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.

Metal Bangle

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.4630
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.4630

Metal Bangle

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.4635
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.4635

Metal Bangle

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.4636
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.4636

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

Metal Washer

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.4638
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.4638

Metal Bangle

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.4618
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.4618

Metal Bangle

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.4628
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.4628

Patent Model of a Sheet-delivery Apparatus for Presses

This patent model demonstrates an invention for an apparatus that delivers sheets printed side up, without risk of smudging when fresh ink came into contact with delivery tapes; the invention was granted patent number 221458.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for an apparatus that delivers sheets printed side up, without risk of smudging when fresh ink came into contact with delivery tapes; the invention was granted patent number 221458.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1879
patent date
1879-11-11
maker
Hawkins, John T.
ID Number
GA.89797.221458
accession number
089797
patent number
221458
catalog number
GA*89797.221458

Patent model for web perfecting rotary press

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a web perfecting rotary press. Maker, patent number, and date are unknown.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a web perfecting rotary press. Maker, patent number, and date are unknown.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
Date made
ca 1880
date made
ca 1879
Date made
1879-02-08
maker
unknown
Crowell, Luther C.
ID Number
1997.0198.10
catalog number
1997.0198.10
accession number
1997.0198
catalog number
1997.0198.10

Patent model for sewing machine

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a [sewing] machine. Maker, patent number, and date are unknown.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a [sewing] machine. Maker, patent number, and date are unknown.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1870
maker
unknown
ID Number
1997.0198.05
catalog number
1997.0198.05
accession number
1997.0198

Decorative Slide Buckle

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1930
maker
Waterbury Button Company
ID Number
MC.314686.2200
accession number
314686
catalog number
314686.2200

Patent model for printers' quoins

This patent model demonstrates an invention for slim quoins consisting of two metal plates with slanting faces that worked on each other; used when there was not enough space in the form for ordinary quoins. The invention was granted patent number 483185.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for slim quoins consisting of two metal plates with slanting faces that worked on each other; used when there was not enough space in the form for ordinary quoins. The invention was granted patent number 483185. Model incomplete.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1892
patent date
1892-09-27
patentee
Tinsley, William J.
ID Number
GA.89797.483185
patent number
483185
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.483185

Patent model for printers' quoins and chases

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a chase combined with ratchet-operated side-and endsticks; the invention was granted patent number 146967.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a chase combined with ratchet-operated side-and endsticks; the invention was granted patent number 146967.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1874
patent date
1874-01-27
patentee
Warren, Edmond A.
ID Number
GA.89797.146967
patent number
146967
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.146967

Patent model for folding concertina rack

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a folding concertina rack. Maker, patent number, and date are unknown.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a folding concertina rack. Maker, patent number, and date are unknown.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1870
maker
unknown
ID Number
1997.0198.11
catalog number
1997.0198.11
accession number
1997.0198

Patent model for printers' quoins

This patent model demonstrates an invention for quoins slotted together along the oblique side, which included a key for their adjustment; the invention was granted patent number 228410. (Carlo Squintani was from London, England.)Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for quoins slotted together along the oblique side, which included a key for their adjustment; the invention was granted patent number 228410. (Carlo Squintani was from London, England.)
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
patent date
1880-06-01
maker
Squintani, Carlo G.
ID Number
1996.0062.17
patent number
228410
accession number
1996.0062
catalog number
1996.0062.17

Patent model for inking apparatus for printing presses

This patent model demonstrates an invention for an inking apparatus for printing presses, which provided an improved means of operating the carriage of inking rollers. Rollers pass over the entire length of a stone distributing ink more accurately and efficiently.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for an inking apparatus for printing presses, which provided an improved means of operating the carriage of inking rollers. Rollers pass over the entire length of a stone distributing ink more accurately and efficiently. The invention was granted patent number 188386.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1877
patent date
1877-03-13
maker
Macdonald, F.
ID Number
1997.0198.13
accession number
1997.0198
patent number
188386
catalog number
GA.89797.188386

Ornate Metal Slide Buckle

This stamped yellowish metal buckle is formed into a rectangular shape with a border of raised half spheres.The Waterbury Collection tells the story of an important American manufacturer.
Description
This stamped yellowish metal buckle is formed into a rectangular shape with a border of raised half spheres.
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.314686.0664
catalog number
314686.0664
accession number
314686

Patent model for stretcher frames for canvases

This patent model demonstrates an invention for methods of making cheap and strong stretcher frames; the invention was granted patent number 192319.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for methods of making cheap and strong stretcher frames; the invention was granted patent number 192319.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1877
patent date
1877-06-19
patentee
Witt, John H.
ID Number
GA.89797.192319
patent number
192319
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.192319

Patent model for picture frames

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a frame constructed in three parts: a backboard holding the picture, a frame, and a glazed box covering and protecting the frame; all were hinged together, for easy access and cleaning.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a frame constructed in three parts: a backboard holding the picture, a frame, and a glazed box covering and protecting the frame; all were hinged together, for easy access and cleaning. The invention was granted patent number 190068.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1877
patent date
1877-04-24
maker
Odenbaugh, Frank
ID Number
1997.0198.12
accession number
1997.0198
patent number
190068
catalog number
1997.0198.12

Patent model for stencil writing

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a method of making perforated stencil sheets that were easy for the printer to read, and thus to use, by inking the edges of the puncture holes. The invention was granted patent number 192624.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a method of making perforated stencil sheets that were easy for the printer to read, and thus to use, by inking the edges of the puncture holes. The invention was granted patent number 192624.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1877
patent date
1877-07-03
maker
Hix, Albert E.
patentee
Hix, Albert E.
ID Number
GA.89797.192624
accession number
089797
patent number
192624
catalog number
GA*89797.192624

Patent model for stencils for sign painter's template

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a template that includes all the letters of the alphabet in a single pattern; the invention was granted patent number 147942.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a template that includes all the letters of the alphabet in a single pattern; the invention was granted patent number 147942.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1874
patent date
1874-02-24
patentee
Hutchison, Merrill
ID Number
GA.89797.147942
accession number
089797
patent number
147942
catalog number
GA*89797.147942

Plate 80. Johnson's Mill, near Petersburg

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H.
Description
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.
This property, recently, and for many years, better known as Furt's Mill, is situated just below Bolling's Dam, on the Appomattox River, near Campbell's Bridge. It is one of the several large establishments which the city of Petersburg boasts for the manufacture of flour. At the height of the grinding season, we are informed, it is capable of turning out about three hundred barrels daily.
The dam constitutes the terminus of tide-water on this stream, and, with its surroundings, is the subject of one of "Shaw's Illustrations of American Scenery," published in New York, on a large scale, upwards of forty years ago.
The Mill, we further learn, was originally built in seventeen hundred and seventy-three by Mr. Bolling.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1865-05
maker
Gardner, Alexander
ID Number
1986.0711.0283.30
accession number
1986.0711
catalog number
1986.0711.0283.30

Plate 95. Mechanicsville, Virginia

Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II.
Description
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by John Reekie, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.
A pretentious title for a collection of about a dozen ordinary Virginia houses, including blacksmith shop and store; yet what memories crowd upon the mind at the mention of its name. Memories of the grand old Army of the Potomac, in its youthful flush, digging, hewing, and battling courageously with the Confederates, and their deadly ally, the Chickahominy; of tropical rains that in a day would transform luxuriant meadows into lakes, and make surging floods where before were stagnant pools; of bridges, built through swamps by armed battalions, and of that storm of battle which ended at Malvern Hill. Early in June, 1862, as the Army of the Potomac extended its wings along both banks of the Chickahominy, Mechanicsville fell into our possession. There was a struggle at Beaver Dam Creek and on the neighboring fields, the defenders finally retreating in disorder down the pike, and over the bridge, towards Richmond, three and a half miles distant. The skirmishers sacked the store and dwellings, the blacksmith's forge was immediately put in use by the cavalry and artillery, and the surgeons took possession of the houses for hospitals.
The pickets of each army watched the bridge with jealous eyes till the Union lines were withdrawn, on the 26th of June, and the enemy retaking the village, forced an engagement at Beaver Dam Creek, where they were repulsed by Fitz John Porter's troops. The two-story house, with a fence, seen in the photograph, is on the turnpike to Richmond. In front of this house a barricade was thrown across the road, which was defended by two howitzers, planted to sweep the pike in case a dash should be made by the enemy for the recovery of the place.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1865-04
maker
Gardner, Alexander
ID Number
1986.0711.0283.45
accession number
1986.0711
catalog number
1986.0711.0283.45

Army & Navy Token

The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this 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 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 tokens.
Obverse: Profile image of Lady Liberty facing left. The legend reads: 1863.
Reverse: Wreath around the rim. The legend reads: ARMY & NAVY.
Location
Currently not on view
date on object
1863
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1603
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1603

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