Science & Mathematics

The Museum's collections hold thousands of objects related to chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy, and other sciences. Instruments range from early American telescopes to lasers. Rare glassware and other artifacts from the laboratory of Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen, are among the scientific treasures here. A Gilbert chemistry set of about 1937 and other objects testify to the pleasures of amateur science. Artifacts also help illuminate the social and political history of biology and the roles of women and minorities in science.

The mathematics collection holds artifacts from slide rules and flash cards to code-breaking equipment. More than 1,000 models demonstrate some of the problems and principles of mathematics, and 80 abstract paintings by illustrator and cartoonist Crockett Johnson show his visual interpretations of mathematical theorems.

Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this box in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this box in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
Source:
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315358.01
accession number
13305
catalog number
315358.01
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this assortment of glass objects in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this assortment of glass objects in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
Source:
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315357
catalog number
315357
accession number
13305
This celestial globe is supported on a wooden tri-leg pedestal, surrounded by a wooden horizon circle, and is equipped with a brass meridian and a small brass circle around the north pole.
Description
This celestial globe is supported on a wooden tri-leg pedestal, surrounded by a wooden horizon circle, and is equipped with a brass meridian and a small brass circle around the north pole. It (and its terrestrial mate) belonged to the Anglo-American chemist, Joseph Priestley.
The text in the cartouche in the southern hemisphere reads: “To the Rev. / NEVIL MASKELYNE, D.D. F.R.S. / Astronomer Royal / The New British Celestial Globe / containing the Positions of nearly 6000 Stars, Clusters, nebulae, Planetary / Nebulae &c. Correctly computed & laid down to the year 1800; from the latest observati / ons and discoveries by Dr Maskelyne, Dr Herschel, The Revd Mr Wollaston &c. &c. / Is respectfully Dedicated / by his most obedient hbl Servants / W. & T. M. Bardin”
William Bardin (fl. 1730-1798) was a London artisan who began making globes around 1780. Around 1790, now in partnership with his son, Thomas Marriott Bardin (1768-1819), he began trading as W. & T. M. Bardin. The 18-inch globes were their most ambitious. They were introduced in 1798, and remained in production, by successor firms, for a half century.
Ref: John Millburn and Tör Rossaak, “The Bardin Family, Globe Makers in London” Der Globusfreund (1992).
Elly Dekker, Globes at Greenwich (Oxford, 1999), pp. 260-270.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800
owner
Priestley, Joseph
maker
Bardin, William
Bardin, Thomas Marriott
W. & T. M. Bardin
ID Number
PH.53254
accession number
27050
catalog number
53254
This dark green glass matrass (or bolt head) belonged to Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), the accomplished and controversial English chemist and natural philosopher, and was undoubtedly made after his immigration to the United States in 1794.
Description
This dark green glass matrass (or bolt head) belonged to Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), the accomplished and controversial English chemist and natural philosopher, and was undoubtedly made after his immigration to the United States in 1794. It might have been used for distillation.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
18th century
date made
1790s
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315355.19
accession number
13305
catalog number
315355.19
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this object in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this object in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
This object has been variously identified by historians as a eudiometer (an instrument for measuring change in gas volume) or a kind of Leyden jar (an instrument for storing electricity.) Perhaps the most convincing identification comes from the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. In the spring of 1983 the Smithsonian loaned the object to the Franklin Institute for an exhibition entitled, Joseph Priestley, Enlightened Chemist. Curators noted that it could be screwed into an air pump of Priestley’s in the Franklin’s collection. They speculate that Priestley may have used the tube as part of electrical demonstrations to entertain friends. By attaching it to the air pump and creating a vacuum within the tube, streams of electricity would be more visible and impressive upon the tube’s discharge.
Source:
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315350
catalog number
315350
accession number
13305
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this flask in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this flask in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
Source:
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Description
This spherical, clear glass flask belonged to Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), the accomplished and controversial English chemist and natural philosopher, and was undoubtedly made after his immigration to the United States in 1794.
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315355.22
catalog number
315355.22
accession number
13305
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this leveling funnel bulb in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this leveling funnel bulb in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
Source:
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315356.24
accession number
13305
catalog number
315356.24
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this bell jar in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this bell jar in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
The transparent glass bell jar provided a useful shape for trapping and observing gases. A chemical sample could be suspended in the jar and ignited by passing a beam of focused light or heat through the glass. Any gases emitted from its burning would be collected for further study.
Glassmaker William Parker of 69 Fleet St., London or his son Samuel likely made this bell jar. The Parkers supplied Priestley with laboratory glassware free of charge, even after his move to the United States from London. Priestley wrote in a letter to Rev. Samuel Palmer, of his new home in Northumberland, Pennsylvania: “I have more advantages [in respect to experiments] than you could easily imagine in this remote place. I want hardly anything but a glass house.” Indeed, without a local supplier, getting glassware to Northumberland was quite a challenge. A letter to Samuel Parker dated January 20, 1795 details Priestley’s plan to have his most recent shipment brought from Philadelphia to Northumberland via a sleigh, “which is our best method of conveyance in winter.”
Source:
Badash, Lawrence. 1964. “Joseph Priestley’s Apparatus for Pneumatic Chemistry.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences XIX (2): 139–55. doi:10.1093/jhmas/XIX.2.139.
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Priestley, Joseph, and John Towill Rutt. 1817. The Theological and Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley. Vol. I Part 2. [London : Printed by G. Smallfield. http://archive.org/details/theologicalmisce0102prie.
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315344
accession number
13305
catalog number
315344
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this flask in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this flask in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
Source:
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Description
This dark green glass flask belonged to Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), the accomplished and controversial English chemist and natural philosopher, and was undoubtedly made after his immigration to the United States in 1794.
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315354
catalog number
315354
accession number
13305
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this reflector in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this reflector in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
To study the gas given off from a burning material, Priestley required a way to heat or ignite a sample while it was enclosed in a glass vessel, thus trapping the emitted gas for study. His preference seems to have been to use a burning glass (see object CH*319022) to focus sunlight into a hot beam. However, sunlight could not always be relied upon, particularly in England’s dreary weather. On an overcast day, he would have needed an alternate way to generate focused heat, and likely would have relied on this reflector. A pair of these reflectors, raised to the same height and separated by a distance of about ten to fifteen feet, could be used, with the help of a heat source, to ignite a sample. The heat source (say a red hot ball of iron on a stand) would be placed in the focus of one reflector and the sample to be ignited placed in the focus of the second reflector. Heat from the iron would reflect off of the first reflector and onto the second, from which it was next reflected onto the sample. A mid-20th century catalogue of scientific instruments describes the heat generated by this set-up as sufficient to ignite phosphorous.
This set-up, however, does not seem to be explicitly mentioned by Priestley. Rather than a pair of burning mirrors, he tends to refer to a single mirror. He notes the drawback of the mirror in Experiments and observations on different kinds of air, Vol. II: “. . . the nature of this instrument is such, that it cannot be applied, with effect, except upon substances that are capable of being suspended, or resting on a very slender support. It cannot be directed at all upon any substance in the form of powder, nor hardly upon anything that requires to be put into a vessel of quicksilver; which appears to me to be the most accurate method of extracting air from a great variety of substances.”
This particular reflector is a replica, commissioned by the museum in 1960 as a mate for object CH*316959.
Sources:
Badash, Lawrence. “Joseph Priestley’s Apparatus for Pneumatic Chemistry.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 19, no. 2 (1964): 139–55. doi:10.1093/jhmas/XIX.2.139.
Benjamin, Benjamin Pike. Pike’s Illustrated Descriptive Catalogue of Optical, Mathematical and Philosophical Instruments: Manufactured, Imported, and Sold by the Author; with the Prices Affixed at Which They Are Offered in 1848 ... The author.
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
National Museum of American History Accession File #229395
Priestley, Joseph. Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air. 2d ed., 1775. cor. ... London,. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433079424671.
———. 1781. Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air ... /. The third edition corrected. London : http://hdl.handle.net/2027/ucm.532738264x.
Priestley, Joseph, and John Towill Rutt. 1817. The Theological and Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley. Vol. I Part 2. [London : Printed by G. Smallfield. http://archive.org/details/theologicalmisce0102prie.
Location
Currently not on view
originator
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.316959
catalog number
316959
accession number
229395
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this reflector in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this reflector in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
To study the gas given off from a burning material, Priestley required a way to heat or ignite a sample while it was enclosed in a glass vessel, thus trapping the emitted gas for study. His preference seems to have been to use a burning glass (see object CH*319022) to focus sunlight into a hot beam. However, sunlight could not always be relied upon, particularly in England’s dreary weather. On an overcast day, he would have needed an alternate way to generate focused heat, and likely would have relied on this reflector. A pair of these reflectors, raised to the same height and separated by a distance of about ten to fifteen feet, could be used, with the help of a heat source, to ignite a sample. The heat source (say a red hot ball of iron on a stand) would be placed in the focus of one reflector and the sample to be ignited placed in the focus of the second reflector. Heat from the iron would reflect off of the first reflector and onto the second, from which it was next reflected onto the sample. A mid-20th century catalogue of scientific instruments describes the heat generated by this set-up as sufficient to ignite phosphorous.
This set-up, however, does not seem to be explicitly mentioned by Priestley. Rather than a pair of burning mirrors, he tends to refer to a single mirror. He notes the drawback of the mirror in Experiments and observations on different kinds of air, Vol. II: “. . . the nature of this instrument is such, that it cannot be applied, with effect, except upon substances that are capable of being suspended, or resting on a very slender support. It cannot be directed at all upon any substance in the form of powder, nor hardly upon anything that requires to be put into a vessel of quicksilver; which appears to me to be the most accurate method of extracting air from a great variety of substances.”
Sources:
Badash, Lawrence. “Joseph Priestley’s Apparatus for Pneumatic Chemistry.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 19, no. 2 (1964): 139–55. doi:10.1093/jhmas/XIX.2.139.
Benjamin Pike. Pike’s Illustrated Descriptive Catalogue of Optical, Mathematical and Philosophical Instruments: Manufactured, Imported, and Sold by the Author; with the Prices Affixed at Which They Are Offered in 1848 ... The author.
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
National Museum of American History Accession File #229395
Priestley, Joseph. Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air. 2d ed., 1775. cor. ... London,. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433079424671.
———. 1781. Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air ... /. The third edition corrected. London : http://hdl.handle.net/2027/ucm.532738264x.
Priestley, Joseph, and John Towill Rutt. 1817. The Theological and Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley. Vol. I Part 2. [London : Printed by G. Smallfield. http://archive.org/details/theologicalmisce0102prie.
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315351
catalog number
315351
accession number
13305
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this bell jar in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this bell jar in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
The transparent glass bell jar provided a useful shape for trapping and observing gases. A chemical sample could be suspended in the jar and ignited by passing a beam of focused light or heat through the glass. Any gases emitted from its burning would be collected for further study.
Glassmaker William Parker of 69 Fleet St., London or his son Samuel likely made this bell jar. The Parkers supplied Priestley with laboratory glassware free of charge, even after his move to the United States from London. Priestley wrote in a letter to Rev. Samuel Palmer, of his new home in Northumberland, Pennsylvania: “I have more advantages [in respect to experiments] than you could easily imagine in this remote place. I want hardly anything but a glass house.” Indeed, without a local supplier, getting glassware to Northumberland was quite a challenge. A letter to Samuel Parker dated January 20, 1795 details Priestley’s plan to have his most recent shipment brought from Philadelphia to Northumberland via a sleigh, “which is our best method of conveyance in winter.”
Source:
Badash, Lawrence. 1964. “Joseph Priestley’s Apparatus for Pneumatic Chemistry.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences XIX (2): 139–55. doi:10.1093/jhmas/XIX.2.139.
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Priestley, Joseph, and John Towill Rutt. 1817. The Theological and Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley. Vol. I Part 2. [London : Printed by G. Smallfield. http://archive.org/details/theologicalmisce0102prie.
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315345
accession number
13305
catalog number
315345
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this separating and delivery vessel in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this separating and delivery vessel in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
Source:
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315356.27
accession number
13305
catalog number
315356.27
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this gas collecting flask in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this gas collecting flask in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
Source:
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Description
This glass flask belonged to Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), the accomplished and controversial English chemist and natural philosopher, and was made after his immigration to the United States in 1794. It might have been used for collecting gases over a pneumatic trough.
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315352
accession number
13305
catalog number
315352
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this retort in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this retort in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
Retorts are among the oldest forms of glassware used in chemistry. With their bulbs and long necks, they are suitable for distillation-- the separation of one material from another through heating. The bulb containing the sample is heated and the resulting gases travel along the neck to a second collecting vessel.
A 1791 inventory of Joseph Priestley’s lab notes over nine dozen retorts, varying in size from two quarts to one ounce. Priestley likely used these retorts as part of a pneumatic trough, a laboratory apparatus used to trap gases. In it, the neck of the retort is placed into a tank of water. Gases escaping from the retort’s neck bubble up through the water and into a vessel—such as a bell jar—which rests on a shelf with a hole placed several inches below the water’s surface. Gases are trapped in the jar for further study.
Glassmaker William Parker of 69 Fleet St., London or his son Samuel likely made this retort. The Parkers supplied Priestley with laboratory glassware free of charge, even after his move to the United States from London. Priestley wrote in a letter to Rev. Samuel Palmer, of his new home in Northumberland, Pennsylvania: “I have more advantages [in respect to experiments] than you could easily imagine in this remote place. I want hardly anything but a glass house.” Indeed, without a local supplier, getting glassware to Northumberland was quite a challenge. A letter to Samuel Parker dated January 20, 1795, details Priestley’s plan to have his most recent shipment brought from Philadelphia to Northumberland via a sleigh, “which is our best method of conveyance in winter.”
Sources:
Badash, Lawrence. 1964. “Joseph Priestley’s Apparatus for Pneumatic Chemistry.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences XIX (2): 139–55. doi:10.1093/jhmas/XIX.2.139.
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Priestley, Joseph, and Henry Carrington Bolton. 1892. Scientific Correspondence of Joseph Priestley. Ninety-Seven Letters Addressed to Josiah Wedgwood, Sir Joseph Banks, Capt. James Keir, James Watt, Dr. William Withering, Dr. Benjamin Rush, and Others. Together with an Appendix: I. The Likenesses of Priestley in Oil, Ink, Marble, and Metal. II. The Lunar Society of Birmingham. III. Inventory of Priestley’s Laboratory in 1791. New York: Privately printed [Philadelphia, Collins printing house]. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001486336.
Priestley, Joseph, and John Towill Rutt. 1817. The Theological and Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley. Vol. I Part 2. [London : Printed by G. Smallfield. http://archive.org/details/theologicalmisce0102prie.
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315343
accession number
13305
catalog number
315343
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this bell jar in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this bell jar in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
The transparent glass bell jar provided a useful shape for trapping and observing gases. A chemical sample could be suspended in the jar and ignited by passing a beam of focused light or heat through the glass. Any gases emitted from its burning would be collected for further study.
Glassmaker William Parker of 69 Fleet St., London or his son Samuel likely made this bell jar. The Parkers supplied Priestley with laboratory glassware free of charge, even after his move to the United States from London. Priestley wrote in a letter to Rev. Samuel Palmer, of his new home in Northumberland, Pennsylvania: “I have more advantages [in respect to experiments] than you could easily imagine in this remote place. I want hardly anything but a glass house.” Indeed, without a local supplier, getting glassware to Northumberland was quite a challenge. A letter to Samuel Parker dated January 20, 1795 details Priestley’s plan to have his most recent shipment brought from Philadelphia to Northumberland via a sleigh, “which is our best method of conveyance in winter.”
Source:
Badash, Lawrence. 1964. “Joseph Priestley’s Apparatus for Pneumatic Chemistry.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences XIX (2): 139–55. doi:10.1093/jhmas/XIX.2.139.
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Priestley, Joseph, and John Towill Rutt. 1817. The Theological and Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley. Vol. I Part 2. [London : Printed by G. Smallfield. http://archive.org/details/theologicalmisce0102prie.
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315348
catalog number
315348
accession number
13305
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this bell jar in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this bell jar in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
The transparent glass bell jar provided a useful shape for trapping and observing gases. A chemical sample could be suspended in the jar and ignited by passing a beam of focused light or heat through the glass. Any gases emitted from its burning would be collected for further study.
Glassmaker William Parker of 69 Fleet St., London or his son Samuel likely made this bell jar. The Parkers supplied Priestley with laboratory glassware free of charge, even after his move to the United States from London. Priestley wrote in a letter to Rev. Samuel Palmer, of his new home in Northumberland, Pennsylvania: “I have more advantages [in respect to experiments] than you could easily imagine in this remote place. I want hardly anything but a glass house.” Indeed, without a local supplier, getting glassware to Northumberland was quite a challenge. A letter to Samuel Parker dated January 20, 1795 details Priestley’s plan to have his most recent shipment brought from Philadelphia to Northumberland via a sleigh, “which is our best method of conveyance in winter.”
Source:
Badash, Lawrence. 1964. “Joseph Priestley’s Apparatus for Pneumatic Chemistry.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences XIX (2): 139–55. doi:10.1093/jhmas/XIX.2.139.
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Priestley, Joseph, and John Towill Rutt. 1817. The Theological and Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley. Vol. I Part 2. [London : Printed by G. Smallfield. http://archive.org/details/theologicalmisce0102prie.
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315346
catalog number
315346
accession number
13305
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this leveling funnel bulb in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this leveling funnel bulb in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
Source:
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315356.26
accession number
13305
catalog number
315356.26
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this flask in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this flask in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
Source:
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Description
This spherical, clear glass flask belonged to Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), the accomplished and controversial English chemist and natural philosopher, and was undoubtedly made after his immigration to the United States in 1794.
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315355.21
catalog number
315355.21
accession number
13305
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this retort in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this retort in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
Retorts are among the oldest forms of glassware used in chemistry. With their bulbs and long necks, they are suitable for distillation-- the separation of one material from another through heating. The bulb containing the sample is heated and the resulting gases travel along the neck to a second collecting vessel.
A 1791 inventory of Joseph Priestley’s lab notes over nine dozen retorts, varying in size from two quarts to one ounce. Priestley likely used these retorts as part of a pneumatic trough, a laboratory apparatus used to trap gases. In it, the neck of the retort is placed into a tank of water. Gases escaping from the retort’s neck bubble up through the water and into a vessel—such as a bell jar—which rests on a shelf with a hole placed several inches below the water’s surface. Gases are trapped in the jar for further study.
Glassmaker William Parker of 69 Fleet St., London or his son Samuel likely made this retort. The Parkers supplied Priestley with laboratory glassware free of charge, even after his move to the United States from London. Priestley wrote in a letter to Rev. Samuel Palmer, of his new home in Northumberland, Pennsylvania: “I have more advantages [in respect to experiments] than you could easily imagine in this remote place. I want hardly anything but a glass house.” Indeed, without a local supplier, getting glassware to Northumberland was quite a challenge. A letter to Samuel Parker dated January 20, 1795, details Priestley’s plan to have his most recent shipment brought from Philadelphia to Northumberland via a sleigh, “which is our best method of conveyance in winter.”
Sources:
Badash, Lawrence. 1964. “Joseph Priestley’s Apparatus for Pneumatic Chemistry.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences XIX (2): 139–55. doi:10.1093/jhmas/XIX.2.139.
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Priestley, Joseph, and Henry Carrington Bolton. 1892. Scientific Correspondence of Joseph Priestley. Ninety-Seven Letters Addressed to Josiah Wedgwood, Sir Joseph Banks, Capt. James Keir, James Watt, Dr. William Withering, Dr. Benjamin Rush, and Others. Together with an Appendix: I. The Likenesses of Priestley in Oil, Ink, Marble, and Metal. II. The Lunar Society of Birmingham. III. Inventory of Priestley’s Laboratory in 1791. New York: Privately printed [Philadelphia, Collins printing house]. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001486336.
Priestley, Joseph, and John Towill Rutt. 1817. The Theological and Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley. Vol. I Part 2. [London : Printed by G. Smallfield. http://archive.org/details/theologicalmisce0102prie.
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315342
catalog number
315342
accession number
13305
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this bell jar in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this bell jar in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
The transparent glass bell jar provided a useful shape for trapping and observing gases. A chemical sample could be suspended in the jar and ignited by passing a beam of focused light or heat through the glass. Any gases emitted from its burning would be collected for further study.
Glassmaker William Parker of 69 Fleet St., London or his son Samuel likely made this bell jar. The Parkers supplied Priestley with laboratory glassware free of charge, even after his move to the United States from London. Priestley wrote in a letter to Rev. Samuel Palmer, of his new home in Northumberland, Pennsylvania: “I have more advantages [in respect to experiments] than you could easily imagine in this remote place. I want hardly anything but a glass house.” Indeed, without a local supplier, getting glassware to Northumberland was quite a challenge. A letter to Samuel Parker dated January 20, 1795 details Priestley’s plan to have his most recent shipment brought from Philadelphia to Northumberland via a sleigh, “which is our best method of conveyance in winter.”
Source:
Badash, Lawrence. 1964. “Joseph Priestley’s Apparatus for Pneumatic Chemistry.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences XIX (2): 139–55. doi:10.1093/jhmas/XIX.2.139.
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Priestley, Joseph, and John Towill Rutt. 1817. The Theological and Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley. Vol. I Part 2. [London : Printed by G. Smallfield. http://archive.org/details/theologicalmisce0102prie.
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315347
catalog number
315347
accession number
13305
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this flask in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this flask in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
Source:
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Description
This very long green glass flask belonged to Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), the accomplished and controversial English chemist and natural philosopher, and was undoubtedly made after his immigration to the United States in 1794.
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315355.23
accession number
13305
catalog number
315355.23
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this flask in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this flask in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
Source:
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Description
This clear glass flask belonged to Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), the accomplished and controversial English chemist and natural philosopher, and was undoubtedly made after his immigration to the United States in 1794.
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315355.20
accession number
13305
catalog number
315355.20
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this bell jar in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England.
Description (Brief)
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) used this bell jar in his Northumberland, Pennsylvania laboratory. Priestley, the noted chemist whose accomplishments include the discovery of oxygen, was born in England. He lived and worked in Birmingham for many years, but his views as a Dissenter and an advocate of the French Revolution incited an angry mob into burning down his house and laboratory. In 1794 he fled to America, eventually settling in Northumberland, near Philadelphia. His great-great-granddaughter, Frances Priestley, donated his surviving laboratory ware to the Smithsonian in 1883.
The transparent glass bell jar provided a useful shape for trapping and observing gases. A chemical sample could be suspended in the jar and ignited by passing a beam of focused light or heat through the glass. Any gases emitted from its burning would be collected for further study.
Glassmaker William Parker of 69 Fleet St., London or his son Samuel likely made this bell jar. The Parkers supplied Priestley with laboratory glassware free of charge, even after his move to the United States from London. Priestley wrote in a letter to Rev. Samuel Palmer, of his new home in Northumberland, Pennsylvania: “I have more advantages [in respect to experiments] than you could easily imagine in this remote place. I want hardly anything but a glass house.” Indeed, without a local supplier, getting glassware to Northumberland was quite a challenge. A letter to Samuel Parker dated January 20, 1795 details Priestley’s plan to have his most recent shipment brought from Philadelphia to Northumberland via a sleigh, “which is our best method of conveyance in winter.”
Source:
Badash, Lawrence. 1964. “Joseph Priestley’s Apparatus for Pneumatic Chemistry.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences XIX (2): 139–55. doi:10.1093/jhmas/XIX.2.139.
National Museum of American History Accession File #13305
Priestley, Joseph, and John Towill Rutt. 1817. The Theological and Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley. Vol. I Part 2. [London : Printed by G. Smallfield. http://archive.org/details/theologicalmisce0102prie.
Location
Currently not on view
used by
Priestley, Joseph
ID Number
CH.315349
accession number
13305
catalog number
315349

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.