Engineering, Building, and Architecture - Overview
Not many museums collect houses. The National Museum of American History has four, as well as two outbuildings, 11 rooms, an elevator, many building components, and some architectural elements from the White House. Drafting manuals are supplemented by many prints of buildings and other architectural subjects. The breadth of the museum's collections adds some surprising objects to these holdings, such as fans, purses, handkerchiefs, T-shirts, and other objects bearing images of buildings.
The engineering artifacts document the history of civil and mechanical engineering in the United States. So far, the Museum has declined to collect dams, skyscrapers, and bridges, but these and other important engineering achievements are preserved through blueprints, drawings, models, photographs, sketches, paintings, technical reports, and field notes.
"Engineering, Building, and Architecture - Overview" showing 138 items.
Page 1 of 14
Robertson-Amsler Polar Planimeter
- Description
- This chrome-plated instrument has a 5" pole arm with a small cylindrical weight at the end. The 7" tracer arm is adjustable and has an L-shaped tracer point, so that the point is offset from the arm. The carriage for adjusting the tracer arm holds the metal measuring wheel and vernier. The instrument has no registering dial. A point extending from the back of the carriage allows the user to turn the planimeter vertically and use the other end of the tracer point. Compare to MA*333766.
- A wooden case covered with black leather is lined with light blue silk. The top of the case is marked: ME 4P5. A brass plate on top of the case is also marked: 4P5. The number is presumably an inventory number for the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati, which donated the object. The instrument resembles the Robertson-Amsler planimeter shown in Hawkins's Indicator Catechism (New York, 1903), 132, and advertised in 1897 as an "averaging planimeter." See MA*302380.01 for instructions.
- Hine & Robertson of New York City made steam-engine indicators and sold planimeters from the 1880s to 1897. The firm was then renamed James L. Robertson & Sons, and remained in operation until at least 1910. This device is smaller than the Hine-Robertson planimeter described by Olaus Henrici. For other planimeters sold by Robertson, see 1994.0356.01, MA*323703, MA*323704, and MA*324247.
- References: Advertisement for Robertson-Thompson Indicator, Power 17, no. 2 (February 1897): 25; John Walter, "More Information," The Engine Indicator, Canadian Museum of Making, http://www.archivingindustry.com/Indicator/sourceinfo.htm; Olaus Henrici, "On Planimeters," in Report of the Sixty-fourth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (London, 1894), 515–516; "Hine and Robertson's Planimeter," The Electrician 26 (February 6, 1891): 432.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1900
- maker
- James L. Robertson & Sons
- ID Number
- 1981.0301.01
- accession number
- 1981.0301
- catalog number
- 1981.0301.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
American Schaeffer & Budenberg Amsler Polar Planimeter
- Description
- This nickel-plated instrument forms a U and is hinged around a brass measuring wheel and vernier. A cylindrical weight fits over a peg at the end of the pole arm. The plating has worn away from the handle for the tracer point. The tracer arm is stamped with a serial number: 5337. An oblong wooden case covered with black leather is lined with dark blue velvet. The top of the case is marked: AMERICAN (/) SCHAEFFER & BUDENBERG. These words are in an oval around the company logo of a globe and the words: BROOKLYN, N.Y. A torn red and white sticker on the bottom of the case originally read: UNIVERSITY OF (/) CINCINNATI (/) 33893. Compare to 1981.0301.03 and 1981.0301.04.
- In 1923 the American Steam Gauge & Valve Manufacturing Company, the Hohmann-Nelson Company, and the American division of the Schäffer & Budenberg Manufacturing Company merged to form American Schaeffer & Budenberg Corporation. The first and third companies were known for their planimeters as well as their steam-engine indicators, but American had made this particular instrument since the late 19th century, while Schäffer & Budenberg was associated with the Coffin planimeter. See MA*323706. The merged firm may have been purchased by Manning, Maxwell, and Moore in the late 1930s. The department of mechanical engineering laboratory at the University of Cincinnati owned this instrument.
- References: Barry Lee David, The Antique American Steam Gauge: A Collector's Guide (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 2003); American Steam Gauge Company, catalog (Boston, 1896), 130–135.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- after 1923
- maker
- American Steam Gauge & Valve Mfg. Co.
- ID Number
- 1981.0301.02
- catalog number
- 1981.0301.02
- accession number
- 1981.0301
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Keuffel & Esser 1102 Amsler Style Polar Planimeter
- Description
- This German silver instrument has two arms pivoted at one end. One arm has a tracer point and index marks for four ratios: 1 square D. (centimeters or meters, perhaps), 15 square inches, 10 square inches, and 10 square K. (probably chains). A screw assembly adjusts the length of the tracer arm. A support for the tracer point prevents it from tearing the paper. Two numbers are stamped underneath the arm: 35, which is also underneath the tracer point, and 381.
- The other arm is jointed. A notch in the jointed part of that arm fits around a screw that in turn fits into a rectangular metal weight that is faced with brass. The weight is marked: 381. A piece of paper is attached to the bottom of the weight. A cylindrical German silver weight may be placed in the end of the arm. The longer part of the arm is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co NEW YORK. It is also marked: 35. A carriage at the pivot holds a measuring wheel with vernier and a horizontal registering dial. A hardwood case has green velvet lining the supports. On the bottom of the case is written: BUREAU C AND R.
- Keuffel & Esser sold this planimeter as model 1102 from 1892 to 1901, and as model 4220 from 1901 to 1936. Since the rectangular brass weight was only depicted in catalogs before 1901, this example is probably a model 1102. However, the construction of the jointed arm is different from the illustration in the 1892 and 1895 catalogs. The jointed arm is like the illustration in catalogs printed between 1901 and 1936, but the brass weight is neither mentioned nor shown in these catalogs. The serial number, 381, dates this instrument as older than 1985.0112.218, whose jointed arm does not look like either of the catalog illustrations. That instrument has a celluloid measuring wheel, but that piece is made of German silver on this instrument.
- References: Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 23rd ed. (New York, 1892), 104; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 26th ed. (New York, 1895), 145; Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4220 Family of Polar Planimeters," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/PlanimeterModels/ke4220family.htm.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1892-1901
- maker
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- ID Number
- 1981.0348.01
- catalog number
- 1981.0348.01
- accession number
- 1981.0348
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Keuffel & Esser 4220 Amsler Style Polar Planimeter
- Description
- This tarnished German silver instrument has two arms pivoted at one end. One arm has a tracer point and index marks for four ratios: 1 square D. (centimeters or meters, perhaps), 15 square inches, 10 square inches, and 10 square chains. A screw assembly adjusts the length of the tracer arm. A support for the tracer point prevents it from tearing the paper. Two numbers are stamped underneath the arm: 31, which appears to overstamp the number 33, and 690.
- The other arm is jointed. A cylindrical weight may be placed in the end of that arm. Underneath the weight is marked: 35. The jointed part of the arm is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER Co N.Y. Underneath the arm is stamped: 31. A carriage at the pivot holds a white plastic measuring wheel with vernier and a horizontal metal registering dial.
- A mahogany case has dark blue velvet lining the supports. A leather pouch holds the weight. A paper chart for adjusting the tracer arm is held in the lid by black plastic edges and brass screws. The columns are labeled: Proportion, Adjustement [sic] on tracer-arm, and Value of unit of the Vernier. "Sq. units" is handwritten above the first entry in the Proportion column (1:1,000). The vernier entry for proportion 1:4,000 has been changed from 100 to 160 square meters.
- Keuffel & Esser sold this planimeter as model 1102 from 1892 to 1901 and as model 4220 from 1901 to 1936. It sold for $28.00 in 1909 and for $45.50 in 1936. The serial number, 690, and lack of rectangular support for the joint in the weighted arm suggest that this example was made later than 1981.0348.01. Wesleyan University donated this planimeter to the Museum in 1984–1985 with a large collection of plaster and string mathematical models purchased in 1895 from the Darmstadt, Germany, firm of L. Brill.
- References: Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 33rd ed. (New York, 1909), 319; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 38th ed. (New York, 1936), 336; Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4220 Family of Polar Planimeters," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/PlanimeterModels/ke4220family.htm.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1901-1936
- distributor
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- maker
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- ID Number
- 1985.0112.218
- catalog number
- 1985.0112.218
- accession number
- 1985.0112
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Coffin Planimeter Arm Signed by Ashcroft Manufacturing Company, No. 1423
- Description
- This German silver instrument is a curved bar with a short arm, on which a short cylindrical weight is placed, and a longer arm, to which a tracer point is screwed. The middle of the bar has a thin cross-rod, on which a measuring wheel rotates against a wedge-shaped vernier. The wheel is numbered from 0 to 14, with each unit divided into five parts. The vernier is corroded and may be a different type of metal from the rest of the instrument. The bar is marked: THE ASHCROFT MFG. CO. (/) — SOLE MANUFACTURERS. — (/) COFFIN'S PAT. JUNE 6. 1882. The underside of the bar is marked: No. 1423. The serial number suggests this object is not as old as MA*323705.
- A wooden case is covered with dark brown leather and lined with purple silk and velvet. The top of the case is marked: MADE BY (/) THE ASHCROFT MANF'G CO. (/) NEW YORK & BRIDGEPORT.
- John Coffin of Syracuse, N.Y., applied for a patent on this variation on a planimeter in July 1881. He designed his "averageometer" to calculate areas in diagrams of work performed by steam engines. The Ashcroft Manufacturing Company of New York City and Bridgeport, Conn., was the first of several American firms to make the device. Ashcroft, best known for making pressure gauges for steam engines, often sold the arm for Coffin's planimeter separately from its base, as in this example. In 1910, Frederick C. Blanchard, Ernest B. Crocker, and Philip G. Darling, who all probably worked for Ashcroft, patented an improvement to Coffin's planimeter so that it could be clamped in place. The planimeters made by Ashcroft after 1910 utilized this improvement, so this example was made between 1882 and 1910.
- In 1912, company founder Edward H. Ashcroft sold his interest to Charles A. Moore, who renamed the firm Manning, Maxwell, and Moore (MM&M). Dresser Industries, Inc., purchased MM&M in 1964. Ashcroft survived as a brand name.
- References: John Coffin, "Averageometer, or Instrument for Measuring the Average Breadth of Irregular Planes" (U.S. Patent 258,993 issued June 6, 1882); N. Hawkins, Hawkins' Indicator Catechism (New York: Theo. Audel & Co., 1903), 140–142; James Ambrose Moyer, Power Plant Testing (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1911), 73–78; David R. Green, "Coffin Planimeters," June 16, 2008, http://www.planimetervault.com/coffin.html; Richard Oliver, "Ashcroft Manufacturing Co. History," http://www.clockguy.com/SiteRelated/SiteReferencePages/AshcroftManufacturingCoHistory.html.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1882-1910
- maker
- Ashcroft Mfg. Co.
- ID Number
- 1987.0107.03
- catalog number
- 1987.0107.03
- accession number
- 1987.0107
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Improved Willis Planimeter
- Description
- This metal instrument (possibly of nickel-plated brass) has two pivoted arms with needle points. One is about 9" long, and the other is about 6-1/2" long. The longer arm is used for tracing and is graduated to 32nds of an inch from 2" to 7-7/8". The pivot is marked on that side: PAT'D SEPT. 22, 1896 (/) OCT. 6, 1896. The other side of the pivot is marked: —IMPROVED — (/) WILLIS PLANIMETER (/) MANF'D BY (/) JAMES L. ROBERTSON & SONS (/) NEW YO[RK] U.S.A. There are two clasps on that side for securing the frame with the measuring wheel. The back of one clasp and the first side of the pivot have a serial number: 749.
- A metal frame has three bars. The first bar is unadorned. The second bar slides in a groove formed by two small double wheels and holds a brass wheel for measuring. The third bar holds a wooden triangular ruler with six scales on white celluloid. These scales divide the inch into 100, 50, 60, 30, 80, and 40 parts. The ruler is marked: U. S. STD. The frame fits into three holes on the pivot that joins the arms.
- A wooden case covered with black leather is lined with purple satin and velvet. The inside of the lid is marked: Improved Willis Planimeter, (/) PATENTED SEPTEMBER 22, 1896. (/) " OCTOBER 6, 1896. (/) MANUFACTURED BY (/) JAMES L. ROBERTSON & SONS. (/) New York, U. S. A.
- Edward Jones Willis (1866–1941), a steam and electrical engineer from Richmond, Va., patented a cross-shaped planimeter in 1894 and had a modified version of the patent reissued in 1896. This is the first patent mentioned on the instrument. Willis's 1895 patent for a planimeter with a frame similar to the frame on this example is not mentioned on the instrument. Alpheus C. Lippincott of New York City received the second patent mentioned on the instrument, for a different form of cross-shaped planimeter.
- James L. Robertson & Sons manufactured steam engine indicators. Since planimeters were used to measure the area under curves drawn by these indicators, it was common for firms that made indicators to also produce planimeters. Indeed, Robertson sold both the Improved Willis Planimeter and the Lippincott Planimeter, so it is probable that the company mentioned Lippincott's patent on this planimeter by mistake. Around 1900, the Improved Willis Planimeter cost $18.00.
- In 1901, Willis patented the form of planimeter that sold as the Improved Willis Planimeter and added a triangular ruler attachment that could be used to calculate horsepower. See MA*324247, MA*323703, and MA*323704. Note that this example of the instrument has the frame on the left side of the instrument, unlike the later and more common versions, which had the frame on the right. The mechanism for the measuring wheel is also different, and its bar does not slide on later instruments. Because the 1901 patent is not mentioned and because of the differences in design, this Willis planimeter is probably the oldest one in the collections. James Jack Scott, the superintendent of the Eagle Cotton Oil Mill in Meridian, Miss., from about 1900 to about 1935, used this planimeter to analyze the operations of the plant's steam power equipment.
- References: Edward J. Willis, "Planimeter" (U.S. Patent 529,008 issued November 13, 1894; reissued as 11,568 September 22, 1896), "Planimeter" (U.S. Patent 542,511 issued July 9, 1895), and "Planimeter" (U.S. Patent 672,581 issued April 23, 1901); Alpheus C. Lippincott, "Planimeter" (U.S. Patent 569,107 issued October 6, 1896); catalog of James L. Robertson & Sons (New York, [1899]), 29–31; Hyman A. Schwartz, "The Willis Planimeter," Rittenhouse 7, no. 2 (1993): 60–64.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1896-1901
- maker
- James L. Robertson & Sons
- ID Number
- 1994.0356.01
- catalog number
- 1994.0356.01
- accession number
- 1994.0356
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Cladding Fragment from the World Trade Center
- Description
- This crumpled piece of exterior sheathing was recovered from the debris pile of the World Trade Center after the building collapsed following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. While the towers withstood the initial damage caused by the impact of the hijacked jet liners being crashed into the structures, the intense fire that then raged proved to be too much.
- The twin towers of the World Trade Center, a New York City landmark and the tallest buildings in the world when completed in 1973, were noted for their incredible 110-story height and their gleaming exterior. The towers were clad in an aluminum alloy sheathing that gave the buildings a golden sheen at sunrise and sunset. The material covered the closely-spaced exterior steel columns, enhancing their soaring appearance. Architect Minoru Yamasaki choose to use an aluminum alloy after first considering the more expensive alternative of stainless steel. The highly reflective sheathing of the twin towers added to the building's impact as a memorable landmark.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- late 1960s-early 1970s
- ID Number
- 2002.0205.05
- accession number
- 2002.0205
- catalog number
- 2002.0205.05
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Instruction Card for Robertson-Amsler Polar Planimeter
- Description
- These salmon-colored card fragments were received with MA*333766. They give partial instructions for taking measurements with an "averaging planimeter." The reverse side of the card has a drawing of a connector for a steam engine indicator and several user testimonials.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1900
- maker
- James L. Robertson & Sons
- ID Number
- MA*302380.02
- accession number
- 302380
- catalog number
- 302380.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Coffin Planimeter Arm Signed by Ashcroft Manufacturing Company, No. 830
- Description
- This German silver instrument is a curved bar with a short arm, on which a short cylindrical weight is placed, and a longer arm, to which a tracer point is screwed. The middle of the bar has a thin cross-rod, on which a measuring wheel rotates against a wedge-shaped vernier. The wheel is numbered from 0 to 14, with each unit divided into five parts. The bar is marked: THE ASHCROFT MFG. CO. (/) — SOLE MANUFACTURERS. — (/) COFFIN'S PAT. JUNE 6. 1882. The underside of the bar is marked: No. 830. The serial number suggests this object predates 1987.0107.03. Compare also to MA*323708 and MA*323706.
- A wooden case covered with dark brown leather is lined with purple silk and velvet. The top of the case is marked: MADE BY (/) THE ASHCROFT MANF'G CO. (/) NEW YORK & BRIDGEPORT.
- John Coffin of Syracuse, N.Y., applied for a patent on this variation on a planimeter in July 1881. He designed his "averageometer" to calculate areas in diagrams of work performed by steam engines. The Ashcroft Manufacturing Company of New York City and Bridgeport, Conn., was the first of several American firms to make the device.
- Ashcroft, best known for making pressure gauges for steam engines, often sold the arm for Coffin's planimeter separately from its base, as in this example. In 1910, Frederick C. Blanchard, Ernest B. Crocker, and Philip G. Darling, who all probably worked for Ashcroft, patented an improvement to Coffin's planimeter so that it could be clamped in place. The planimeters made by Ashcroft after 1910 utilized this improvement, so this example was made between 1882 and 1910.
- References: John Coffin, "Averageometer, or Instrument for Measuring the Average Breadth of Irregular Planes" (U.S. Patent 258,993 issued June 6, 1882); F. C. Blanchard, E. B. Crocker, and P. G. Darling, "Planimeter" (U.S. Patent 961,836 issued June 21, 1910); David R. Green, "Coffin Planimeters," June 16, 2008, http://www.planimetervault.com/coffin.html; N. Hawkins, Hawkins' Indicator Catechism (New York: Theo. Audel & Co., 1903), 140–142.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1882-1910
- maker
- Ashcroft Mfg. Co.
- ID Number
- MA*323705
- catalog number
- 323705
- accession number
- 252307
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Bushnell-Coffin Planimeter Sold by American Schaeffer & Budenberg Corporation
- Description
- On August 18, 1902, Levi T. Snow of New Haven, Conn., filed a U.S. patent application for improvements to the planimeter invented in 1882 by John Coffin for measuring the area under curves drawn by the gauge on a steam engine. (See MA*323708, MA*323705, and 1987.0107.03.) For instance, Snow added a tube containing a set of scales for the pressures under which the diagrams were made. He assigned the patent to the John S. Bushnell Company of New York City, which manufactured and sold the instrument as "Bushnell's Improved Planimeter" and the "Bushnell-Coffin Planimeter."
- This Bushnell-Coffin planimeter consists of an aluminum base with four black rubber feet. Two aluminum rods are screwed to the base, with a movable indicator on one rod and a sliding tube marked with six sets of scales for pressures on the other rod. A rectangular support for the planimeter arm is bolted to the base at the left end of the rods. The serial number 303 is stamped next to this support.
- A smaller rectangular aluminum base slides between two bars on the right side of the larger base. Both bases have clamps for holding paper diagrams. The aluminum planimeter arm is a single curved bar. One end of the arm and a short cylindrical weight fit into a hole on the movable indicator. The other end of the arm has a tracer point that moves over the diagram held on the bases. A single bar near the weighted end of the arm has a brass vernier and a brass measuring wheel, which is numbered from 0 to 14, with each unit divided into five parts.
- A wooden case covered with black leather is lined with blue velvet. The top of the case is marked: Bushnell – Coffin Planimeter. The left end of the case is marked: A–5. The right side of the case is marked: M.E. LAB. (/) COFFIN. A flap inside the lid holds the smaller base and flips up, perhaps to store extra paper. A ribbon on the flap has an oval logo marked: AMERICAN * SCHAFFER & BUDENBERG. Inside the oval are a picture of a steam engine gauge and the words: BROOKLYN, N.Y.
- By 1916, the John S. Bushnell Company was making the Bushnell-Coffin Planimeter and the American Steam Gauge & Valve Manufacturing Company was selling it for $55.00. In 1923, American Steam Gauge, the Hohmann-Nelson Company, and the American division of the Schäffer & Budenberg Manufacturing Company merged to form American Schaeffer & Budenberg Corporation. The firm may have been purchased by Manning, Maxwell, and Moore in the late 1930s. The mechanical engineering laboratory of New York University owned this instrument.
- References: Levi T. Snow, "Planimeter" (U.S. Patent 718,166 issued January 13, 1903); David R. Green, "Coffin Planimeters," June 16, 2008, http://www.planimetervault.com/coffin.html; "The Bushnell Improved Coffin Planimeter," The Engineer's List 11, no. 11 (November 1902): 37–38; American Steam Gauge & Valve Manufacturing Co., Catalog No. 65 (Boston, 1916), 810; advertisement for the Bushnell-Coffin Planimeter, Power 49, no. 25 (June 24, 1919): 105; Barry Lee David, The Antique American Steam Gauge: A Collector's Guide (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 2003).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1923-ca 1937
- maker
- John S. Bushnell Company
- ID Number
- MA*323706
- catalog number
- 323706
- accession number
- 252307
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
- Next Page