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.

Date: 1860s

Patent Model of a Type Mold

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a mold for casting multiple pieces of type from a strip of matrices; the invention was granted patent number 40076.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a mold for casting multiple pieces of type from a strip of matrices; the invention was granted patent number 40076.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1863
patent date
1863-09-22
maker
Davis, R. W.
Davis, D.
ID Number
GA.89797.040076
patent number
040076
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.040076

Patent Model of a Type-Scouring Machine

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a type-scouring machine which was granted patent number 28899. The patent details a machine for removing the burr from the foot of newly cast type.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a type-scouring machine which was granted patent number 28899. The patent details a machine for removing the burr from the foot of newly cast type.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1860
patent date
1860-06-26
maker
Pavyer, James G.
ID Number
GA.89797.028899
patent number
028899
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.028899

Patent Model of a Typesetting Machine

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a typesetting machine which was granted patent number 57034.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a typesetting machine which was granted patent number 57034. Type was held in cases arranged radially around a rotating "receiver." As each letter was selected at a keyboard it was released to the receiver, lined up, and passed to a galley.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1866
patent date
1866-08-07
maker
Baer, Charles
ID Number
GA.89797.057034
patent number
057034
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.057034

Patent Model of an Apparatus for Type Rubbing

This patent model demonstrates an invention for an apparatus for type rubbing which was granted patent number 39940. It was particularly applicable to the type-dressing machine patented by Daniel Moore in 1855.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for an apparatus for type rubbing which was granted patent number 39940. It was particularly applicable to the type-dressing machine patented by Daniel Moore in 1855.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1863
patent date
1863-09-15
patentee
Moore, William
ID Number
GA.89797.039946
patent number
039946
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.039946

Patent Model of a Bookbinders' Standing Press

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a bookbinders standing press which was granted patent number 30243.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a bookbinders standing press which was granted patent number 30243. The press has a platen, or upper follower, lowered in the usual way by an iron screw, and a bed, or lower follower, that was raised by a rack and pinion.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1860
patent date
1860-10-02
maker
Pelletreau, Maltby K.
ID Number
GA.89797.030243
patent number
030243
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.030243

Patent Model for a Machine for Trimming Books and Paper

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a table with clamp and knives, for trimming paper to any size; the invention was granted patent number 29532.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a table with clamp and knives, for trimming paper to any size; the invention was granted patent number 29532.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1860
patent date
1860-08-07
maker
Utley, Gabriel
ID Number
GA.89797.029532
patent number
029532
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.029532

Patent Model of a Typesetting for Stereotype Plates

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a typesetter for stereotype plates which was granted patent number 52073. The invention included the use of a "perpetual font of type" for impressing letters into a plastic molding material.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a typesetter for stereotype plates which was granted patent number 52073. The invention included the use of a "perpetual font of type" for impressing letters into a plastic molding material. Type was stored in a permanent holder, each piece tied by a thin strip of metal. At the touch of a key, type fell to casting position, the faces protruding below the holder. After casting, the type was returned to the storage cell.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1866
patent date
1866-01-16
patentee
Paulding, John
ID Number
GA.89797.052073
patent number
052073
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.052073

Patent Model of a Book Clamp

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a clamp for holding books while they were backed; the invention was granted patent number 50597. Joshua Wiestling Jones (born 1831) was apprenticed to the printing and binding trades. For a time he worked with the binder W. O.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a clamp for holding books while they were backed; the invention was granted patent number 50597. Joshua Wiestling Jones (born 1831) was apprenticed to the printing and binding trades. For a time he worked with the binder W. O. Hickok and helped in building Hickok's prototype paper-ruling machine. Later he worked in public printing, particularly at the state printing house in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Jones pioneered the use of electric arc lighting in Harrisburg, one of the first American cities to adopt the system.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1865
patent date
1865-10-24
maker
Jones, Joshua W.
ID Number
GA.89797.050597
patent number
050597
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.050597

Patent Model for an Inking Apparatus for Color Printing

This patent model demonstrates an invention for an inking apparatus for color printing; the invention was granted patent number 79910. The press combines two forms on the bed of a press, one to be printed in a single color, and the other in bands of several colors.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for an inking apparatus for color printing; the invention was granted patent number 79910. The press combines two forms on the bed of a press, one to be printed in a single color, and the other in bands of several colors. Double sheets were printed, rotated, and printed again.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1868
patent date
1868-07-14
maker
Hunt, Joshua
ID Number
GA.89797.079910
accession number
089797
patent number
079910
catalog number
GA*89797.079910

Patent model for a method of making curved electrotype and stereotype plates

This patent model demonstrates an invention for the manufacture of curved printing plates from flat plates, without altering the dimensions of the printing image; the invention was granted patent number 86021.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for the manufacture of curved printing plates from flat plates, without altering the dimensions of the printing image; the invention was granted patent number 86021.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1869
patent date
1869-01-19
maker
Lovejoy, Henry W.
Ferguson, James H.
ID Number
GA.89797.086021
accession number
089797
patent number
086021
catalog number
GA*89797.086021

Patent Model of a Machine for Cutting Books in the Round

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a machine to cut books in the round which was granted patent number 35639. The machine includes rocking knives for cutting the fronts of books in the round, an operation normally performed by hand.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a machine to cut books in the round which was granted patent number 35639. The machine includes rocking knives for cutting the fronts of books in the round, an operation normally performed by hand.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1862
patent date
1862-06-17
maker
Trinks, Gregor
Heitkamp, Louis
ID Number
GA.89797.035639
patent number
035639
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.035639

Patent Model of an Apparatus for Printing on Bottles, Boxes, or Cans

This patent model demonstrates an invention for printing directly on glass or metal with elastic type instead of using the common practice of stenciling on the surface or using a paper label. The invention was granted patent number 56593.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for printing directly on glass or metal with elastic type instead of using the common practice of stenciling on the surface or using a paper label. The invention was granted patent number 56593. The rubber printing block of the patent model has hardened and perished. In 1860 Isaac Miles had bought shares in the rights of two other printing patents: Samuel Lowe's cone press (Patent 15429, 1856) and Charles Hawkes's platen press (Patent 7855, 1850).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1866
patent date
1866-07-24
maker
Miles, Isaac L.
ID Number
GA.89797.056593
patent number
056593
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.056593

Patent Model of a Type-dressing Machine

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a machine for dressing and finishing the four sides, the shoulders, and the edges of type; the invention was granted patent number 60450.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a machine for dressing and finishing the four sides, the shoulders, and the edges of type; the invention was granted patent number 60450.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1866
patent date
1866-12-11
maker
Welch, Patrick
ID Number
GA.89797.060450
patent number
060450
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.060450

Patent Model of a Typesetting and Distributing Machine

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a typesetting and distributing machine; the invention was granted patent number 85251. The patent details improvements to earlier patents taken out by Timothy Alden (1857), and Henry Alden and William Mackey (1866).
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a typesetting and distributing machine; the invention was granted patent number 85251. The patent details improvements to earlier patents taken out by Timothy Alden (1857), and Henry Alden and William Mackey (1866). This patent related to the distribution of type. It allowed for the use of any ordinary type in the distributer, instead of the special type required previously. The patent was assigned to the Alden Typesetting and Distributing Company.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1868
patent date
1868-12-22
maker
Slingerland, John T.
ID Number
GA.89797.085251
patent number
085251
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.085251

Patent Model of a Type Breaker

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a type breaker which was assigned patent number 86968. This device broke the jets from the bodies of newly cast type and was intended to be attached to a typecasting machine.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a type breaker which was assigned patent number 86968. This device broke the jets from the bodies of newly cast type and was intended to be attached to a typecasting machine. The patent was granted to Philip Heinrich, proprietor of the Ph. Heinrich type foundry in New York.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1869
patent date
1869-02-16
maker
Baer, Charles
ID Number
GA.89797.086968
patent number
086968
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.086968

Patent Model of a Machine for Cutting the Front of Books

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a machine to cut the fronts of books to a concave form; the invention was granted patent number 59229.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a machine to cut the fronts of books to a concave form; the invention was granted patent number 59229.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1866
patent date
1866-10-30
patentee
Jones, Isaac
ID Number
GA.89797.059229
patent number
059229
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.059229

Patent Model of a Bookbinder's Sewing Table

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a bookbinders' sewing table that was vertically adjustable, so the sheets could be lowered to a convenient height for the sewer as the pile grew.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a bookbinders' sewing table that was vertically adjustable, so the sheets could be lowered to a convenient height for the sewer as the pile grew. This avoided the usual practice of “putting blocks or boxes of increasing thickness in the operator's chair." The invention was granted patent number 59240.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1866
patent date
1866-10-30
maker
Lincoln, Marshall T.
ID Number
GA.89797.059240
patent number
059240
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.059240

Patent Model of a Bookbinders' Roll

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a bookbinder’s roll where the type was formed in a ring that attached to the circumference of the wheel. The invention was granted patent number 76065.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a bookbinder’s roll where the type was formed in a ring that attached to the circumference of the wheel. The invention was granted patent number 76065.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1868
patent date
1868-03-31
maker
Feely, John
ID Number
GA.89797.076065
patent number
076065
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.076065

Patent Model of a Printing Press for Uneven Surfaces

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a printing press for uneven surfaces which was granted patent number 62646. The patent describes relief printing from a vulcanized rubber plate with fluid pressure, such as air pressure.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a printing press for uneven surfaces which was granted patent number 62646. The patent describes relief printing from a vulcanized rubber plate with fluid pressure, such as air pressure. Patentee Alfred Leighton was from London, England.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1867
patent date
1867-03-05
maker
Leighton, Alfred
ID Number
GA.89797.062646
patent number
062646
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.062646

Patent Model for a Rotary Perfecting Press

This patent model demonstrates an invention for the first of a generation of fast web perfecting presses which was granted patent number 38200. On this press, unlike its successors, the paper was cut into sheets before being printed. According to Stephen D.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for the first of a generation of fast web perfecting presses which was granted patent number 38200. On this press, unlike its successors, the paper was cut into sheets before being printed. According to Stephen D. Tucker’s History of R. Hoe & Company, the web cutting knife had been used years before on a Hoe press, but the concept had not been patented.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1863
patent date
1863-04-14
maker
Bullock, William
ID Number
GA.11027
catalog number
GA*11027
accession number
49064
patent number
038200
catalog number
GA*49064.038200

Patent model for typecasting device for embossed or pointed type

This patent model demonstrates an invention for Bryant's hand mold with a double matrix, intended for the casting of "pointed type" as used by the blind. The invention was granted patent number 30293.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for Bryant's hand mold with a double matrix, intended for the casting of "pointed type" as used by the blind. The invention was granted patent number 30293. The letters (not Braille signs) in the matrices were built up from the sharp ends of wires.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1860
patent date
1860-10-09
maker
Bryant, Isaac C.
ID Number
GA.89797.030293
patent number
030293
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.030293

Bartlett Poppet Valve Gear, Patent Model

This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Louis D. Bartlett, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, January 15, 1867, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Louis D. Bartlett, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, January 15, 1867, no. 61141.
The patent refers to an engine with separate valve chests at head end and crank end, each enclosing balanced steam and exhaust poppet valves, and describes particularly the construction of the valve boxes. These are designed for simplicity of casting, machining, and accessibility but are difficult to describe without reference to the drawings in the patent specifications. The valve gear is said to be similar to one described in a patent granted to Charles H. Brown and Charles Burleigh, January 15, 1856. The valve stems are operated by short levers, which are raised and lowered by cams on a lay shaft paralleling the cylinder. The levers that operated the steam valves have variable fulcrums, which are controlled by a governor so that the steam can be cut off at any point of the stroke.
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
1867
patent date
1867-01-15
inventor
Bartlett, Louis D.
ID Number
MC.308674
catalog number
308674
accession number
89797
patent number
61,141

Patent Model for a Chromolithographic Press

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a chromolithographic press which was granted patent number 89997. The patent details a flatbed scraper machine with automatic inking, damping, feeding, and delivery.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a chromolithographic press which was granted patent number 89997. The patent details a flatbed scraper machine with automatic inking, damping, feeding, and delivery. It printed at the rate of 300 impressions per hour, with the precise registration necessary for multicolor printing.
August Hoen (1817-1886) was born in Germany and came to the United States with his family in 1835. He worked with his cousin Edward Weber in a Baltimore lithographic shop. After Weber's death in 1848 Hoen took over the company and renamed it the A. Hoen & Company. Both under Weber and Hoen, the shop specialized in manufacturers' ornamental labels, and was known for its exceptional color work. Hoen's lithocaustic process was well adapted to this work.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1869
patent date
1869-05-11
maker
Hoen, August
ID Number
GA.89797.089997
patent number
089997
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.089997

Presentation Trumpet, "James F. Gaffney"

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 James F. Gaffney and dates from the mid to late 19th century. The trumpet has a plain surface with beaded bands around the mouthpiece and upper and lower bulges in the trumpet. There is an egg and dart pattern stamped around the bell of the horn. Two gilded eagles’ heads are attached to the trumpet holding rings in their beaks that are connected by a braided purple cord with tassels on the end. There are decorative incisions around an engraving that reads “Presented to James F. Gaffney by his Friends for his Good qualities as a Fireman and his Virtues as a citizen.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1860
maker
unknown
ID Number
2005.0233.0822
accession number
2005.0233
catalog number
2005.0233.0822

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