Industry & Manufacturing

The Museum's collections document centuries of remarkable changes in products, manufacturing processes, and the role of industry in American life. In the bargain, they preserve artifacts of great ingenuity, intricacy, and sometimes beauty.

The carding and spinning machinery built by Samuel Slater about 1790 helped establish the New England textile industry. Nylon-manufacturing machinery in the collections helped remake the same industry more than a century later. Machine tools from the 1850s are joined by a machine that produces computer chips. Thousands of patent models document the creativity of American innovators over more than 200 years.

The collections reach far beyond tools and machines. Some 460 episodes of the television series Industry on Parade celebrate American industry in the 1950s. Numerous photographic collections are a reminder of the scale and even the glamour of American industry.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.03341
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.03341
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.04093
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.04093
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1960.233749.0202
accession number
233749
catalog number
233749.0202
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.01450
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.01450
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.01618
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.01618
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.04076
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.04076
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.04030
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.04030
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1960.233749.1093
accession number
233749
catalog number
233749.1093
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.01397
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.01397
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.01572
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.01572
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.03337
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.03337
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.04034
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.04034
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.03551
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.03551
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1960.233749.0942
accession number
233749
catalog number
233749.0942
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.03409
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.03409
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1960.233749.0943
accession number
233749
catalog number
233749.0943
Button with seven openwork setting rhinestonesCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Button with seven openwork setting rhinestones
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.01516
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.01516
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.04068
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.04068
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1960.233749.0965
accession number
233749
catalog number
233749.0965
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.01427
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.01427
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.03716
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.03716
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.04167
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.04167
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1962.239460.03548
accession number
239460
catalog number
239460.03548
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1960.233749.1000
accession number
233749
catalog number
233749.1000

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.