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: 1970s

USO boonie Hat

Rivera gave this hat to USO performer Gilda Mirós when she toured Vietnam in 1971.
Description
Rivera gave this hat to USO performer Gilda Mirós when she toured Vietnam in 1971. The infantryman shared his hat out of appreciation and a sense of common cultural heritage with Mirós, who was born in Puerto Rico.
Gilda Mirós moved from Santurce, Puerto Rico to New York City with her mother at a young age. Intrigued by film and theater, in 1957 she left home after graduating high school and moved to Mexico City to work in the Mexican film industry. A multi-talented performer, she had careers not only on film and in the theater but also on radio and television. She hosted her own call-in program on WADO in NY and worked in front and behind the cameras at WXTV-41 (SIN and Univision) and WNJU-47 (Telemundo) She also promoted talent, working with stars such as Celia Cruz, and made several documentaries. The objects in her collection illustrate her transnational career.
In the 1950s, consumers made television the centerpiece of the home, fueling competition among broadcasters to create new products, new programming, new stations, and even new networks. Innovators, such as those behind the creation of independent Spanish-language stations and eventually the Spanish International Network (SIN), challenged established broadcasting companies by creating new programming in Spanish and catering to underserved audiences. Established in the early 1960s, SIN knit together independents and created new stations to serve a national audience. With a complex business and legal history, SIN eventually became Univision in the 1980s. In the decades after 1980, Spanish-language programing options grew with recognition of Latinx communities as powerful consumer groups and the advent of new broadcasting technologies such as cable and digital TV.
Description (Spanish)
Un soldado de apellido Rivera le obsequió este sombrero a Gilda Mirós durante una gira de la artista de USO por Vietnam en 1971. El soldado le regalo su sombrero en agradecimiento y en reconocimiento su herencia cultural común con Mirós, nacida en Puerto Rico.
Gilda Mirós se mudó de Santurce, Puerto Rico a la ciudad de Nueva York con su madre, aun siendo una niña. Intrigada por el cine y el teatro, en 1957 dejó el hogar después de graduarse de la escuela secundaria y se mudó a la Ciudad de México para trabajar en la industria cinematográfica mexicana. Intérprete de múltiples talentos, se destaco en el cine y el teatro al igual que en la radio y la televisión. Condujo su propio programa radial con llamadas al aire en la radio WADO de Nueva York y trabajó detrás y frente a las cámaras en WXTV-41 (SIN y Univision) y WNJU-47 (Telemundo). Se dedicó a promover el talento artístico, trabajando con estrellas como Celia Cruz, y realizó varios documentales. Los objetos que integran su colección ilustran su carrera internacional.
En la década de 1950, los consumidores hicieron de la televisión un componente central de sus hogares, fomentando la competencia entre las difusoras para crear nuevos productos, nueva programación, nuevas estaciones, e incluso nuevas redes. Los innovadores, como los creadores de los canales independientes de habla hispana y el Spanish International Network (SIN), desafiaron a las emisoras establecidas creando nuevos programas en español centradas en audiencias históricamente ignoradas. Establecido a principios de los sesenta, SIN unió a difusoras independentes y creó nuevas estaciones para responder a una audiencia nacional. Tras una compleja trayectoria empresarial y legal, SIN se convertiría en Univisión en la década de 1980. Durante las próximas décadas, las opciones de programación en español crecieron gracias al reconocimiento de la comunidad Latinx, como poderoso grupo de consumidores, y a la introducción de nuevas tecnologías de difusión, como el cable y la televisión digital.
date made
ca 1971
related
United Service Organizations
ID Number
2016.0233.02
catalog number
2016.0233.02
accession number
2016.0233

USO tour Hat

Performer and journalist Gilda Mirós wore this cap when she toured with the USO in Vietnam in 1971. Born in Puerto Rico, Mirós moved to New York City with her mother at a young age.
Description
Performer and journalist Gilda Mirós wore this cap when she toured with the USO in Vietnam in 1971. Born in Puerto Rico, Mirós moved to New York City with her mother at a young age. Intrigued by film and theater, she left home as a teen and moved to Mexico City to work in the Mexican film industry. A multi-talented performer, she had careers not only on film and in the theater but also on radio and television. She hosted her own call-in program on WADO in NY and worked in front and behind the cameras at WXTV-41 (SIN and Univision) and WNJU-47 (Telemundo). She also promoted talent, working with stars such as Celia Cruz, and made several documentaries.
In the 1950s, consumers made television the centerpiece of the home, fueling competition among broadcasters to create new products, new programming, new stations, and even new networks. Innovators, such as those behind the creation of independent Spanish-language stations and eventually the Spanish International Network (SIN), challenged established broadcasting companies by creating new programming in Spanish and catering to underserved audiences. Established in the early 1960s, SIN knit together independents and created new stations to serve a national audience. With a complex business and legal history, SIN eventually became Univision in the 1980s. In the decades after 1980, Spanish-language programing options grew with recognition of Latinx communities as powerful consumer groups and the advent of new broadcasting technologies such as cable and digital TV.
Description (Spanish)
La artista y periodista Gilda Mirós usó esta gorra cuando estuvo de gira con la USO en Vietnam en 1971. Nacida en Santruce, Puerto Rico, Mirós se mudó de pequeña a la ciudad de Nueva York con su madre. Intrigada por el cine y el teatro, se mudó sola a la Ciudad de México cuando era adolescente para trabajar en la industria cinematográfica mexicana. Intérprete de múltiples talentos, se destaco en el cine y el teatro al igual que en la radio y la televisión. Condujo su propio programa radial con llamadas al aire en la radio WADO de Nueva York y trabajó detrás y frente a las cámaras en WXTV-41 (SIN y Univision) y WNJU-47 (Telemundo). También se dedicó a promover el talento artístico, trabajando con estrellas como Celia Cruz, y realizó varios documentales.
En la década de 1950, los consumidores hicieron de la televisión un componente central de sus hogares, fomentando la competencia entre las difusoras para crear nuevos productos, nueva programación, nuevas estaciones, e incluso nuevas redes. Los innovadores, como los creadores de los canales independientes de habla hispana y el Spanish International Network (SIN), desafiaron a las emisoras establecidas creando nuevos programas en español centradas en audiencias históricamente ignoradas. Establecido a principios de los sesenta, SIN unió a difusoras independentes y creó nuevas estaciones para responder a una audiencia nacional. Tras una compleja trayectoria empresarial y legal, SIN se convertiría en Univisión en la década de 1980. Durante las próximas décadas, las opciones de programación en español crecieron gracias al reconocimiento de la comunidad Latinx, como poderoso grupo de consumidores, y a la introducción de nuevas tecnologías de difusión, como el cable y la televisión digital.
date made
ca 1971
related
United Service Organizations
ID Number
2016.0233.01
catalog number
2016.0233.01
accession number
2016.0233

Women Unite!

A pro-women posterCurrently not on view
Description
A pro-women poster
Location
Currently not on view
associated dates
1960 / 1960, 1970 / 1970
ID Number
1996.0092.12
catalog number
1996.0092.12
accession number
1996.0092

Fuck Officework

A poster of a woman protesting officework.Currently not on view
Description
A poster of a woman protesting officework.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1973
1972
copyright date
1972
ID Number
1977.0496.02 [dup1]
accession number
1977.0496
catalog number
1977.0496.02

Turning Through Time

A 1975 poster created by the Women's Graphics CollectiveCurrently not on view
Description
A 1975 poster created by the Women's Graphics Collective
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975
associated date
1975
associated institution
Women's Graphics Collective
maker
Women's Graphics Collective
ID Number
1977.0660.12
accession number
1977.0660
catalog number
1977.0660.12

Poster, "We Want Work Not Welfare"

This poster was used at the Rally for Jobs Now on April 26, 1975, in Washington, D.C.
Description
This poster was used at the Rally for Jobs Now on April 26, 1975, in Washington, D.C.
date made
c1975
Associated Date
April 26, 1975
ID Number
1979.0734.03
accession number
1979.0734
catalog number
1979.0734.03

Make Female Promotions Not War

A poster used in the 1970 Womens' Equality March in Washington, DC.Currently not on view
Description
A poster used in the 1970 Womens' Equality March in Washington, DC.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970
associated date
August 26, 1970
ID Number
1979.0735.20
accession number
1979.0735
catalog number
1979.0735.20

Women Working

A 1972 poster created by the Women's Graphics Collective.Currently not on view
Description
A 1972 poster created by the Women's Graphics Collective.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1972
copyright date
1972
maker
Women's Graphics Collective
ID Number
1977.0660.01
accession number
1977.0660
catalog number
1977.0660.01

mask making sample

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1970
ID Number
1997.0097.1171.001
catalog number
1997.0097.1171.001
accession number
1997.0097

Cold Chisel

Used with a hammer (such as the hammer, Cat 2002.0075.07) steel cold chisels aided in cutting off small to medium size bolt heads and nuts, or small rivet heads. Though typical of cold chisels made since the 1920s, this chisel was probably made in the 1970s.
Description
Used with a hammer (such as the hammer, Cat 2002.0075.07) steel cold chisels aided in cutting off small to medium size bolt heads and nuts, or small rivet heads. Though typical of cold chisels made since the 1920s, this chisel was probably made in the 1970s. The owner’s name “Paulson,” appears stamped in the side. The term “cold” chisel means that the metal being cut into was not usually heated. (Many times in a shop, things made of steel would be heated with a gas torch, often to a red heat, to facilitate removal of a part).
This tool is part of a collection of hand tools used in the inspection and repair of steam locomotives in the early- to the mid-20th century, roughly 1900-1955. Light repairs on steam locomotives were usually done in roundhouses at the many small locomotive terminals throughout a railroad's system; heavy repairs were done in a large, centralized repair shop serving the whole system (often referred to as the "Back Shop").
Date made
1070s
1970s
date made
ca. 1970s
used date
1800s-Present
maker
unknown
ID Number
2002.0075.08
catalog number
2002.0075.08
accession number
2002.0075

Ship Tools from the Propeller Indiana, Hand Truck

These hand tools were found in the engine and boiler space belowdecks in Indiana’s hold, indicating that they were used for the machinery.
Description
These hand tools were found in the engine and boiler space belowdecks in Indiana’s hold, indicating that they were used for the machinery. The crew used the shovel to add coal to the fires.
The hand truck—virtually identical to modern examples—is one of four found aboard Indiana and used for moving cargo into, out of, and around the cargo hold of the ship. This hand truck was the artifact that actually identified the vessel when it was located in 1972, for the words “PROPR INDIANA” were stamped into its handle. The other three had different ships’ names stamped on them, indicating that they were secondhand or borrowed equipment.
Date made
ca 1858
when the Indiana was found
1972
ID Number
1994.0033.01
catalog number
1994.0033.01
accession number
1994.0033

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