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.

Topic: Civil War Field Printing

Lowe Press No. 2 press

Samuel W. Lowe of Philadelphia invented the Lowe printing press, an unusual conical cylinder press patented in 1856. Like Adams's Cottage printing press, it did not include a frisket and included an automatic tympan.
Description
Samuel W. Lowe of Philadelphia invented the Lowe printing press, an unusual conical cylinder press patented in 1856. Like Adams's Cottage printing press, it did not include a frisket and included an automatic tympan. The rights for the press were sold in 1858 to Joseph Watson, who marketed both presses in Boston and Philadelphia.
The Lowe printing press does not appear to have been as heavily advertised as the Adams, although the company notes that we have sold many presses … to druggists … in this country and in other lands. Every boy and business man seems to be having one.
As for portability, the Lowe was more than a third lighter than the Adams, ranging from between 12 and 120 pounds as compared to Adams's press at between 100 and 400 pounds. The Lowe used a simpler frame and relatively thin castings.
date made
ca 1860
patent date
1856
maker
Lowe, Samuel W.
ID Number
1988.0650.03
accession number
1988.0650
catalog number
1988.0650.03

Brochure for Cooley's Cabinet Printing Office, dated July, 1862

Like other portable presses sold at this time, J. G. Cooley's New York Cabinet Press was sold with accompanying equipment in more than one size.
Description
Like other portable presses sold at this time, J. G. Cooley's New York Cabinet Press was sold with accompanying equipment in more than one size. This 1862 advertisement for the Cooley press calls for its use by small country printers, merchants, druggists, grocers, bankers, and the army and navy &c.
The advertisement states: Gen. McClellan, upon the recommendation of Capt. Irwin, of his staff, who was detailed especially to examine it, ordered two complete offices for his head-quarters, Col. Ferris, of the Conn. Fifth, has one; Col. Mix, of the New York Cavalry, has one; Gen. Burnside has one; Gen. Porter, one; Rev. G. D. Crocker, Chaplain of Ira Harris Bridgade, has one; Capt. Tallmadge has one at Fortress Monroe . . . .
No known examples of this press still exist.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1862
printer
Cooley, J. G.
ID Number
2007.0162.010
accession number
2007.0162
catalog number
2007.0162.010

Union General Order No. 192, December 24, 1862

This Union General Order No. 192, with address Camp near Falmouth, Va., was probably printed on a portable press in the field. It was prepared for Asst. Adj. Gen.
Description
This Union General Order No. 192, with address Camp near Falmouth, Va., was probably printed on a portable press in the field. It was prepared for Asst. Adj. Gen. Lewis Richmond of the Union Army of the Potomac in December 1862 and issued by command of Major General Burnside to Major Wood of the 17th Infantry of the Army of the Potomac and Captain Welton of the 19th Infantry of the Army of the Potomac.
The prospectus for the Cooley Press lists Major General Burnside as having purchased a Cooley press by July 1862. Both Union and Confederate general orders were printed using similar type fonts and formats.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1862-12-24
printer
Army of the Potomac
author
Richmond, Lewis
ID Number
2007.0186.01
accession number
2007.0186
catalog number
2007.0186.01

Confederate county treasurer's check, Wythe County, Virginia, April 11, 1864

This Confederate county court treasurer's check, likely printed in the field, allowed William Smyth's family to receive service benefits. Smyth served in Virginia's Forty-fifth Infantry Regiment.Currently not on view
Description
This Confederate county court treasurer's check, likely printed in the field, allowed William Smyth's family to receive service benefits. Smyth served in Virginia's Forty-fifth Infantry Regiment.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1864-04-11
printer
Confederate States of America
Wythe County, Virginia
ID Number
2007.0203.02
catalog number
2007.0203.02
accession number
2007.0203

Advertising brochure for the Lowe Press from the Lowe Printing Company, Boston, about 1860

Five sizes of the Lowe printing press with kits were sold, with printing beds of between five by six inches and thirteen by seventeen inches. These dimensions reflect the range of sizes for completed printed documents.
Description
Five sizes of the Lowe printing press with kits were sold, with printing beds of between five by six inches and thirteen by seventeen inches. These dimensions reflect the range of sizes for completed printed documents.
date made
ca 1860
maker
Lowe, Samuel W.
manufacturer
Watson, Joseph
ID Number
2007.0162.013
accession number
2007.0162
catalog number
2007.0162.013

Advertisement for the Adams Cottage Press, about 1864

Kits for the Adams Cottage Press were sold in five different sizes, enabling the production of different-sized documents. The kits, along with the press, included printing equipment such as type, rollers, and ink.The advertisement reads: To the army and navy . . .
Description
Kits for the Adams Cottage Press were sold in five different sizes, enabling the production of different-sized documents. The kits, along with the press, included printing equipment such as type, rollers, and ink.
The advertisement reads: To the army and navy . . . they will be found very useful. They can be packed within the compass of a common traveling trunk, and transported any distance without injury. We have supplied quite a number of regiments with portable printing offices, and they have given universal satisfaction. Rear-Admirals Farragut, Goldsborough and Bailey have each one of our printing offices in their respective fleets.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1864
manufacturer
Adams Press Company
Watson, Joseph
ID Number
2007.0162.011
accession number
2007.0162
catalog number
2007.0162.011

Special Order No. 314, Union Head Quarters for the Department of Virginia and North Carolina, Army of the James, October 28, 1864

This Special Order of October 28, 1864, from the Headquarters of the Union Department of Virginia and North Carolina, Army of the James, was likely printed using a portable press. Its printed address, In the Field, Va. also indicates a length of time in that situation. Israel R.
Description
This Special Order of October 28, 1864, from the Headquarters of the Union Department of Virginia and North Carolina, Army of the James, was likely printed using a portable press. Its printed address, In the Field, Va. also indicates a length of time in that situation. Israel R. Sealy, signer and assistant adjutant general assigned to this unit, was responsible for the administration and, among other duties, the printing of his unit’s army records, amond other duties.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1864-10-28
printer
Army of the James
author
Sealy, Israel R.
ID Number
2007.0186.02
accession number
2007.0186
catalog number
2007.0186.02

Confederate requisition form, June 30, 1864

This Confederate form, a requisition for stationery dated June 30, 1864, was prepared for Captain Roggen of Company F of the Army of the Confederate States of America.
Description
This Confederate form, a requisition for stationery dated June 30, 1864, was prepared for Captain Roggen of Company F of the Army of the Confederate States of America. It requested five quires [sets of sheets, 24 sheets per quire] of letter paper, five quires of foolscap paper, and fifteen quires of envelope paper. This sort of form, with the address in the field, could have been both printed and filled out in the field.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1864-06-30
printer
Confederate States of America
ID Number
2007.0203.03
accession number
2007.0203
catalog number
2007.0203.03

Adams Cottage press, No. 4

This hand cylinder press was made by the Adams Press Company of New York in about 1862.
Description (Brief)
This hand cylinder press was made by the Adams Press Company of New York in about 1862. It is marked in its casting “Patented March 19 1861.” Its bed measures 11.5 inches by 13 inches.
The Adams Cottage Press was patented by Albert Adams in 1861, and manufactured by Joseph Watson operating as the Adams Press Company, New York. The press was advertised as a portable do-it-yourself press for amateurs and businessmen, but its portability soon appealed to the armies and navies of the Civil War. This particular press arrived at the Museum with a traveling chest of type with the painted words, “HEAD QUARTERS, ARMY OF POTOMAC, NO. 6, PRINTING DEPARTMENT.”
Purchased in 1982.
Citation: Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Description
Every Man His Own Printer! advertised the makers of the Lowe and Adams presses. Easy to use, these presses inspired military and amateur printers during and after the Civil War to make use of the portable presses to print military orders, receipts, billheads, and other documents.
Albert Adams's New York cylinder press was described as useful for the armed forces and merchants. It was patented on March 19, 1861, and manufactured and distributed by entrepreneur Joseph Watson and the Adams Press Company in New York.
The Adams Cottage Press was designed without a frisket. The frisket, a separate inner frame hinged to the cloth-covered tympan, served to hold the paper in place and protect the printed sheet. The press included an automatic tympan which closed with the movement of the cylinder. The Adams Cottage Press and other portable presses did not include a self-inking system. The type was inked by hand, a sheet of paper was placed over the inked type, and the bed of the press was cranked below the cylinder to produce an impression and the printed sheet.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1861
ca 1862
maker
Adams, Albert
manufacturer
Adams Press Company
ID Number
1982.0203.2740
accession number
1982.0203
catalog number
1982.0203.2740

Union type chest Headquarters Army of Potomac, Printing Department, No. 6, about 1863

This type chest, measuring roughly 1’H x 2.5’W x 1.5’D, was purchased from L. Johnson & Company for the Printing Department of the Union Army of the Potomac. At least five other type chests were made for that unit.
Description
This type chest, measuring roughly 1’H x 2.5’W x 1.5’D, was purchased from L. Johnson & Company for the Printing Department of the Union Army of the Potomac. At least five other type chests were made for that unit. The top of the chest reads Headquarters Army of Potomac, Printing Department, No. 6. A virtually identical chest markedNo. 5 is displayed at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1863
maker
L. Johnson & Company
issuing authority
Army of the Potomac
ID Number
1982.0203.2739
accession number
1982.0203
catalog number
1982.0203.2739

Cincinnati Type Foundry Army press

This Cincinnati Type Foundry Army Press was invented in 1860 and was sold during the American Civil War and until at least the 1910s; it is marked 'Cin'ti Type Foundry.' The press has a height of 15 7/8 inches a width of 33 inches and length of 27 inches.The mechanism for the pre
Description (Brief)
This Cincinnati Type Foundry Army Press was invented in 1860 and was sold during the American Civil War and until at least the 1910s; it is marked 'Cin'ti Type Foundry.' The press has a height of 15 7/8 inches a width of 33 inches and length of 27 inches.
The mechanism for the press was invented by Henry Barth, foundry manager from 1861, who later invented an automatic type caster that revolutionized the manufacture of type later in the 19th century. The press is believed to date from about 1875 especially as it is marked as a 6-column size, indicating post-war manufacture.
The Cincinnati Type Foundry (CTF) of Cincinnati, OH, began manufacturing these presses in 1862 for the Union Army. The Foundry ceased production after the war, but because of popular demand resumed production soon afterward. The small, portable presses later became popular in the West and throughout the United States.
The CTF Army Press had adjustments for pressure and feeding the paper and allowed for more precise control. It worked more like the operation of a full-sized press and was offered in several sizes to print different newspaper formats. Other manufacturers of the time made variations on this style of press, as it was not protected by patent, and variations continued to be offered in supply catalogues as late as 1912.
Description
Henry Barth of the Cincinnati Type Foundry designed this cylinder press, known as the Army Press, for use by the armed forces during the Civil War. To make up for lost business early in the war, the Foundry also manufactured bullets for the State of Indiana and Gatling guns used in the New Orleans campaign.
The Army Press was listed as resembling the modern common hand press in having ways, bed, tympan and fisket and a rotating cylinder that, unlike the Adams's Cottage press, moved with the press bed.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1862
ca 1860
inventor
Barth, Henry
manufacturer
Cincinnati Type Foundry
ID Number
2005.0133.01
accession number
2005.0133
catalog number
2005.0133.01

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