Work

Gilbreth Stopwatch

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.

Place: California

Braceros at Movie Theater

Photograph: Braceros stand at the entrance to a movie theater in Watsonville, California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Braceros stand at the entrance to a movie theater in Watsonville, California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.29.42
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.29.42

Braceros Receiving Documents

Photograph: An official distributes documents among braceros outside of the San Joaquin County Farm Production Association building in Stockton, California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: An official distributes documents among braceros outside of the San Joaquin County Farm Production Association building in Stockton, California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.39.24
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.39.24

Braceros Receiving Paychecks

Photograph: An official distributes paychecks to braceros outside an office in California.
Description
Photograph: An official distributes paychecks to braceros outside an office in California.
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.44.17
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.44.17

Braceros at Association Office

Photograph: Two officials speak with each other while braceros wait in an office in Stockton, California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Two officials speak with each other while braceros wait in an office in Stockton, California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.24.14
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.24.14

Braceros at Camp

Photograph: Braceros walk outside their living quarters at the Gondo Labor Camp in Watsonville, California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Braceros walk outside their living quarters at the Gondo Labor Camp in Watsonville, California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.27.30
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.27.30

Braceros Walking in Field

Photograph: Braceros walk over a field in crepuscular light in California.
Description
Photograph: Braceros walk over a field in crepuscular light in California.
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.54.04
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.54.04

Braceros in Field

Photograph: Braceros sit at the edge of a field in California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Braceros sit at the edge of a field in California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.45.04
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.45.04

Bracero at Doctor's Office

Photograph: Dr. Stanley Savoy examines a bracero's back to check for respiratory illness in his clinical practice in the Salinas Valley, California.
Description
Photograph: Dr. Stanley Savoy examines a bracero's back to check for respiratory illness in his clinical practice in the Salinas Valley, California.
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.51.17
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.51.17

Doble Water Wheel, Patent Model

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

Pacific Steam Whaleship Orca

The steam whaler Orca was built at San Francisco in 1882 specifically for the Pacific and Arctic whale fisheries.
Description
The steam whaler Orca was built at San Francisco in 1882 specifically for the Pacific and Arctic whale fisheries. By the late 19th century, the Atlantic whale was too scarce due to overhunting, and whaling had moved almost completely to distant western waters to exploit the remaining whales.
Measuring 177 feet in length and 628 tons, Orca had a 280-HP steam engine for propulsion. It also had a full suit of auxiliary sails for backup and fuel conservation. When built, Orca was the largest auxiliary steam whaler in the United States.
The bark-rigged vessel was heavily built and braced, with a strongly raked bow to work in the Arctic ice pack. The heavy timbers and bow shape allowed it to be driven up onto the ice, where its weight helped to break through. Orca’s propeller had two blades so it could be aligned vertically with the stern timbers when not in use in order to protect it from the ice.
Information collected by Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Conn. indicates that Orca, along with many other Pacific whalers, resorted to shanghaiing, or acquiring crewmen from agents ashore who forced potential crewmen onto their ships in various ways. With around two dozen whaleships clearing San Francisco each year for the Pacific whaling grounds, the need for crewmen was great.
Date made
1894
reference material
Mystic Seaport Museum
ID Number
TR.076237
catalog number
076237
accession number
028022

Braceros Washing Up

Photograph: Braceros wash up in a bathroom at a camp in California.a Californian camp.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Braceros wash up in a bathroom at a camp in California.
a Californian camp.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.38.07
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.38.07

Braceros in Lettuce Field

Photograph: Braceros load lettuce while men assemble lettuce boxes in a field in the Salinas Valley, California.
Description
Photograph: Braceros load lettuce while men assemble lettuce boxes in a field in the Salinas Valley, California.
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.43.10
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.43.10

Bracero in Field

Photograph: A bracero sits at the edge of a field in California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: A bracero sits at the edge of a field in California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.50.01
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.50.01

Vendor at Bracero Camp

Photograph: Braceros gather around a vendor and his car at a camp in the Salinas Valley, California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Braceros gather around a vendor and his car at a camp in the Salinas Valley, California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.24.30
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.24.30

Braceros Waiting for Doctor

Photograph: Braceros sit in a waiting room at the clinical practice of Dr. Stanley Savoy in the Salinas Valley, California, while a nurse takes a bracero's temperature.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Braceros sit in a waiting room at the clinical practice of Dr. Stanley Savoy in the Salinas Valley, California, while a nurse takes a bracero's temperature.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.47.08
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.47.08

Braceros Picking Lettuce

Photograph: Braceros pick heads of lettuce and place them in Toro lettuce boxes in a field in the Salinas Valley, California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Braceros pick heads of lettuce and place them in Toro lettuce boxes in a field in the Salinas Valley, California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.40.27
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.40.27

Braceros at Meal Time

Photograph: Braceros are served food in a dining hall at a camp in California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Braceros are served food in a dining hall at a camp in California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.47.24
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.47.24

Braceros Playing Cards

Photograph: Braceros sit on a bed and play cards while others sit and stand nearby in a living quarter at a camp in California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Braceros sit on a bed and play cards while others sit and stand nearby in a living quarter at a camp in California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.44.28
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.44.28

Braceros Playing Checkers

Photograph: Two braceros sit outside and play checkers at a camp in California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: Two braceros sit outside and play checkers at a camp in California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.46.07
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.46.07

Braceros in Living Quarter

Photograph: Braceros sit on their beds in a wooden living quarter at a camp in California.
Description
Photograph: Braceros sit on their beds in a wooden living quarter at a camp in California.
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.22.21
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.22.21

Braceros in Living Quarter

Photograph: Braceros sit and lie on their beds while one writes a letter and another reads a book in a living quarter at a camp in California.
Description
Photograph: Braceros sit and lie on their beds while one writes a letter and another reads a book in a living quarter at a camp in California.
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.51.06
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.51.06

Braceros in Lettuce Field

Photograph: A man on a truck uses a machine to assemble Cookie lettuce boxes, which braceros pick up to fill with lettuce in a field in California.Currently not on view
Description
Photograph: A man on a truck uses a machine to assemble Cookie lettuce boxes, which braceros pick up to fill with lettuce in a field in California.
Location
Currently not on view
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.56.28
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.56.28

Dial Soap bar, 1990s

This bar of soap was sold at the El Monte company store. Shop operators forced workers to buy food and personal items from them at inflated prices.
Description
This bar of soap was sold at the El Monte company store. Shop operators forced workers to buy food and personal items from them at inflated prices. The soap was seized during a well-publicized 1995 sweatshop raid and is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation.
On August 2, 1995, police officers raided a fenced seven-unit apartment complex in El Monte, California. They arrested eight operators of a clandestine garment sweatshop and freed 72 workers who were being forced to sew garments in virtual captivity. Smuggled from Thailand into the United States, the laborers’ plight brought a national spotlight to domestic sweatshop production and resulted in increased enforcement by federal and state labor agencies. The publicity of the El Monte raid also put added pressure on the apparel industry to reform its labor and business practices domestically and internationally.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
Late 20th Century
1990s
ID Number
1997.0268.19
accession number
1997.0268
catalog number
1997.0268.19

Bracero Standing in Field

Photograph: A bracero stands in a field in California.
Description
Photograph: A bracero stands in a field in California.
date photographed
1956
photographer
Nadel, Leonard
ID Number
2004.0138.56.14
accession number
2004.0138
catalog number
2004.0138.56.14

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