Industry & Manufacturing - Overview
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.
"Industry & Manufacturing - Overview" showing 14 items.
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Nicaraguan Water Company Token
- Description (Brief)
- This 1½ centavos token was produced by the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut during the late 19th–century. Scovill 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 tokens.
- Obverse: Image of a cannon with the Nicaraguan coat of arms above, consisting of a triangle, a Phrygian cap, and five volcanoes.
- Reverse: COMPANIA AGUADORA DE LEON NICA./ 1 ½ CENTAVOS
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Scovill Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 1981.0296.1659
- catalog number
- 1981.0296.1659
- accession number
- 1981.0296
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Hotel Brighton Token
- Description (Brief)
- The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this token during the early 20th century. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer that is still in business today. Scovill is an important example of early American industrial manufacturing that adapted armory machines to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, coins, and tokens.
- Obverse: The legend reads: HOTEL BRIGHTON/ 10
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Scovill Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 1981.0296.1670
- catalog number
- 1981.0296.1670
- accession number
- 1981.0296
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Nicaraguan Coin
- Description (Brief)
- The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this Nicaraguan five centavos coin around the 1898. Scovill 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, and coins.
- Obverse: Image of the Nicaragua coat of arms, consisting of a triangle, a Phrygian cap and five volcanoes. The legend reads: ESTADO DE NICARAGUA.
- Reverse: Floral wreath around the rim. Legend reads: 5/CENTAVOS/1898
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Scovill Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 1981.0296.1582
- accession number
- 1981.0296
- catalog number
- 1981.0296.1582
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Nicaraguan Coin
- Description (Brief)
- The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this Nicaraguan five centavos coin around the 1898. Scovill 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, and coins.
- Obverse: Image of the Nicaragua coat of arms, consisting of a triangle, a Phrygian cap, and five volcanoes. The legend reads: ESTADO DE NICARAGUA
- Reverse: Floral wreath around the rim. Legend reads: 5/CENTAVOS
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Scovill Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 1981.0296.1601
- accession number
- 1981.0296
- catalog number
- 1981.0296.1601
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
¾ DeREAL Coin
- Description (Brief)
- This ¾ real token was produced by the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut during the late 19th–century. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer that is still in business today. Scovill is an important example of early American industrial manufacturing that adapted armory machines to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, coins, and tokens.
- Obverse: The legend reads: BELIN
- Reverse: The legend reads: ¾ DeREAL
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Scovill Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 1981.0296.1661
- catalog number
- 1981.0296.1661
- accession number
- 1981.0296
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Puerto Rican Token
- Description (Brief)
- The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this token around the late 19th–century. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer that is still in business today. Scovill is an important example of early American industrial manufacturing that adapted armory machines to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, and coins.
- Obverse: The legend reads: QUINCALLA Y FERRETERIA/PONCE
- Reverse: The legend reads: TRUJILLO Y SUBINA/ 10/ EL COMETA
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Scovill Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 1981.0296.1662
- catalog number
- 1981.0296.1662
- accession number
- 1981.0296
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Dominican Republic Coin
- Description (Brief)
- The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this Dominican Republic one-centavo coin around 1877. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer that is still in business today. Scovill is an important example of early American industrial manufacturing that adapted armory machines to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, and coins.
- Obverse: The legend reads: REPUBLICA DOMINICANA/1877
- Reverse: The rim is surrounded by a wreath. The legend reads: UN CENTAVO
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Scovill Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 1981.0296.1663
- catalog number
- 1981.0296.1663
- accession number
- 1981.0296
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Dominican Republic Coin
- Description (Brief)
- The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this Dominican Republic five-centavos coin around 1877. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer that is still in business today. Scovill is an important example of early American industrial manufacturing that adapted armory machines to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, and coins.
- Obverse: Central image of an open book. The legend reads: REPUBLICA DOMINICANA/1877
- Reverse: The rim is surrounded by a wreath. The legend reads: 5 CENTAVOS
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Scovill Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 1981.0296.1664
- catalog number
- 1981.0296.1664
- accession number
- 1981.0296
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Haitian Coin
- Description (Brief)
- The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this Haitian five- gourde coin around 1904. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer that is still in business today. Scovill is an important example of early American industrial manufacturing that adapted armory machines to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, and coins.
- Obverse: Profile image of Pierre Nord Alexis, facing left. The legend reads: REPUBLIQUE D'HAIT/I1904
- Reverse: Seal of Haiti, six draped flags around a palm tree, topped by a Phrygian cap with two cannons. The ribbon below reads, L'Union Fait La Force. The legend reads: LIBERTÉ ÉGALITÉ FRATERNITÉ/5
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Scovill Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 1981.0296.1666
- catalog number
- 1981.0296.1666
- accession number
- 1981.0296
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Haitian Coin
- Description (Brief)
- The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this Haitian five- gourde coin around 1905. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer that is still in business today. Scovill is an important example of early American industrial manufacturing that adapted armory machines to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, and coins.
- Obverse: Profile image of Pierre Nord Alexis, facing left. The legend reads: REPUBLIQUE D'HAIT/I1905
- Reverse: Seal of Haiti, six draped flags around a palm tree with a drum at its base, and topped by a Phrygian cap and surrounded by two cannons. The ribbon below reads, L'Union Fait La Force. The legend reads: LIBERTÉ ÉGALITÉ FRATERNITÉ/5.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Scovill Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 1981.0296.1667
- catalog number
- 1981.0296.1667
- accession number
- 1981.0296
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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