Industry & Manufacturing

Eli Terry Mass-Produced Clock

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.

Place: Connecticut

Ornate Metal Cufflinks

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1491
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.1491

Metal Eye Hook

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.2959
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.2959

Metal Hardware

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.3249
catalog number
314686.3249
accession number
314686

Ulysses S. Grant Campaign Badge

This presidential campaign badge was made by the Scovill Manufacturing Company around 1868. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer, and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
This presidential campaign badge was made by the Scovill Manufacturing Company around 1868. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer, and is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, and campaign badges.
The badge features a tintype photograph of Ulysses S. Grant set into a brass frame, which would have originally been attached to a pin and displayed on clothing.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1868
depicted
Grant, Ulysses S.
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1069
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1069

Henry Clay Button

This presidential campaign badge was made by the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut around 1845. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer that is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
This presidential campaign badge was made by the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut around 1845. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer that is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, and campaign medals.
Obverse: Profile image of Henry Clay facing left. The legend reads: HENRY CLAY 1845.
Reverse: Illegible manufacturer’s stamp.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1845
depicted
Clay, Henry
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1201
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1201

Metal Cap

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.4056
catalog number
314686.4056
accession number
314686

Decorated Metal Slide Buckle

This yellow metal buckle is stamped into an oval frame featuring a floral motif.The Waterbury Collection tells the story of an important American manufacturer.
Description
This yellow metal buckle is stamped into an oval frame featuring a floral motif.
The Waterbury Collection tells the story of an important American manufacturer. As evidence of one company’s diverse output, the collection consists of several thousand metal objects and assemblies made in Waterbury, Connecticut, in the Naugatuck Valley from about 1890 to 1930. During the 19th Century, the Naugatuck Valley became a center of brass manufacturing, drawing heavily on the armory manufacturing practice of interchangeable parts.
The Waterbury Button Company traces its beginning to the War of 1812, when Aaron Benedict began crafting uniform buttons. During the nineteenth century the company grew from a small village shop to a large national manufacturer. Its product line expanded to include machine produced brassware such as knobs, hinges, and buckles. The company also experimented with innovative materials such as celluloid in the 1870s and Bakelite in the 1920s. In the spirit of its founding, the company continued to supply uniform buttons and mobilized to meet wartime demands during major conflicts including the Civil War and World War I.
This rich history of product innovation and machine assembly is captured in the more than 7,500 examples of military insignia, civilian emblems, belt plates, buckles, and machine components donated to the museum in 1975. Varying in size from a thumbtack to a soup can, the majority of these objects are composed of metal such as tin, nickel, brass, and other copper and iron alloys. They originally came to the museum mounted on cardboard display boards. At the National Museum of American History, the collection is divided between the Division of Work and Industry and the Division of Armed Forces History. Additional artifacts can be found at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, Connecticut.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.0213
catalog number
314686.0213
accession number
314686

Decorative Metal Hardware

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.4247
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.4247

Decorative Metal Hardware

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.3287
catalog number
314686.3287
accession number
314686

Metal Bangle

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.4631
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.4631

Southern New England Telephone Company Token

The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this transportation token during the early 20th century. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this transportation token during the early 20th century. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, coins, and transportation tokens. There is a hole in the center of the token.
Obverse: The legend reads: S.N.E.T.CO./NICKEL TOKEN.
Reverse: The legend reads: S.N.E.T.CO./NICKEL TOKEN.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
early 20th century
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1676
catalog number
1981.0296.1676
accession number
1981.0296

Metal Tag

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.3837
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.3837

Metal Hardware

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.4449
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.4449

Metal Hardware

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.2569
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.2569

Metal Decorative Hardware

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1594
catalog number
314686.1594
accession number
314686

Metal Hardware

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.4437
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.4437

Metal Hardware

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.3997
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.3997

Metal Hardware

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.3570
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.3570

Metal Letter "E"

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1520
catalog number
314686.1520
accession number
314686

Metal One-Pronged Buckle

This yellow metal buckle is stamped into a long rectangular frame with cropped corners.The Waterbury Collection tells the story of an important American manufacturer.
Description
This yellow metal buckle is stamped into a long rectangular frame with cropped corners.
The Waterbury Collection tells the story of an important American manufacturer. As evidence of one company’s diverse output, the collection consists of several thousand metal objects and assemblies made in Waterbury, Connecticut, in the Naugatuck Valley from about 1890 to 1930. During the 19th Century, the Naugatuck Valley became a center of brass manufacturing, drawing heavily on the armory manufacturing practice of interchangeable parts.
The Waterbury Button Company traces its beginning to the War of 1812, when Aaron Benedict began crafting uniform buttons. During the nineteenth century the company grew from a small village shop to a large national manufacturer. Its product line expanded to include machine produced brassware such as knobs, hinges, and buckles. The company also experimented with innovative materials such as celluloid in the 1870s and Bakelite in the 1920s. In the spirit of its founding, the company continued to supply uniform buttons and mobilized to meet wartime demands during major conflicts including the Civil War and World War I.
This rich history of product innovation and machine assembly is captured in the more than 7,500 examples of military insignia, civilian emblems, belt plates, buckles, and machine components donated to the museum in 1975. Varying in size from a thumbtack to a soup can, the majority of these objects are composed of metal such as tin, nickel, brass, and other copper and iron alloys. They originally came to the museum mounted on cardboard display boards. At the National Museum of American History, the collection is divided between the Division of Work and Industry and the Division of Armed Forces History. Additional artifacts can be found at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, Connecticut.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.0201
catalog number
314686.0201
accession number
314686

Ornate Metal Fastener

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.2039
catalog number
314686.2039
accession number
314686

Metal Sheet

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.2503
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.2503

Metal Cap

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.4072
catalog number
314686.4072
accession number
314686

Ornate Metal Button Face

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.1333
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.1333

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.