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: 1880s

Patent model for a Paper-Cutting Machine

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a paper cutter with a guillotine blade which was granted patent number 227356.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a paper cutter with a guillotine blade which was granted patent number 227356.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
patent date
1880-05-11
maker
Heckert, William
ID Number
GA.22842
patent number
227356
accession number
249602
catalog number
22842
GA*22842

Patent Model of a Type-distributing Machine

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a type distributing machine which was granted patent number 224167. Fraser's distributer worked like his composer, but in reverse.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a type distributing machine which was granted patent number 224167. Fraser's distributer worked like his composer, but in reverse. Lines of dead type, held at the top of the machine, were read off by the operator who keyed in the letters. The action of the keys pushed the type down channels and back into storage trays, to be returned to the composing machine.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
patent date
1880-02-03
maker
Fraser, Alexander
ID Number
GA.89797.224167
patent number
224167
catalog number
GA*89797.224167

Patent Model of a Type-composing Machine

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a type composing apparatus which was granted patent number 224166. Patentee Alexander Fraser's composer was designed to work with his type-distributing machine.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a type composing apparatus which was granted patent number 224166. Patentee Alexander Fraser's composer was designed to work with his type-distributing machine. Type, stored in horizontal trays at the top of the machine, was nudged forward at the touch of a key to fall down assembling channels and into a continuous line. The operator would break off line lengths manually and space out the words as needed. Alexander Fraser was from Edinburgh, Scotland, where his composers were used successfully for several years. Elements of his typesetting and distributing machines were patented in Britain in 1872, 1875, and 1877, before the American patents were taken out.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
patent date
1880-02-03
maker
Fraser, Alexander
ID Number
GA.89797.224166
patent number
224166
catalog number
GA*89797.224166

Leuchsenring Rotary Water Engine, Patent Model

This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Robert Leuchsenring, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, March 9, 1880, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Robert Leuchsenring, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, March 9, 1880, no. 225226.
This is a form of engine in which a drum-shaped rotor turns in a casing, which is eccentric to the center of the drum, so that the drum runs against one part of the casing and a crescent-shaped annular space is formed between the casing and the drum. Water is admitted tangentially to the drum to one side of and away from the point at which the drum and casing meet. The water impinges upon abutments on the drum, turns the drum, and discharges from the engine about two-thirds of the way around the casing. The abutments on the drum slide into the drum to pass the casing and are held against the casings by springs.
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
1880
patent date
1880-03-09
inventor
Leuchsenring, Robert
ID Number
MC.308709
catalog number
308709
accession number
89797
patent number
225,226

Wheelock Valve and Valve Seat Model

This is a nicely made model of the valve and valve seat patented by Jerome Wheelock, of Worcester, Massachusetts, September 22, 1885, no.
Description
This is a nicely made model of the valve and valve seat patented by Jerome Wheelock, of Worcester, Massachusetts, September 22, 1885, no. 326820.
The model represents a wide gridiron slide valve assembled on a skeletonized taper plug, which serves as the valve seat and supports the rock shaft connected to the slide by links or “toggles.” The whole assembly is designed to fit into a taper hole bored into the cylinder block and connected by suitable ports to the cylinder. The advantage of this arrangement over ordinary plug valves is that it does not require that a valve seat be formed within the large cylinder casting, and it permits the delicate fitting of the valve to the valve seat to be performed at a work bench or upon a machine away from the engine.
The complete Wheelock valve gear (U.S. patent number 326819) consists of one steam valve and one exhaust valve at each end of a cylinder with the rock arms of the exhaust valves permanently connected to the eccentric, so that the valve is at rest during part of the travel of the eccentric, while the steam valves are connected through a detachable latch so that they may be detached and closed quickly at any point during the stroke of the piston.
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
1885
ID Number
MC.310251
catalog number
310251
accession number
108073

Patent Model of a Book-stitching Machine

This patent model demonstrates an invention for improvements to the method of feeding sheets to a book-sewing mechanism; the invention was granted patent number 250987.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for improvements to the method of feeding sheets to a book-sewing mechanism; the invention was granted patent number 250987. David Smyth (1833-1907), was a prolific inventor in many fields of manufacturing before patenting his first book-sewing machine in 1868. Ultimately his machines redefined bookbinding, in the term Smyth-sewn. The model is incomplete.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1881
patent date
1881-12-13
maker
Smyth, David McConnel
ID Number
GA.89797.250987
patent number
250987
accession number
089797
catalog number
GA*89797.250987

Display of Edison experimental light bulb filament

Date made
1881
maker
Hammer, William J.
Edison, Thomas Alva
ID Number
EM.320526
catalog number
320526
accession number
241402

Harrison Lubricator, Patent Model

This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to A. L. Harrison, of Bristol, Connecticut, March 2, 1880, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to A. L. Harrison, of Bristol, Connecticut, March 2, 1880, no. 225124.
The model represents a steam-engine lubricator in which the oil is contained in a reservoir fitted with a balanced diaphragm upon both sides of which the steam pressure in the main acts. The unbalanced pressure required to force oil into the steam is atmospheric pressure obtained by the use of a vacuum chamber when the engine is operating condensing, or the hydrostatic pressure of a water column when the engine is operating noncondensing.
The lubricator consists of an oval chamber divided by a flexible diaphragm. The space above the diaphragm contains the oil and is connected through a glycerine-filled sign glass to the steam chest or cylinder of the engine. The space below the diaphragm is connected to the steam pipe from the boiler, so that steam pressure acts on both sides of the diaphragm. A rod attached to the center of the diaphragm passes through suitable stuffing boxes to a piston in a cylinder below the diaphragm chamber. The space above the piston is connected to the condenser of the engine so that atmospheric pressure will exert an unbalanced force upon the under side of the piston, and through it upon the diaphragm, sufficient to force the oil out of the lubricator into the engine. When used with a noncondensing engine a water column in the steam pipe connecting to the under side of the diaphragm provides an unbalanced hydrostatic pressure on the diaphragm.
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
1880
patent date
1880-03-02
inventor
Harrison, Andrew L.
ID Number
MC.308704
catalog number
308704
accession number
89797
patent number
225,124

Lewis Latimer Patent Drawing

Electricity pioneer Lewis Latimer drew this component of an arc lamp, an early type of electric light, for the U.S. Electric Lighting Company in 1880.The son of escaped slaves and a Civil War veteran at age sixteen, Latimer trained himself as a draftsman.
Description
Electricity pioneer Lewis Latimer drew this component of an arc lamp, an early type of electric light, for the U.S. Electric Lighting Company in 1880.
The son of escaped slaves and a Civil War veteran at age sixteen, Latimer trained himself as a draftsman. His technical and artistic skills earned him jobs with Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison, among others. An inventor in his own right, Latimer received numerous patents and was a renowned industry expert on incandescent lighting.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1880-07-25
maker
Latimer, Lewis H.
ID Number
1983.0458.21
accession number
1983.0458
catalog number
1983.0458.21

Lithograph of the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company

This lithograph is a bird's-eye view of the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company, circa 1880. The company maufactured sewing machines in Watertown, N. Y., from 1851 to 1856. In 1856, they relocated to Bridgeport, Conn., where they continued operations until 1905.
Description
This lithograph is a bird's-eye view of the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company, circa 1880. The company maufactured sewing machines in Watertown, N. Y., from 1851 to 1856. In 1856, they relocated to Bridgeport, Conn., where they continued operations until 1905. In the 1850s and 1860s, their sewing machines outsold all others, including Singer and Howe. Two separate factory buildings are illustrated. The caption under the building on the left notes: "Front 368 ft., Width 307 feet," and the dimensions for the building on the right are noted as "Front 526 ft., Width 219 feet." The lithographers were Worley and Bracher of 320 Chesnut Street in Philadelphia, Penn.
S.I. Photo Negative No.: 92-4215 for both B&W and color slide.
Date made
ca 1880
lithographer
Worley & Bracher
ID Number
1991.0134.01
catalog number
1991.0134.01
accession number
1991.0134

Thompson-American Steam Gauge Steam Engine Indicator

The American Steam Gauge Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 662.
Description
The American Steam Gauge Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 662. It consists of a brass piston; a vented brass cylinder; an internal, single wound spring, which can be changed; a large drum with a coil spring and single record; and brass stylus.
An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine.
A mechanical indicator consists of a piston, spring, stylus, and recording system. The gas pressure of the cylinder deflects the piston and pushes against the spring, creating a linear relationship between the gas pressure and the deflection of the piston against the spring. The deflection is recorded by the stylus on a rotating drum that is connected to the piston. Most indicators incorporate a mechanical linkage to amplify the movement of the piston to increase the scale of the record.
When the ratio of the frequency of the pressure variation to the natural frequency of the system is small, then the dynamic deflection is equal to the static deflection. To design a system with a high natural frequency, the mass of the piston, spring, stylus, and mechanical linkage must be small, but the stiffness of the spring must be high. The indicator is subjected to high temperatures and pressures and rapid oscillations, imposing a limitation on the reduction in mass. Too stiff a spring will result in a small displacement of the indicator piston and a record too small to measure with accuracy. Multiplication of the displacement will introduce mechanical ad dynamic errors.
The parameters of the problem for designing an accurate and trouble free recorder are such that there is no easy or simple solution. Studying the variety of indicators in the collection shows how different inventors made different compromises in their designs.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1883
ID Number
MC.319490
catalog number
319490
accession number
237917

Patent Model of a Chromatic Web Press

This patent model demonstrates an invention for a chromatic web press for printing a narrow strip of paper, such as a strip of tickets, with several colors successively. The invention was granted patent number 225501.
Description (Brief)
This patent model demonstrates an invention for a chromatic web press for printing a narrow strip of paper, such as a strip of tickets, with several colors successively. The invention was granted patent number 225501. The long type form, suspended above the platen, was inked from a divided fountain. The paper moved intermittently down the length of the form and received each color in turn.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
patent date
1880-03-16
maker
Wright, George M.
ID Number
GA.89797.225501
accession number
089797
patent number
225501
catalog number
GA*89797.225501

Thompson Steam Engine Indicator Patent Model

This indicator was made by the American Steam Gauge Co., of Boston. It is marked “J. W. Thompson Pat. August 31, ’75 Pat. June 26, 1883, N. 4302.”In this indicator the piston rod is hollow and serves only as a guide for the piston.
Description
This indicator was made by the American Steam Gauge Co., of Boston. It is marked “J. W. Thompson Pat. August 31, ’75 Pat. June 26, 1883, N. 4302.”
In this indicator the piston rod is hollow and serves only as a guide for the piston. The pencil mechanism is connected to the piston by a very light rod that passes through the piston rod and is attached to the piston with a swivel joint. This permits the use of a very simple and light parallel motion.
The piston is a light cylindrical shell provided with three grooves that collect moisture and steam to lubricate and seal the piston. The inner wall of the cylinder is a liner separate from and secured to the inclosing cylinder only at one end so that it is free to expand and contract with temperature changes, thus avoiding distortion.*
An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine.
A mechanical indicator consists of a piston, spring, stylus, and recording system. The gas pressure of the cylinder deflects the piston and pushes against the spring, creating a linear relationship between the gas pressure and the deflection of the piston against the spring. The deflection is recorded by the stylus on a rotating drum that is connected to the piston. Most indicators incorporate a mechanical linkage to amplify the movement of the piston to increase the scale of the record.
When the ratio of the frequency of the pressure variation to the natural frequency of the system is small, then the dynamic deflection is equal to the static deflection. To design a system with a high natural frequency, the mass of the piston, spring, stylus, and mechanical linkage must be small, but the stiffness of the spring must be high. The indicator is subjected to high temperatures and pressures and rapid oscillations, imposing a limitation on the reduction in mass. Too stiff a spring will result in a small displacement of the indicator piston and a record too small to measure with accuracy. Multiplication of the displacement will introduce mechanical ad dynamic errors.
The parameters of the problem for designing an accurate and trouble free recorder are such that there is no easy or simple solution. Studying the variety of indicators in the collection shows how different inventors made different compromises in their designs.
*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
1883
ID Number
MC.309644
catalog number
309644
accession number
106567
patent number
4,302

Pail

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890 - 1910
patent date
1883-02-06
1883-10-30
1884-02-12
1885-06-02
1886-05-25
ID Number
1985.0337.01
accession number
1985.0337
catalog number
1985.0337.01

Ericsson Hot-Air Engine, Patent Model

This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 226,052 issued to John Ericsson of New York, New York on March 30, 1880.
Description
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 226,052 issued to John Ericsson of New York, New York on March 30, 1880. The patent was for an improvement in air engines.
In this type of engine a charge of air is repeatedly heated and cooled as it is transferred from one end to the other of a single cylinder. One end of the cylinder is surrounded by a furnace, the other end of is water jacketed. The air expands and contracts beneath a work piston that travels through a short stroke near the upper end of the cylinder. The air is displaced from end to end of the cylinder at the proper time by a large loosely fitting transfer piston independently connected to the crankshaft.
Mr. Ericsson claimed his design improved the method of connecting the short stroke of the work piston so as to magnify the length of its stroke at the crankshaft. This also produced a longer stroke for the exchange piston in order to properly time its movement. He also made provisions for a water pump that was operated by the engine. It circulated water into the jacket surrounding the engine’s cylinder in order to more rapidly cool the hot air in the upper part of the cylinder.
Mr. Ericsson was a prolific inventor; his inventions included many types of steam engines and associated apparatus as well as hot air engines. He was the designer of the USS Monitor for the North during the Civil War, and that vessel included one of his then new marine steam engine designs.
The patent model is shown in the image. It is made of brass, steel and wood. All of the key elements of the patent are illustrated by the model including the crank mechanism and the water pump. The upper cylinder is cut away to illustrate the motion of the two pistons. Diagrams showing the complete design can be found in the patent document online (www.USPTO.gov).
Location
Currently not on view
patent date
1880-03-30
inventor
Ericsson, John
ID Number
MC.251286
catalog number
251286
accession number
48865
patent number
226,052

Man's Trousers, 1878-88

In 1883 the United States participated in a sort of world’s fair of fishing called The London International Fisheries Exhibition, held at the Royal Horticulture Society in London. Congress instructed the U. S.
Description
In 1883 the United States participated in a sort of world’s fair of fishing called The London International Fisheries Exhibition, held at the Royal Horticulture Society in London. Congress instructed the U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries to prepare “a complete and systematic representative exhibition of the fisheries of the United States,” to be presented under the auspices of the Department of State and to draw upon the resources of the Smithsonian Institution. It would be an understatement to say that the resulting exhibit was comprehensive. It dealt with the biology of marine and freshwater animals of all species, the geography of American fishing fields, the technology of fishing equipment and food processing, the science of deep sea research, the demographics of people involved in the fishing industry, and the anthropology of fishermen and anglers, which included a study of their games, hobbies, and appearance.
These trousers were displayed in the “Section E. – XXII. FISHERMEN AND ANGLERS” portion of the United States entry at the Exhibition. It featured large photographs, anglers’ apparel, a collection of fishermen’s wool and oiled cotton, rubber apparel such as mittens and boots, and “Lay figures [or mannequins] of fishermen of different classes, showing costumes."
This pair of trousers is made from heavy-duty cotton, woven in a small-scale plaid of brown, tan, red, and orange. The trousers have a 9” concealed two-button fly, a back yoke, and a waistband that originally had six suspender buttons as well as a button and buttonhole at the center front above the fly. One of the four front suspender buttons is now missing. A pair of short belts sewn to the back yoke span a V-shaped vent at the center back of the yoke and waistband. The left belt ends with a black japanned metal buckle.
The cutting and sewing techniques used here were very simple, and suggest that these trousers were inexpensive factory-made goods. All buttons are made of white metal pressed over a molded form, with four holes in a slightly dished center surrounded by a textured rim. All seams were sewn with brown thread, and all buttons were attached with off-white thread. There was no attempt to turn under any edge, raw or selvedge, except along the ½” hem at each ankle. Each slightly tapered pant leg was cut in one piece and double top-stitched along the inseam. Most other seams and edges are top-stitched with a single line of stitching. The muslin pocket bag over each hip was inserted into an almost vertical slit cut into each side of the trousers just below the waistband; a dart extends 1.5” beyond the lower end of each pocket to reinforce it. The trouser legs are cut with the grain of the fabric running up and down, while the waistband, back yoke, and back belts are cut with the grain going sideways. This is made obvious by the fact that the red stripes in the fabric appear only in the cross-wise weft threads, while the orange stripes appear only in the vertical warp. The fabric has a vertical repeat of 1.0625” and a horizontal repeat of 0.75”. The waist measure, excluding the back vent, is 38.75”, and the overall length is 42.125”.
To read the catalog of the London International Fisheries Exhibition, including a description of the American exhibits that were on display, link to The Fisheries Exhibition Literature. Volume XII. Official catalogue. Awards of the International Juries (London: William Clowes and Sons, 1884).
This Web entry was made possible in part by a generous grant from The National Association of Men’s Sportswear Buyers, in memory of Joseph S. Klein.
Date made
1883
date made
1878-1888
1878-1883
ID Number
CS.310128.022
catalog number
310128.022
accession number
310128

Man's Shirt, 1878–88

In 1883, the United States participated in a sort of world’s fair of fishing called The London International Fisheries Exhibition, held at the Royal Horticulture Society in London. Congress instructed the U.S.
Description
In 1883, the United States participated in a sort of world’s fair of fishing called The London International Fisheries Exhibition, held at the Royal Horticulture Society in London. Congress instructed the U.S. Commissioner of Fisheries to prepare “a complete and systematic representative exhibition of the fisheries of the United States,” to be presented under the auspices of the Department of State and to draw upon the resources of the Smithsonian Institution.
It would be an understatement to say that the resulting exhibit was comprehensive. It dealt with the biology of marine and freshwater animals of all species, the geography of American fishing fields, the technology of fishing equipment and food processing, the science of deep sea research, the demographics of people involved in the fishing industry, and the anthropology of fishermen and anglers, which included a study of their games, hobbies, and appearance.
This shirt was displayed in the “Section E. – XXII. FISHERMEN AND ANGLERS” portion of the United States entry at the Exhibition. It featured large photographs, anglers’ apparel, a collection of fishermen’s wool and oiled cotton and rubber apparel such as mittens and boots, and “Lay figures [or mannequins] of fishermen of different classes, showing costumes." A note attached to the shirt when it came to the National Museum at the end of the exhibition states that it was of a type “Worn chiefly by cooks on fisheries vessels and others also in the summer.”
The long-sleeved pull-over shirt is made of cotton woven in a small plaid of white and orange threads on a blue ground. The orange threads appear only in the warp. The unshaped shirt body is cut of one length of fabric from the back hem to the front hem, so that there is no seam over the shoulders. The rectangular collar is double-thickness, folded on the outer edge and seamed on the sides, and is three inches wide before being turned over when worn.
One pair of eyelets is worked on the collar at the front neck, directly above ten pairs of worked eyelets along both sides of the shirt body’s ten-inch-long neck opening. The eyelets are laced with an orange cotton cord. The tapered sleeves are set onto the straight edge of the body, and each has a cuff with one small, four-holed, wide-rimmed white china button sewn onto its front. The back body of the shirt is eased into the collar. The corners of the front and back shirt-tails are rounded below short side vents. The center back length of the shirt body is 32.75 in. (83.19 cm).
To read the catalog of the London International Fisheries Exhibition, including a description of the American exhibits that were on display, link to The Fisheries Exhibition Literature. Volume XII. Official catalogue. Awards of the International Juries . (London: William Clowes and Sons, 1884.)
This Web entry was made possible in part by a generous grant from the National Association of Men’s Sportswear Buyers, in memory of Joseph S. Klein.
Date made
1878 - 1888
maker
unknown
ID Number
CS.310128.020
catalog number
310128.020
accession number
310128

Davies Steam Pump, Patent Model

This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Joseph D. Davies, of Covington, Kentucky, March 9, 1880, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Joseph D. Davies, of Covington, Kentucky, March 9, 1880, no. 225351.
The model represents a direct-acting steam pump, provided with two auxiliary oscillating cylinders, which offer a constantly decreasing resistance to the movement of the steam piston during the first half of its stroke and a constantly increasing assistance during the remaining half. The purpose of this is to equalize the effective force of the steam piston throughout its stroke when the steam is used expansively.
The two auxiliary cylinders are mounted in trunnions, one on each side of the frame of the engine. The rods from the auxiliary pistons are attached to a clamp on the main piston rod, so located that the auxiliary cylinders are perpendicular to the main piston rod when the main piston is at midstroke. The auxiliary pistons, in the model, work against a spiral spring, which is compressed during the first half of the stroke and which expands during the last half. In effect the springs act as would a flywheel, storing the energy in excess of the resistance, while steam at high pressure acts upon the engine piston, and delivering the stored energy after the steam has been cut off and is expanding in the cylinder. The inventor described his device using a fluid, as steam or water under pressure within the auxiliary cylinders.
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
1880
patent date
1880-03-09
inventor
Davies, Joseph D.
ID Number
MC.308711
catalog number
308711
accession number
89797
patent number
225,351

Packing Pail

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890 - 1910
patent date
1883-02-06
1883-10-30
1884-02-12
1885-06-02
1886-05-25
ID Number
1984.0454.01
accession number
1984.0454
catalog number
1984.0454.01

Whaleship Skimmer

After a whale’s blubber was melted down into oil in the try-pots, a few solids, like skin and gristle, remained floating on the surface of the oil. These were removed with a skimmer. The tool’s long handle helped keep the crew from being burned or splashed with hot oil.
Description
After a whale’s blubber was melted down into oil in the try-pots, a few solids, like skin and gristle, remained floating on the surface of the oil. These were removed with a skimmer. The tool’s long handle helped keep the crew from being burned or splashed with hot oil. The leftover oily pieces of flesh, or “fritters,” were then tossed under the pots and recycled into fuel to keep the fires burning.
date made
1880s
ID Number
1990.0018.066
catalog number
1990.0018.066
accession number
1990.0018

Whaler's Fluke Lance

The most dangerous act in the dangerous business of whaling was “spading flukes.” The whaleboat drew up close alongside a desperate, unpredictable whale on the water surface, and a crewman used a boat spade or fluke lance to sever the whale’s tail tendons.
Description
The most dangerous act in the dangerous business of whaling was “spading flukes.” The whaleboat drew up close alongside a desperate, unpredictable whale on the water surface, and a crewman used a boat spade or fluke lance to sever the whale’s tail tendons. This effectively immobilized the prey, for the whale couldn’t swim without its tail.
According to James Temple Brown, who wrote the 1883 catalog of the Smithsonian’s whaling collection, the fluke lance was exceedingly rare and was regarded as “a monstrosity by all the fraternity”. This rare inscribed example was used aboard the starboard whaleboat of the bark Sea Fox.
Date made
ca 1880-1889
authored whaling reference material
Brown, James Temple
maker
Driggs, James D.
ID Number
TR.056358
catalog number
056358
accession number
012298

Whaler's Shoulder or Darting Gun

By the later 19th century, guns had replaced most hand harpoons and lances, since they were far more efficient and deadly to the prey. They also could be shot from a safer distance from the prey than the hand tools could be wielded.
Description
By the later 19th century, guns had replaced most hand harpoons and lances, since they were far more efficient and deadly to the prey. They also could be shot from a safer distance from the prey than the hand tools could be wielded. The darting gun was one of the more popular types. Loaded with different darts, this versatile weapon could be used both for harpooning and killing whales.
This particular gun was displayed at the 1883 International Fisheries Exhibition in London, England. After the display ended, it was donated to the Smithsonian by its inventor, Capt. Eben Pierce of New Bedford, Mass.
date made
1880s
guns replaced hand tools
late 19th century
displayed at the International Fisheries Exhibition
1883
maker
Pierce, Eben
ID Number
TR.316550
catalog number
316550
accession number
66767

Schooner Cook's Bell

This brass bell was used to summon the crew to meals on a Gloucester (Massachusetts) fishing schooner in the late 19th century. Each sailing schooner shipped a cook along with eight to twelve fishermen and a captain.
Description
This brass bell was used to summon the crew to meals on a Gloucester (Massachusetts) fishing schooner in the late 19th century. Each sailing schooner shipped a cook along with eight to twelve fishermen and a captain. Before heading out, the cook provisioned the schooner with food for the trip. George W. Scott served as a cook on the schooner Ocean King in 1879, around the time this bell was in service. His journal lists the following provisions for a four-month journey: 5 barrels beef, 1 barrel pork, 1 barrel hams, 10 barrels flour, 50 gallons molasses, 15 bushels potatoes, and 200 pounds butter.
The cook on a Gloucester schooner produced three large meals a day. Meal times followed the rhythm of work and were likely to change depending on the catch and the weather. Fishing always came first, and a good cook was able to work around changes in the routine. The schooner fare was similar to meals served in the crew’s home towns across New England and Atlantic Canada. Breakfast might consist of doughnuts, pancakes, potatoes, and porridge. The main meal of the day was dinner (lunch), and typically consisted of meat, soup, fish, baked beans, pudding, cakes, and bread or biscuits. Supper might have been leftovers.
Fishing in the North Atlantic was hard work, and three meals were usually not enough to keep the crew satisfied. So the cook left bread, pie, and leftovers in a cupboard where the crew could grab snacks between fishing duties. All meals were announced by the loud ringing of the bell. At meal times the captain and half the crew would eat at the table in the galley set by the cook. The other half would continue working until the second shift was signaled by the ringing of the bell. A good cook was one who could clear the table, wash the dishes, and reset the table in mere minutes, while keeping the hot food coming.
date made
1882
1883
Associated Date
late 19th century
cook on the schooner "Ocean King"
Scott, George W.
ID Number
AG.054697
accession number
012158
catalog number
054697

Whaler's Whalebone Scraper

This odd tool was used to scrape the flesh off the bones from a freshly caught whale. It was the last step in processing the whale’s body before the bone was partially dried on deck and then stowed below in the cargo hold.
Description
This odd tool was used to scrape the flesh off the bones from a freshly caught whale. It was the last step in processing the whale’s body before the bone was partially dried on deck and then stowed below in the cargo hold. Once the ship was back in port, the bone was placed on end in large yards to dry further.
The bone and baleen—rows of bony strips in a whale’s upper jaw that filter food from seawater—from a whaling voyage could yield as much as $50,000, or even greater profits than the oil itself. Baleen served a wide variety of purposes from buggy whips to umbrella ribs to women’s corset stays.
date made
1880s
ID Number
AG.057778
catalog number
057778
accession number
012278

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