Transportation

1955 Ford Country Squire

Americans have always been a people on the move—on rails, roads, and waterways (for travel through the air, visit the National Air and Space Museum). In the transportation collections, railroad objects range from tools, tracks, and many train models to the massive 1401, a 280-ton locomotive built in 1926. Road vehicles include coaches, buggies, wagons, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and automobiles—from the days before the Model T to modern race cars. The accessories of travel are part of the collections, too, from streetlights, gas pumps, and traffic signals to goggles and overcoats.

In the maritime collections, more than 7,000 design plans and scores of ship models show the evolution of sailing ships and other vessels. Other items range from scrimshaw, photographs, and marine paintings to life jackets from the Titanic.

Montana Fish and Game Hunter Map

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2019.0270.019
catalog number
2019.0270.019
accession number
2019.0270

1973 Vehicle Registration

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1973
ID Number
2019.0270.011
accession number
2019.0270
catalog number
2019.0270.011

World War II Military Leather Jacket

ID Number
2019.0270.021
catalog number
2019.0270.021
accession number
2019.0270

Waxed Tube Container

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2019.0270.016
accession number
2019.0270
catalog number
2019.0270.016

Kennedy Tool Box

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2019.0270.036
catalog number
2019.0270.036
accession number
2019.0270

1974 Vehicle Registration

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1974
ID Number
2019.0270.012
accession number
2019.0270
catalog number
2019.0270.012

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" draft typescript 1/10

date made
1972-1973
ID Number
2019.0270.003
catalog number
2019.0270.003
accession number
2019.0270

Spare Ignition Key

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Honda Motor Company
ID Number
2019.0270.007
catalog number
2019.0270.007
accession number
2019.0270

Timing Chain

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2019.0270.027
catalog number
2019.0270.027
accession number
2019.0270

wire cutters

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2019.0270.008
catalog number
2019.0270.008
accession number
2019.0270

1966 Honda CB77F Super Hawk

date made
1966
maker
Honda Motor Company
ID Number
2019.0270.001
catalog number
2019.0270.001
accession number
2019.0270

Motorcycle Condenser

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2019.0270.026
catalog number
2019.0270.026
accession number
2019.0270

1976 Vehicle Registration

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1976
ID Number
2019.0270.014
accession number
2019.0270
catalog number
2019.0270.014

Former President George W. Bush with President Barack Obama

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2010-01-20
2009-01-20
depicted (sitter)
Obama, Barack H.
Bush, George W.
maker
Kennerly, David Hume
ID Number
2010.0176.07
catalog number
2010.0176.07
accession number
2010.0176

Bill, Boob McNutt, and Boob McNutt's Geography

Camera-ready pen and ink drawings by Rube Goldberg for his comic series Bill, Boob McNutt, and Boob McNutt's Geography dated June 10, 1934.
Description
Camera-ready pen and ink drawings by Rube Goldberg for his comic series Bill, Boob McNutt, and Boob McNutt's Geography dated June 10, 1934. Goldberg drew for the Bill series between 1931 and 1934, for the Boob McNutt series between 1915 and 1934, and for the Boob McNutt's Geography series in 1934.
Bill tries to promote his product Thinneroo to overweight baseball players and inadvertently causes the batter's bat to become thinner and to break. Boob McNutt's Jelly Roll Bus Line takes passengers to what he thinks is Washington, D.C. Boob's Geography comic cell gives clues to the identity of a U.S. state.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
June 10, 1934
publisher
Star Company
original artist
Goldberg, Rube
ID Number
2006.0226.41
catalog number
2006.0226.41
accession number
2006.0226

NO PARKING

A "No Parking" sign from the 58th Presidential Inauguration, January 20, 2017.Currently not on view
Description
A "No Parking" sign from the 58th Presidential Inauguration, January 20, 2017.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2017-01
Associated Date
January 20, 2017
Associated Name
Trump, Donald J.
maker
District of Columbia. Department of Transportation
ID Number
2018.0159.07
accession number
2018.0159
catalog number
2018.0159.07

Car Barn Capital Transit Company

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1907
ID Number
PG.78.38.16
catalog number
78.38.16
accession number
2018.0225

Simler Turn Signal for Automobile

This turn signal was invented by Oscar J. Simler and patented in 1929. Aside from signaling turns, the device would signal for slowing when the brake was pressed, and signal a stop when the brake and clutch were both pressed.
Description
This turn signal was invented by Oscar J. Simler and patented in 1929. Aside from signaling turns, the device would signal for slowing when the brake was pressed, and signal a stop when the brake and clutch were both pressed. Turn signals were not offered to consumers purchasing cars until 1939, and they were more widespread in the late 1940s, when large numbers of car manufacturers offered them to consumers.
As more and more Americans took to the wheel, they often tinkered with their cars so that they more effectively suited their needs, or to overcome early automobiles' very obvious limitations. A users could buy kits that converted Model T's into a stationary engine, lights, turn signals, anti-theft devices, and a host of other products that the makers of auto accessories touted as essential and useful. Although not all of them worked, or were successful, some of these early add-ons, became standard features on later cars.
date made
ca. 1929
ID Number
1989.0571.01
catalog number
1989.0571.01
accession number
1989.0571

Price Numerals from Gas Station

Until the 1970s, motorists were accustomed to gasoline prices under 40 cents per gallon. The gasoline shortages of 1973-1974 and 1979 curtailed supplies in many areas and sent prices sharply higher.
Description
Until the 1970s, motorists were accustomed to gasoline prices under 40 cents per gallon. The gasoline shortages of 1973-1974 and 1979 curtailed supplies in many areas and sent prices sharply higher. Protests erupted as fill-ups became a major challenge, and sticker shock at the pump reflected new economic pressures on consumers, truckers, and retailers. At decade’s end, the real and psychological hardships associated with breaking the dollar barrier, and the timing of the second gasoline shortage in the warm weather months, were enough to reduce shopping trips and vacation trips, if only temporarily. In the 1980s gasoline was plentiful, but dollar-plus prices remained the norm. These numerals, showing $1.01 9/10 per gallon, were placed on a price sign at Closter Exxon in Closter, New Jersey. In the mid-2000s, gasoline prices exceeded $2.00 per gallon, and Glenn Bourke, the owner of Closter Exxon, stored these numerals in the gas station attic. They were donated to the National Museum of American History in 2013.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2013.0034.07
catalog number
2013.0034.07
accession number
2013.0034

Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild Trophy

This trophy was awarded to Richard R. John of Arlington, Virginia as a regional winner in the junior division for his entry in the 1963 Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild contest.
Description
This trophy was awarded to Richard R. John of Arlington, Virginia as a regional winner in the junior division for his entry in the 1963 Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild contest. Richard John entered a sleek blue metallic sports car in 1964 that earned him the $5,000 first place national scholarship.
The Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild contest was divided into junior (ages 12-16) and senior (ages 17-21) divisions. Winning designs from the state level would then compete in one of 20 regions. A junior and senior division winner was selected from each region to advance to the national level to compete for scholarships. General Motors awarded four scholarships in each division; first prize was a $5,000 scholarship, second $4,000, third $3,000 and fourth $2,000. Additionally, ten $1,000 styling awards could be presented to any model entered, regardless of whether or not it was a state or regional winner. Duplicate awards were presented to the sons of GM employees to remove any prejudice from the judging.
From 1930 until 1968, the Fisher Body Division of General Motors sponsored the Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild and its annual model-building competition. For the first seven years of the contest, the young men in the Guild built models of a Napoleonic carriage (the Fisher Body logo) to show their high precision skills in craftsmanship. In 1937 the contest expanded to include model automobiles, which became a source of inspiration for new GM automobiles. By 1948 model cars became the only accepted entry for the contest. Winning car models were both practical and stylish original designs made with superior craftsmanship on an exacting 1/12th scale. For General Motors, the competition was a major public relations success while also serving as a type of design aptitude test for the entrants. For the young men of the Guild, the contest was a chance to win scholarships, cash prizes, and an once-in-a-lifetime all-expenses paid trip to Detroit for the regional winners. Designs featured in these models would often presage production automobiles, as many winners went on to work for General Motors or other automotive companies as designers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1963
ID Number
1994.0046.01
accession number
1994.0046
catalog number
1994.0046.01

emblem, radiator

Radiator emblems are small, colorful metal plates bearing an automobile manufacturer's name or logo that attached to the radiators grilles of early automobiles.
Description
Radiator emblems are small, colorful metal plates bearing an automobile manufacturer's name or logo that attached to the radiators grilles of early automobiles. Varying in shape and size, the emblems served as a small branding device, sometimes indicating the type of engine, place of manufacturing, or using an iconic image or catchy slogan to advertise their cars make and model. This emblem is part of the collection that was donated by Hubert G. Larson in 1964.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1955
ID Number
TR.325528.268
accession number
260303
catalog number
325528.268

1950 Buick Super Sedan

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950
maker
Buick Motor Company
General Motors Corporation
ID Number
2002.0266.01.01

Richard Petty's 200th Victory Car

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1984
user
Petty, Richard
maker
Petty Enterprises
ID Number
1985.0009.01.01

Lewis and Clark Expedition Pocket Compass

In the spring of 1803, Meriwether Lewis began to purchase scientific and mathematical instruments for a pending expedition into the northwestern region of North America.
Description
In the spring of 1803, Meriwether Lewis began to purchase scientific and mathematical instruments for a pending expedition into the northwestern region of North America. Among the items he purchased from Philadelphia instrument maker Thomas Whitney were three pocket compasses for $2.50 each, and this silver-plated pocket compass for $5. It has a mahogany box, a silver-plated brass rim that is graduated to degrees and numbered in quadrants from north and south, a paper dial, two small brass sight vanes, and a leather carrying case. Whether Lewis purchased the silver compass for himself or intended it as a special gesture for William Clark is not known.
Following the instructions of President Thomas Jefferson, the Corps of Discovery, under the leadership of Lewis and Clark, ascended the Missouri River in May 1804 to obtain detailed information on the natural resources of the region, to search for a northwest passage, and to make official diplomatic contact with Indian leaders.
By the time they returned to St. Louis in September 1806, few of the instruments that were purchased for the trip had survived the journey. The pocket compass, however, was kept by Clark as a memento. He later gave the compass to his friend, Capt. Robert A. McCabe, whose heirs donated it in 1933 to the Smithsonian Institution.
Date made
ca 1804
user
Clark, William
maker
Whitney, Thomas
ID Number
PL.038366
catalog number
38366
accession number
122864

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.