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
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.2481
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.2481
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1771
catalog number
314686.1771
accession number
314686
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1782
catalog number
314686.1782
accession number
314686
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.2296
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.2296
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1758
catalog number
314686.1758
accession number
314686
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1339
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.1339
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1059
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.1059
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1058
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.1058
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1048
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.1048
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1773
catalog number
314686.1773
accession number
314686
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1746
catalog number
314686.1746
accession number
314686
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1739
catalog number
314686.1739
accession number
314686
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1812
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.1812
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1781
catalog number
314686.1781
accession number
314686
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1734
catalog number
314686.1734
accession number
314686
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1749
catalog number
314686.1749
accession number
314686
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1808
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.1808
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1768
catalog number
314686.1768
accession number
314686
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1761
catalog number
314686.1761
accession number
314686
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1804
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.1804
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1801
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.1801
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1754
catalog number
314686.1754
accession number
314686
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1774
catalog number
314686.1774
accession number
314686
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1753
catalog number
314686.1753
accession number
314686

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.