Work

The tools, rules, and relationships of the workplace illustrate some of the enduring collaborations and conflicts in the everyday life of the nation. The Museum has more than 5,000 traditional American tools, chests, and simple machines for working wood, stone, metal, and leather. Materials on welding, riveting, and iron and steel construction tell a more industrial version of the story. Computers, industrial robots, and other artifacts represent work in the Information Age.

But work is more than just tools. The collections include a factory gate, the motion-study photographs of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, and more than 3,000 work incentive posters. The rise of the factory system is measured, in part, by time clocks in the collections. More than 9,000 items bring in the story of labor unions, strikes, and demonstrations over trade and economic issues.

This patent model demonstrates an invention for an improvement on known methods of shading lithographic drawings with molded gelatine sheets, as by the Ben Day method. The invention was granted patent number 432994.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for an improvement on known methods of shading lithographic drawings with molded gelatine sheets, as by the Ben Day method. The invention was granted patent number 432994.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
patent date
1890-07-29
maker
Fausel, Daniel
ID Number
GA.89797.432994
accession number
089797
patent number
432994
catalog number
GA*87979.432994
This patent model demonstrates an invention for methods of making photomechanical or other prints resemble original photographs.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for methods of making photomechanical or other prints resemble original photographs. The invention was granted patent number 493850.
Tonal photomechanical reproductions had an objectionable coarseness because of the perceptible pattern of the halftone screen. By this invention, screened plates-either bearing an image or blank-were printed several times slightly out of register with each other, softening the effect of the screen. The key impression of the image would be made first in a dark ink with a heavy body, and then the other impressions in paler or lighter-bodied inks. To imitate sepia photographs, later impressions were made in brown tinted inks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1893
patent date
1893-03-21
patentee
Woodward, Charles B.
ID Number
GA.89797.493850
patent number
493850
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.493850
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
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a type mold which was granted patent number 450083.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a type mold which was granted patent number 450083. The patent details a mold for casting type with letters on both ends, or "duplex-lettered type." Such type was used in printing for the blind, though no particular application is specified for this patent.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1891
patent date
1891-04-07
maker
Mitchell, Thomas
Milne, John
ID Number
GA.89797.450083
patent number
450083
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.450083
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Richard L. Frost, of Battle Creek, Michigan, February 11, 1890, no. 421355. The patent was assigned to the Union Manufacturing Co.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Richard L. Frost, of Battle Creek, Michigan, February 11, 1890, no. 421355. The patent was assigned to the Union Manufacturing Co. of the same place.
The model represents a section through the steam cylinder, piston, and steam valve of a direct-connected steam water pump. The valve is a steam-actuated piston valve so designed that an increase in the exhaust pressure cannot act on the valve as to entirely close the live-steam port and stop the engine.
The valve is a piston slide valve that admits live steam at its ends through a hollow section to the cylinder steam ports close to the middle of the valve. The exhaust is to the center. Formed on the ends of the piston valve are enlarged pistons which closely fit cylinders provided for them. Ports in these cylinders are so connected to the main cylinder ports and the main cylinder that pressure on one end serves practically to balance the valve, while pressure on the other end actuates the valve. The main piston is relatively long and has an annular depression between its two ends. The space thus formed between the piston ends and the cylinder in combination with ports in the cylinder acts to supply steam to the valve cylinder to actuate the valve.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890
patent date
1890-02-11
inventor
Frost, Richard L.
ID Number
MC.308718
catalog number
308718
accession number
89797
patent number
421,355
Ships’ steam whistles were powered by steam lines from the boilers. They were used to signal other ships or the shore, to announce a vessel’s presence or its intentions.
Description
Ships’ steam whistles were powered by steam lines from the boilers. They were used to signal other ships or the shore, to announce a vessel’s presence or its intentions. Whistles were especially useful when approaching or leaving a port or landing, or in foggy or dark waters.
This whistle originally belonged to the 1895 Army Corps of Engineers towboat Gen. H. L. Abbot, built at Jeffersonville, Ind. and named after a famous general in the U. S. Army Corps. In 1906 it was renamed Gen. J. H. Simpson, after another Army Corps staff. The vessel was dismantled in 1919.
The cabin fittings, the ship’s wheel, and the whistle were purchased by Edward Heckmann for his new Missouri River packet boat, the John Heckmann. The Heckmann was 165’ long and 30’-6” in beam but only drew 4’-6” of water. Uniquely, the Heckmann had two independently operated or “split” sternwheels, which provided much greater maneuverability than a single, wide sternwheel could offer. Its boilers came from the hulk of the steamer Majestic, which had wrecked in 1914 at Chain of Rocks, St. Louis. The Heckmann’s engines were acquired from the obsolete Army Corps sternwheel towboats Aux Vasse and Isle de Bois. Employed in the packet trade between St Louis and Jefferson City, the Heckmann lost money because of competition from the railroads.
The John Heckmann was later converted to a Missouri River 1,200-passenger excursion boat by the Heckmann family. Operating on the Missouri as far north as Sioux City, Iowa, its normal summer route was between Kansas City and Omaha, Nebraska. In winter, it resumed packet service on the Cumberland, Tennessee, Illinois, and Ohio Rivers. Wrecked in an ice breakup at its homeport of Hermann, Mo. in 1928, it was dismantled.
date made
1895
purchased whistle
Heckmann, Edward
ID Number
1979.0542.01
accession number
1979.0542
catalog number
1979.0542.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1897
ID Number
2016.0140.01
catalog number
2016.0140.01
accession number
2016.0140
Hand-inking lever press, made by William Clark and Joshua Daughaday, Philadelphia, 1876.The Model press was invented and patented in 1874 by William Clark, Philadelphia, who went into business for its production with Joshau Daughaday, a publisher.
Description (Brief)
Hand-inking lever press, made by William Clark and Joshua Daughaday, Philadelphia, 1876.
The Model press was invented and patented in 1874 by William Clark, Philadelphia, who went into business for its production with Joshau Daughaday, a publisher. The press was intended for tradesmen and amateurs (including children), two groups outside the ordinary printing trade. It came in a range of sizes and models, from hand-inking card presses to full-sized job presses, and was produced well into the twentieth century.
Donated by Mr. & Mrs. Herbert Gilder, 1996
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1890
maker
Daughaday, William
Clark, William
Clark, William
ID Number
1996.0034.01
accession number
1996.0034
catalog number
1996.0034.01
The model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Ila N. Moore, of Battle Creek, Michigan, June 23, 1891, no.
Description
The model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Ila N. Moore, of Battle Creek, Michigan, June 23, 1891, no. 454753.
The feature of this pump power is a piston with steam ports in the piston leading to the ends of the cylinder and a valve fitted to slide on the elongated and reduced barrel of the spool-shaped piston controlling the admission of steam through the steam ports. The object is to provide a steam pump requiring no steam chest. Steam is admitted at the center of the cylinder through two short passages connecting directly with the steam pipe. Exhaust is to a chamber on the opposite side of the cylinder. A hollow tail rod, gland, and housing form part of the exhaust passage. The piston valve, which slides on the barrel of the piston, is actuated in part by the pressure of the steam and in part by the motion of the piston. Packing rings on the outside of the valve heads operate across the steam inlet ports in the cylinder wall and the lands between grooves in the bore of the valve operate across the ports in the piston barrel.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1891
patent date
1891-06-23
inventor
Moore, Ila N.
ID Number
MC.308717
catalog number
308717
accession number
89797
patent number
454,753
This injector was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Horace B. Murdock, of Detroit, Michigan, November 11, 1890, no.
Description
This injector was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Horace B. Murdock, of Detroit, Michigan, November 11, 1890, no. 440183; assigned to the American Injector Co.
This is a double injector having two force tubes arranged in parallel order and operated with a single actuating shaft. The overflow valves as well as the steam valves of the two sets of tubes are operated by the same shaft so that the steam valve of the first set opens in advance of the steam valve of the second set and the overflow valve of the first set closes in advance of the second set. The stems of all conical plug valves are extended outside of the injector shell and are provided with slotted ends by which they may be turned with a suitable tool to grind upon the valve seats.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890
patent date
1890-11-11
inventor
Murdock, Horace B.
ID Number
MC.309186
catalog number
309186
accession number
89797
patent number
440,183
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a balancing ball on a weighing scale; the invention was granted patent number 534839.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a balancing ball on a weighing scale; the invention was granted patent number 534839.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1870
ca 1895
patent date
1895-02-26
maker
Heyer, Charles A.
ID Number
1997.0198.19
catalog number
1997.0198.19
accession number
1997.0198
The frontpiece (also known as shield or badge) of firefighting helmets has been a distinctive part of the American firefighter’s helmet since it was developed by Henry Gratacap in the early 19th century. These frontpieces displayed a variety of information.
Description (Brief)
The frontpiece (also known as shield or badge) of firefighting helmets has been a distinctive part of the American firefighter’s helmet since it was developed by Henry Gratacap in the early 19th century. These frontpieces displayed a variety of information. The fire company's name and number appeared, often alongside the city or town where it was based. The frontpiece could also include the owner's initials and rank. Most fire helmets had leather frontpieces, but frontpieces could also be made of metal, especially on presentation helmets or those worn in parades.
This metal frontpiece was made by the Jahn and Oliver Engraving Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania around 1895. The front piece is made entirely of metal, with the overlapping monogram “VFA” in brass in the center. The initials “VFA” stands for the Veteran Firemen’s Association of Philadelphia, that was formed in 1887 after the volunteer firemen ceased active service in an effort to continue the foster camaraderie among veteran firefighters.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1895
maker
Jahn and Oliver Engraving Company
ID Number
2005.0233.1483
accession number
2005.0233
catalog number
2005.0233.1483
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to William A. Doble, of San Francisco, California, February 7, 1899, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to William A. Doble, of San Francisco, California, February 7, 1899, no. 619149.
The model represents a small sector of the rotor of a water wheel to which are attached three buckets, which illustrate, generally, the characteristics of the modern [1930s] tangential water-wheel bucket, i. e., the notched lip, the splitter wedge, the curved face and back, and the method of attaching the buckets to the rotor.
The feature of this particular bucket is the form of the curved faces, which are designed to disturb the jets of water as little as possible in any way except in the plane of the wheel’s rotation. The curves are developed upon the theory that the water moving at high velocity has a tendency to remain in one plane, called “kinetic stability”, so that the resultant angles of reaction caused by the reversing curves of the bucket faces are not a normal result of these curves but are divergent therefrom.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1899
patent date
1899-02-07
inventor
Doble, William A.
ID Number
MC.309207
catalog number
309207
accession number
89797
patent number
619,149
This model represents the fishing schooner Dauntless, built at Essex, Mass., about 1855. Its hull is of the “sharpshooter” type, meaning the bottom has a sharp V-shape, as distinct from the rounded hulls of most fishing craft built in New England.
Description
This model represents the fishing schooner Dauntless, built at Essex, Mass., about 1855. Its hull is of the “sharpshooter” type, meaning the bottom has a sharp V-shape, as distinct from the rounded hulls of most fishing craft built in New England. The model shows the typical deck arrangement for a schooner sailing to or from the offshore fishing grounds, with the dory boats nested together and lashed bottom-up on the deck. All of the sails are set, including the jib and flying jib on the vessel’s long bowsprit.
Fishing on the shallow banks stretching from Georges Bank east of Massachusetts to the Grand Bank off the coast of Newfoundland was a dangerous enterprise. Thousands of lives were lost in the race to catch more fish and deliver them to market before the competition. The demand for fast schooners led to designs that favored speed over safety. The Dauntless is an example of a mid-century schooner with a fast hull and a great deal of sail. The sailing rig would have required crewmen to venture out on the bowsprit to furl the jib, a dangerous proposition, especially in rough weather.
Details of what happened to the Dauntless and its crew in September 1870 are unknown. But the schooner was lost at sea with all hands aboard, while making a passage to the Bay of St. Lawrence from Gloucester. Those lost included Jas. G. Craig, master, John La Pierre, Martin Costello, John Todd Jr., George Todd, Daniel Herrick, Edward Smith, James Smith, James Welch, George Goodwin, and two others, whose names are unknown.
Date made
1894
date made
1855
model built
ca 1855
schooner was lost at sea
1870-09
master of schooner's crew
Craig, Jas. G.
sailor
La Pierre, John
Costello, Martin
Todd, Jr., John
Todd, George
Herrick, Daniel
Smith, Edward
Smith, James
Welch, James
Goodwin, George
ID Number
TR.076244
catalog number
076244
accession number
028022
This injector was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Louis Schutte, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 9, 1892, no.
Description
This injector was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Louis Schutte, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 9, 1892, no. 468698.
This is a double-tube injector in which water is delivered by one set of tubes, or nozzles, generally known as the lifting tubes into another set generally known as forcing tubes through which the water is forced into the boiler. The peculiar feature of this injector is a means of increasing or reducing the area of the opening of the steam nozzle of the lifting tubes, by which the quantity of water discharged by the injector is controlled without in any way interfering with the operating mechanism for starting and stopping the injector.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1892
patent date
1892-02-09
inventor
Schutte, Louis
ID Number
MC.309010
catalog number
309010
accession number
89797
patent number
468,698
As the United States expanded westward in the 1800s, the Great Lakes and inland rivers provided a route for transportation, commerce, and communication. Before railroads, waterways were a primary means of transporting bulk cargoes and heavy loads.
Description
As the United States expanded westward in the 1800s, the Great Lakes and inland rivers provided a route for transportation, commerce, and communication. Before railroads, waterways were a primary means of transporting bulk cargoes and heavy loads. Indeed, the first locomotive used in Chicago was shipped there by a Great Lakes schooner in 1837. Stretching from Buffalo, New York, to Duluth, Minnesota, and spotted along the way with port cities such as Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee, the Great Lakes brought thousands of people into the Midwest and in turn carried out the crops, lumber, and raw minerals produced in the region.
Schooners like the Ed McWilliams dominated the Great Lakes trade for much of the 19th century. Designed with a shallow hull for operating in small, inland harbors, Lakes schooners like the Ed McWilliams were also built with a long middle section to accommodate large loads of cargo.
Constructed in 1893 at West Bay City, Michigan, the Ed McWilliams was managed by John A. Francombe. Like most of his crew, Francombe immigrated to the United States in the middle of the century, he from England and the crew more likely from Scandinavia, Germany, or Ireland. The Ed McWilliams was one of thousands of vessels sailing on the Great Lakes in the 1800s, carrying cargoes of wheat, corn, iron ore, coal, and timber.
Date made
1978
date Ed McWilliams was built
1893
managed the Ed McWilliams
Francombe, John A.
ID Number
TR.336150
catalog number
336150
accession number
1978.0383
As more American volunteer fire fighting companies began to form during the late 18th century, a need emerged for better organized efforts in combating conflagrations.
Description (Brief)
As more American volunteer fire fighting companies began to form during the late 18th century, a need emerged for better organized efforts in combating conflagrations. Engineers and officers would use “speaking trumpets” to amplify their voices over the noise and commotion of a fire scene to direct the company in effectively fighting the blaze. Two trumpet variants are reflected in the collection: plain and functional “working” trumpets that were actively used at fires, and highly decorated “presentation” trumpets. Presentation trumpets were awarded to firefighters in honor of their service, or between fire companies during visits, competitions, and musters.
This brass speaking trumpet was presented to the Ringgold Hose Company of Newburgh, New York in 1896. The trumpet is decorated with geometric patterns, a paisley design on the rim, semi-circle cartouches around the bell, and an oval cartouche in the center of the shaft. One cartouche has an inscription that reads “Many Happy Days.” Two cartouches on opposite sides of the bell feature an engraved image of two crossed ladders and a crossed fire axe and hook all behind a fire helmet. The cartouche on the shaft has an inscription that reads “Presented to the Ringgold Hose Co. of/ Newburgh NY/ by the Volunteer Fireman's Association/ of Philadelphia Dec. 25, 1896.” Above the inscription are two fire nozzles spraying water with two crossed hooks and ladders all above a fire helmet. Two rings are held in the beaks of eagles that are attached to the shaft.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1896
maker
unknown
ID Number
2005.0233.0906
accession number
2005.0233
catalog number
2005.0233.0906
As more American volunteer fire fighting companies began to form during the late 18th century, a need emerged for better organized efforts in combating conflagrations.
Description (Brief)
As more American volunteer fire fighting companies began to form during the late 18th century, a need emerged for better organized efforts in combating conflagrations. Engineers and officers would use “speaking trumpets” to amplify their voices over the noise and commotion of a fire scene to direct the company in effectively fighting the blaze. Two trumpet variants are reflected in the collection: plain and functional “working” trumpets that were actively used at fires, and highly decorated “presentation” trumpets. Presentation trumpets were awarded to firefighters in honor of their service, or between fire companies during visits, competitions, and musters.
This silver plated speaking trumpet was presented to the Firemen’s Exempt Association by the Liberty Steam Fire Engine Company, both of Paterson, New Jersey in 1890. The three sections of the trumpet are connected by bulging bands with decorated engravings. The upper section of the trumpet has a floral engraving. The center section of the trumpet has an oval cartouche containing an inscription that is surrounded by floral engravings. The inscription reads “Presented by Liberty S.F.E. Co. No. 7 to the Firemen’s Exempt Assoc. 1890, Patterson, N.J.” The bell of the trumpet has an engraving of a fire engine that is surrounded by floral engravings. An orange braided cord with tassels is attached to the trumpet by rings going through miniature fire helmets. The Firemen’s Exempt Association was a group formed to foster camaraderie between volunteer firemen after they had ceased participating in active duty, and fraternal visits between active fire companies and veterans groups were common practice in 19th century fire service.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890
maker
unknown
ID Number
2005.0233.0824
accession number
2005.0233
catalog number
2005.0233.0824
The skipjack is the last in a long line of sailing craft designed for work in the Chesapeake Bay oyster industry.
Description
The skipjack is the last in a long line of sailing craft designed for work in the Chesapeake Bay oyster industry. First built in the late 1800s, this sloop-rigged, single masted vessel was easy to maneuver even in light winds, and its V-shaped hull allowed oystermen to work in shallow waters. This model represents the Gertrude Wands, a skipjack built by John Branford on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1899. It is named after a little girl who lived in the community of Inverness.
Like bugeyes, skipjacks were built for oyster dredging under sail. But unlike the round-bottomed bugeye, the skipjack had a V-shaped hull, which was easier to build and did not require the huge logs of the traditional bugeye. Skipjacks were also smaller than bugeyes, ranging in size from 25 to 50 feet.
By the early 20th century, skipjacks had replaced bugeyes and were the main dredging craft on the bay. An 1865 Maryland law restricting dredging to sail-powered vessels ensured the continued use of sailing craft for oystering. Only in 1967 was the law amended to allow the use of a gasoline-powered push boat on Mondays and Tuesdays of each week. A push boat is shown on davits at the stern (back) of this model.
Maryland’s skipjacks are the last commercial fishing boats operating under sail in North America. In 1985, the skipjack was named Maryland’s official state boat. With the steep decline of the oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay, most skipjacks have become floating classrooms for public education programs about the bay. Several have been donated to museums for preservation. Still, many people who live in the Chesapeake region harbor a sense of longing and nostalgia for the days when the large white sails of skipjacks filled the horizon.
date made
1968
date Gertrude Wands was built
1899
built Gertrude Wands
Branford, John
ID Number
TR.328687
accession number
276670
catalog number
328687
This patent model demonstrates an invention for hollow metal furniture (printers' spacing material), which was granted patent number 508263.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for hollow metal furniture (printers' spacing material), which was granted patent number 508263.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1893
patent date
1893-11-07
maker
Wolfe, Jacob C.
ID Number
1996.0062.19
catalog number
1996.0062.19
accession number
1996.0062
patent number
508263
Scotsman Alexander McDougall (1845-1924) was a ship captain on the Great Lakes when he patented the idea of a “whaleback” ship in the early 1880s. With low, rounded hulls, decks and deckhouses, his invention minimized water and wind resistance.
Description
Scotsman Alexander McDougall (1845-1924) was a ship captain on the Great Lakes when he patented the idea of a “whaleback” ship in the early 1880s. With low, rounded hulls, decks and deckhouses, his invention minimized water and wind resistance. Between 1887 and 1898, 44 whalebacks were produced: 23 were barges and 21 were steamships, including one passenger vessel.
Frank Rockefeller was the 36th example of the type, built in 1896 at a cost of $181,573.38 at McDougall’s American Steel Barge Company in Superior, WI. One of the larger examples of the type, Rockefeller measured 380 feet in length, drew 26 feet of water depth and had a single propeller.
Although it belonged to several different owners over its 73-year working life, the Rockefeller spent most of its early life transporting iron ore from mines in Lake Superior to steel mills along the shores of Lake Erie. In 1927, new owners put it in service as a sand dredge that hauled landfill sand for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. From 1936-1942 the old ship saw service as a car carrier for another set of owners. In 1942 the ship wrecked in Lake Michigan, but wartime demand for shipping gave the old ship repairs, a new name (Meteor) and a new life as a tanker transporting petroleum products for more than 25 years. In 1969 Meteor ran aground off the Michigan coast, Instead of repairing the old ship, the owners sold it for a museum ship at Superior, WI. In poor condition today, Meteor is the last surviving example of McDougal’s whaleback or “pig boat”.
Date made
1961
date the Frank Rockefeller was built
1896
patentee of whaleback ships
McDougall, Alexander
company that built the Frank Rockefeller
American Steel Barge Company
ID Number
TR.318433
catalog number
318433
accession number
236171
This patent model demonstrates an invention for printers' quoins combined with sidesticks, adjusted by wedge-shaped nuts; the invention was granted patent number 483792.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for printers' quoins combined with sidesticks, adjusted by wedge-shaped nuts; the invention was granted patent number 483792.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1892
patent date
1892-10-04
patentee
Schmid, Ernest A.
Schmid, Adolph G.
ID Number
GA.89797.483792
patent number
483792
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.483792
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a method of cleaning and surfacing aluminum plates to give them a better printing surface. The invention was granted patent number 590966.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a method of cleaning and surfacing aluminum plates to give them a better printing surface. The invention was granted patent number 590966.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1897
patent date
1897-10-05
patentee
Cornwall, George R.
ID Number
GA.89797.590966
accession number
089797
patent number
590966
catalog number
GA*89797.590966
The Keuffel & Esser Company of New York manufactured and sold this anemometer during the late 19th century.
Description
The Keuffel & Esser Company of New York manufactured and sold this anemometer during the late 19th century. Keuffel & Esser was a large manufacturer of scientific measuring instruments starting in the middle of the 19th century and is well-represented in the collections across the museum. Anemometers measured the velocity of the air currents in mines and tunnels. Ventilation in mines kept dangerous gasses from building up and causing explosions, and anemometers could measure if the airflow was sufficient to ventilate them mine.
Engineers used anemometers to understand the interior air flow of mines. They designed complex ventilation systems with fans and interior doors to keep dangerous gases from building up and causing explosions.
date made
1860 - 1899
ID Number
AG.MHI-MN-9784B
catalog number
MHI-MN-9784B
accession number
304880

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