Work - Overview
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.
"Work - Overview" showing 21 items.
Page 1 of 3
Fire Helmet
- Description
- The traditional American leather firefighter’s helmet with its distinctive long rear brim, frontpiece, and crest adornment was first developed around 1821-1836 in New York City. Henry T. Gratacap, a New York City luggage maker by trade, is often credited as the developer of this style of fire helmet. Gratacap created a specially treated leather helmet with a segmented “comb” design that led to unparalleled durability and strength. The elongated rear brim (also known as a duckbill or beavertail) and frontpiece were 19th century innovations that remain the most identifiable feature of firefighter’s helmets. The body of the helmet was primarily designed to deflect falling debris, the rear brim prevented water from running down firefighters’ backs, and their sturdy crowns could aid, if necessary, in breaking windows.
- This leather fire helmet was made around 1870. The helmet has eight combs, and is painted dark blue overall. An ivy-vine design is stamped around the brim of the hat. The frontpiece holder is a small metal figuring depicting a fireman shouting into his speaking trumpet.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1870
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- 2005.0233.0221
- accession number
- 2005.0233
- catalog number
- 2005.0233.0221
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Patent Model for a Flatbed Cylinder Printing Press
- Description (Brief)
- This patent model demonstrates an invention for a flatbed cylinder printing press which was granted patent number 108785. The patent details methods of controlling the motion of the type bed. The model is broken.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1870
- date made
- ca 1870
- patent date
- 1870-11-01
- maker
- Tucker, Stephen D.
- Hoe, Richard March
- ID Number
- GA*89797.108785
- accession number
- 89797
- patent number
- 108785
- catalog number
- GA*89797.108785
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Patent Model for Flatbed Cylinder Printing Presses
- Description (Brief)
- This patent model demonstrates an invention for a flatbed printing press; the invention was granted patent number 173295. The patent describes improvements to the movement of the bed, the sheet fly, and the inking table of cylinder presses.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1876
- date made
- ca 1876
- patent date
- 1876-02-08
- maker
- Hoe, Richard March
- Tucker, Stephen D.
- ID Number
- GA*89797.173295
- patent number
- 173295
- catalog number
- GA*89797.173295
- accession number
- 89797
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Bait Knife
- Description
- This knife has a long, narrow, steel blade with a single edge and a pine handle. The blade is 8.5 inches long and the handle adds another 6 inches. It was made in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1877, and was displayed in 1883 at the International Fisheries Exhibition in London. In a catalog of the exhibition, the knife is described as “the earliest style of knife used by Cape Ann fishermen to prepare slivers of menhaden for cod, haddock, or mackerel bait” (p. 840).
- Menhaden are herring-like fish, that spawn in large runs. At the time this knife was in use, menhaden were abundant and typically caught for bait in seines or stationary pound nets near the shore. Schooner captains fishing Georges and the Grand Banks purchased bait at ports in the Canadian Maritimes. The bait was frozen and kept on ice, which eased the work of slivering the fish.
- Describing baiting operations in the 1940s, Capt. R. Barry Fisher wrote, “The bait was used carefully. It was stood on its head, your hand holding the tail, and then with a bait knife you sliced down along the belly side toward the head. The two pieces together were placed side by side on a cutting board and you chopped away the head. Then you chopped these halves so as to get about twelve to sixteen usable pieces of bait. The tails and the heads were discarded. Four to six herring or mackerel were needed to bait one line of gear.” (A single line would have 52 to 54 hooks; a two-man dory crew would set about 30 such lines at a time in what was called a "trawl line.") A Doryman’s Day (Gardiner, Maine: Tilbury House, 2001) pp. 29-35.
- Date made
- 1877
- ID Number
- TR*029407
- catalog number
- 29407
- accession number
- 12679
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Fire Association of Philadelphia Fire Mark
- Description (Brief)
- Beginning in the 1750s, some American insurance companies issued metal fire marks to policyholders to signify that their property was insured against fire damage. The fire marks bore the name and/or symbol of the insurer, and some included the customer’s policy number. The company or agent would then affix the mark to the policyholder’s home or business. For owners the mark served as proof of insurance and a deterrent against arson. For insurance companies the mark served as a form of advertising, and alerted volunteer firefighters that the property was insured.
- The Fire Association of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania issued this cast iron fire mark in 1872. The Fire Association’s fire mark consisted of a raised image of an early fire hydrant with hose attached, flanked by the letters F.A. in the center of an oval. The fireplug, hose, and letters are painted gold, and the policy number “60855” is painted in gold at the bottom. The F.A. adopted a fireplug as their symbol to celebrate the contribution of Philadelphia's innovative public water system to their mission of fighting fire. The Fire Association of Philadelphia was an insurance company founded in 1817 by a group of eleven volunteer engine companies and five volunteer hose companies. A percentage of the Fire Association’s insurance company’s profits were distributed to the volunteer companies. The F.A. fire mark was extremely popular, and an estimated 40,000 fire marks were issued during the company’s history. The Fire Association operated until 1958, when it merged with the Reliance Insurance Company of Philadelphia.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1872
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- 2005.0233.0415
- accession number
- 2005.0233
- catalog number
- 2005.0233.0415
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
United Firemen's Insurance Company Fire Mark
- Description (Brief)
- Beginning in the 1750s, some American insurance companies issued metal fire marks to policyholders to signify that their property was insured against fire damage. The fire marks bore the name and/or symbol of the insurer, and some included the customer’s policy number. The company or agent would then affix the mark to the policyholder’s home or business. For owners the mark served as proof of insurance and a deterrent against arson. For insurance companies the mark served as a form of advertising, and alerted volunteer firefighters that the property was insured.
- The United Firemen’s Insurance Company issued this fire mark in 1878. The oval cast iron mark features a central image of a steam-powered fire engine in relief, with a raised header text that reads “UNITED FIREMEN’S INS. CO.” It appears as if the engine and text were originally painted gold, which has subsequently worn off. The policy number “10659” is painted in gold at the bottom of the mark. The United Firemen's Insurance Company was incorporated in 1860 by a group of 28 engine and hose companies that were not part of the Fire Association of Philadelphia. Since the Fire Association did not pay dividends to companies that were not members, these twenty-eight companies formed the new United Firemen's Insurance Company of Philadelphia to profit from the insurance business. Steam fire engines were a new technology in 1860, and the UFI's use of a steamer on its fire mark shows a desire to be associated with the latest innovations in firefighting and prevention.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1878
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- 2005.0233.0453
- accession number
- 2005.0233
- catalog number
- 2005.0233.0453
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
United Firemen's Insurance Company Fire Mark
- Description (Brief)
- Beginning in the 1750s, some American insurance companies issued metal fire marks to policyholders to signify that their property was insured against fire damage. The fire marks bore the name and/or symbol of the insurer, and some included the customer’s policy number. The company or agent would then affix the mark to the policyholder’s home or business. For owners the mark served as proof of insurance and a deterrent against arson. For insurance companies the mark served as a form of advertising, and alerted volunteer firefighters that the property was insured.
- The United Firemen’s Insurance Company issued this fire mark in 1878. The oval cast iron mark features a central image of a steam-powered fire engine in relief, with an raised header text that reads “UNITED FIREMEN’S INS. CO.” It appears as if the engine and text were originally painted gold, which has subsequently worn off. A policy number can be seen at the bottom of the mark, but it is illegible. The United Firemen's Insurance Company was incorporated in 1860 by a group of 28 engine and hose companies that were not part of the Fire Association of Philadelphia. Since the Fire Association did not pay dividends to companies that were not members, these twenty-eight companies formed the new United Firemen's Insurance Company of Philadelphia to profit from the insurance business. Steam fire engines were a new technology in 1860, and the UFI's use of a steamer on its fire mark shows a desire to be associated with the latest innovations in firefighting and prevention.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1878
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- 2005.0233.0454
- accession number
- 2005.0233
- catalog number
- 2005.0233.0454
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Mound City Mutual Fire and Marine Insurance Company Fire Mark
- Description (Brief)
- Beginning in the 1750s, some American insurance companies issued metal fire marks to policyholders to signify that their property was insured against fire damage. The fire marks bore the name and/or symbol of the insurer, and some included the customer’s policy number. The company or agent would then affix the mark to the policyholder’s home or business. For owners the mark served as proof of insurance and a deterrent against arson. For insurance companies the mark served as a form of advertising, and alerted volunteer firefighters that the property was insured.
- The Mound City Mutual Fire and Marine Insurance Company of St. Louis, Missouri issued this zinc fire mark around 1870. The oval fire mark has raised lettering the reads “MOUND/CITY/MUTUAL” in the center of the mark. The Mound City Mutual Fire and Marine Insurance Company operated from 1855 until 1891.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1870
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- 2005.0233.0526
- accession number
- 2005.0233
- catalog number
- 2005.0233.0526
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Mound City Mutual Fire and Marine Insurance Company Fire Mark
- Description (Brief)
- Beginning in the 1750s, some American insurance companies issued metal fire marks to policyholders to signify that their property was insured against fire damage. The fire marks bore the name and/or symbol of the insurer, and some included the customer’s policy number. The company or agent would then affix the mark to the policyholder’s home or business. For owners the mark served as proof of insurance and a deterrent against arson. For insurance companies the mark served as a form of advertising, and alerted volunteer firefighters that the property was insured.
- The Mound City Mutual Fire and Marine Insurance Company of St. Louis, Missouri issued this zinc fire mark around 1870. The oval fire mark has raised lettering the reads “MOUND/CITY/MUTUAL” in the center of the mark. The mark has been painted a yellow-brown color. The Mound City Mutual Fire and Marine Insurance Company operated from 1855 until 1891.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1870
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- 2005.0233.0527
- accession number
- 2005.0233
- catalog number
- 2005.0233.0527
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Fire Engine Plate, "Hunneman & Company"
- Description (Brief)
- At the core of any fire company is the apparatus used to fight fires and protect lives. This was particularly true of for the volunteer fire fighters in 19th century America. Often purchased with their own funds, their fire engines were the focus of their pride and affection, as well as their identities as fire fighters. Engine plates, often made of brass, would be prominently affixed to engines and inscribed with the company name, number, and founding date. Engine plates could pass from old engine to new, or be kept in the firehouse as a memorial to a departed apparatus.
- This brass maker’s plate was originally attached to a fire engine built by Hunneman & Company of Boston, Massachusetts in 1872. The scalloped shield-shaped plate bears the inscribed text “No. 722/HUNNEMAN & CO./Builders/BOSTON/1872.” A plate has been attached over “Boston” that reads “State of / Massachusetts / 612.” The entire plate has been mounted onto a square wooden board. Hunneman & Company was originally founded in Boston in 1792 and was renowned for its hand-pumped apparatus. In 1866, the company built its first steam engine and continued to make a variety of fire engines until 1883.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1872
- maker
- Hunneman and Company
- ID Number
- 2005.0233.0928
- accession number
- 2005.0233
- catalog number
- 2005.0233.0928
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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