602

Dust Pan Patent Model

Rennie described her only patented invention, for a “Dust Pan,” as having a “peculiar construction” which would assist with “Sweeping Stairs and Floors of Apartments.”Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Rennie described her only patented invention, for a “Dust Pan,” as having a “peculiar construction” which would assist with “Sweeping Stairs and Floors of Apartments.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1877
patent date
1877-05-29
patent reissue date
1877-08-28
inventor
Rennie, Sarah M.
ID Number
DL.65.0477
catalog number
65.0477
patent number
191,368
accession number
249602

Invention for Construction of Lamps for Burning Volatile Ingredients

Jennings held patents for a variety of inventions, including the friction match and a threshing machine. This one, for a “Vapor Burner,” related to lamps and lighting.
Description (Brief)
Jennings held patents for a variety of inventions, including the friction match and a threshing machine. This one, for a “Vapor Burner,” related to lamps and lighting.
date made
1841
patent date
1841-09-11
inventor
Jennings, Isaiah
ID Number
DL.331173
catalog number
331173
patent number
2,254
accession number
88881

"Your Family, Your Neighborhood"

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1940s
maker
Sunami, Soichi
ID Number
2013.0327.0476
catalog number
2013.0327.0476
accession number
2013.0327

Maschinenfabrik, Augsburg Toy Machine Shop

This toy machine shop was made by an unknown manufacturer during the early 20th century. The toy shop has a variety of tools including a stamping press, grinder, drill press, lathe, and trip hammer.
Description (Brief)
This toy machine shop was made by an unknown manufacturer during the early 20th century. The toy shop has a variety of tools including a stamping press, grinder, drill press, lathe, and trip hammer. All the toys are connected to pulleys on an overhead line shaft under a roof with two skylights, and a sign labeled “Maschinenfabrik, Augsburg.” Maschinenfabrik is German for “Engineering Works.” A vertical steam engine is connected to the line shaft, powering all the machines in the shop.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
ID Number
MC.329089
catalog number
329089
accession number
278175

1873 - Helen A. Blanchard's Sewing machine Patent Model (buttonhole)

Sewing Machine Patent model, Improvement in Sewing Machines, 1873. Helen A. Blanchard, of Boston, Massachusetts. Patent No. 141987 Issued August 19, 1873. This patent model for an improvement in sewing machines introduced the buttonhole stitch.
Description
Sewing Machine Patent model, Improvement in Sewing Machines, 1873. Helen A. Blanchard, of Boston, Massachusetts. Patent No. 141987 Issued August 19, 1873. This patent model for an improvement in sewing machines introduced the buttonhole stitch. Blanchard received some twenty-eight patents, many having to do with sewing. She is best remembered for inventing the zigzag overstitch sewing machine.
date made
1873
patent date
1873-08-19
maker
Blanchard, Helen A.
ID Number
TE.T06433.000
catalog number
T06433.000
accession number
89797

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