This is a Rhodes spring-driven Pathfinder Model Mark-Time parking. M. H. Rhodes added parking meters to its line of household and industrial timing devices in the mid-1930s. This manual parking meter showed the number of minutes an automobile was parked over the time limit.
Oklahoma City installed the first coin-operated parking meters in 1935, a practice soon adopted by other cities. Parking meters placed along curb lanes were meant to increase turnover, help enforce violations, reduce traffic congestion resulting from inadequate or haphazard parking spaces, and add much-needed revenue to municipal treasuries. City officials believed that parking meters were necessary to cope with the influx of automobiles into downtown areas and give more motorists access to stores and other businesses. But motorists and merchants challenged the legality of meters, claiming that they annoyed shoppers, deprived merchants and their employees of access to their front doors, and imposed an unfair tax on right-of-ways that were open to all. Most of the legal challenges failed, but meters were removed in several cities, and hours of enforcement were shortened in others. As parking meters proved their compatibility with downtown traffic and their success at increasing revenue, meters became an accepted way to regulate curb parking and fund traffic-related improvements as well as general municipal expenses.
This Massachusetts license plate was registered to William Gray and used on his Winton Auto in 1910. Massachusetts was the first state to issue license plates to motorists, beginning in 1903. The commonwealth began putting the date on the plate in 1908. In 1907, Massachusetts became the first state to require drivers to take a driving test. In 1928 an embossed codfish was added to the plate in what was an early example of the now common phenomenon of decorative plates.
The plate is marked MASS.730/1910 on front, and “The Baltimore Enamel and Novelty Company” on the back.
Sockets were used to tighten or remove bolts and associated nuts. The mechanic used a bar inserted through a hole in the top end of the socket or used a large, open-end wrench to turn the socket. A long-handled bar or wrench gave considerable leverage in turning or holding the socket. An "extender" could be slipped onto the bar or wrench handle to give even more leverage.
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").
This round metal button measures 1-1/2" in diameter and has a pin and clasp on the back. The blue lettering: "I'M FOR A LONGSHORE VICTORY IN 1971" is set against a yellow background. The name of the manufacturer appears along the button’s edge: "BUTTON WORKS / 300 BROAD ST. / NEVADA CITY, CA 95359."
Longshoremen are the laborers who load and unload cargo ships. Since 1937, longshore work on the West Coast of the United States has been performed by members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). The union was formed to end favoritism, bribery, low wages, and other abuses of power that had long plagued the management of work on the waterfront. It was also established as a body to represent longshoremen during negotiations with shipping companies over contracts, work rules, and related issues.
By the 1960s, both the ILWU and the shipping companies, represented by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), recognized that new technologies would drastically cut the number of cargo-handling jobs. With the introduction of standardized shipping containers and innovations in global communications technologies, the need for gangs of longshoremen to handle individual bags, boxes, pallets, and crates was significantly reduced. While the shipping companies were anxious to adopt containerization with its intermodal capabilities—the same container could be carried by ship, rail, and tractor trailer—the longshoremen were wary of giving any ground on the basic requirement that only members of the ILWU could handle cargo in West Coast ports.
By 1971, general unrest boiled over into a strike that lasted 130 days and affected all commercial ports along the coast. One of the key issues was a proposal from the shipping companies to employ certain longshoremen trained as container crane operators on a permanent basis. Shipping companies had invested heavily in container ships, cranes, and other shoreside facilities, and they wanted to select and train the men who would operate the costly machines, essentially employing them regularly as “steady men.” From the union’s perspective, this proposal would create elite workers within the union, effectively blocking jobs from some members. Union members believed this special treatment violated a core value of the union, which had always stood for the strict rotation of all waterfront jobs among members.
This political button was worn by Local 10 (San Francisco) ILWU longshoreman Herb Mills, who was a strong supporter of the coastwide strike in 1971. The strike resulted in some gains for the shipping companies on the “steady man” issue, but upheld the requirement that all cargoes, including containers, would still be loaded and unloaded in West Coast ports by members of the ILWU.
To check oil level in the journal boxes of railroad cars and locomotive tenders. Each journal box had a lid; the journal hook was used by a car inspector and/or oiler to pull open the lid, check for adequate oil level, fill with oil if needed, and close the lid. (The "journal box" held the axle bearing, made of bronze, at the outer end of a railroad-car axle. Hence there are two journal boxes per axle and pair of wheels, and thus four journal boxes on a typical four-wheel "truck" or "bogie (UK usage)" that supports each end of a railroad car on the track.
This tool is part of a collection of hand tools used in the inspection and repair of steam locomotives in Salisbury, North Carolina from 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").
This refrigerator car model was made by employees of the car-building and car-repair shops of the Merchant Despatch Transportation Corporation (MDT) around 1905. The Merchant Despatch Corporation operated express freight cars carrying meat and perishable foods for approximately 128 years between the Northeast, Chicago, and other western states including California. The use of refrigerator cars with blocks of ice to preserve food began in the 1860s. From the late 1880s fast rail distribution of perishable food radically changed the American diet by allowing fresh produce to be delivered nationwide at any time of the year.
This heavy wrench was used in steam locomotive and railroad-car repair work. A skilled mechanic used a monkey wrench only when a solid, open-end wrench was not available to properly fit a bolt or nut in question, or when the head of the bolt or size of the nut was non-standard. The jaws of a monkey wrench were only grossly adjustable and usually made a poor or loose fit on the nut or bolt head. “Monkeying” off a nut or bolt with such a wrench often involved several tries to get the wrench to fit without its slipping off.
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").
Hand-held cargo hooks were the indispensable tools of longshoremen working on conventional (non-containerized) freighters. In the course of loading and discharging cargo they needed to grab, lift, and move various types and sizes of bags, boxes, and bales. The hooks, held firmly in a gloved hand, extended their reach and helped them lift heavy items. Most longshoremen owned several different types of hooks for moving different materials—from burlap sacks to wooden boxes—and altered the handles to suit their grip.
This cargo hook, made by a Latino blacksmith named Ortega in San Pedro, CA, was the owner’s favorite for lifting various types of bulk cargo. Its handle is well worn and the forged iron hook is stamped with the name “ORTEGA.” Donor Herb Mills used this hook during his career as a longshoreman in San Francisco. Mills was a member of Local 10 of the ILWU—the International Longshore and Warehouse Union—from 1963 to 1992.
The 1950 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe attracted attention because of its ultramodern styling. Its center "nose" resembled an airplane, and its wraparound rear window and long, horizontal rear deck were radically different from "teardrop" cars of the 1930s and 1940s. While celebrating the machine age, the 1950 and 1951 Studebaker also marked a sharp break from 1930s streamlined or art deco styling and the beginning of flamboyant, futuristic styling of the 1950s. Studebaker led the way in this design and marketing change, and the Big Three auto manufacturers soon followed. Studebaker sales were fairly strong after World War II and reached a peak with the 1950 model.
The post-World War II market for new cars initially was a seller's market. Supplies were limited, and waiting lists were long. New-car buyers settled for almost anything with four wheels and an engine, including slightly modified 1942 models and cars purchased sight unseen. But by the late 1940s supplies had increased, and auto manufacturers had to offer new features to attract comparison shoppers. Eye-catching styling was one way to sell cars. Studebaker was one of the first manufacturers to completely restyle its line, for the 1947 model year. The 1950 Studebaker featured even more radical revisions and styling changes. Robert E. Bourke, an automotive stylist who worked with the renowned industrial designer Raymond Loewy, was largely responsible for the 1950 Studebaker's styling, now considered a classic of its era.
This model was built for its inventors (two brothers from Montana) by a Chicago firm, run by J. T. H. Paterson, Proprietor. Raw materials were loaded into one side and mixed concrete unloaded on the other.
Regal Model and Tool Works (122 S. Clarke Street, Chicago, Illinois, J. T. H. Paterson, Proprietor) built this model for two inventors, who were brothers from Montana. This cement mixer was patented.
George J. Weber submitted this model for an “improvement in wheeled scrapers” that received patent number 216,588 on June 17, 1879. The road scraper was horse drawn and self-dumping.
As the good roads movement gathered strength in the 1890s, a host of patent applications were received for machines that, using horses, helped maintain the surfaces of the nation's roadways.
Hiram W. Ball submitted this model with his patent for an “improvement in road scrapers” that received patent number 221,273 on November 4, 1879. The horse drawn drag scraper incorporated a catch that allowed the scoop to dump its load without having to raise the handle.
As the good roads movement gathered strength in the 1890s, a host of patent applications were received for machines that, using horses, helped maintain the surfaces of the nation's roadways.
John D. Libey of Lima, Indiana submitted this model with his patent for a scraper that received patent number 529,925 on November 27, 1894. Designed for road work, the scraper could be operated by one man. A two-horse team pulled the scraper that picked up a yard of earth and took it away.
As the good roads movement gathered strength in the 1890s, a host of patent applications were received for machines that, using horses, helped maintain the surfaces of the nation's roadways.
This model depicts a road scraper manufactured by Dague's Grader Company, Danville, Illinois, and patented on the 30th Dec 1879 by E. D. Dague.
This model is a demonstration model, presumably used as a selling tool. Company advertising claimed that “Dague's Celebrated Road Scraper and Leveller ...will do more work than FOUR ordinary Dump Scrapers, and will Leave the Surface Level, and only requires the services of One Man and one pair of horse to operate it with ease.”
As the good roads movement gathered strength in the 1890s, a host of patent applications were received for machines that, using horses, helped maintain the surfaces of the nation's roadways.
This is a patent model for a road scraper assigned to the Western Wheeled Scraper Company in 1892.
As the good roads movement gathered strength in the 1890s, inventors generated a host of patent applications for machines that improved roads using horse-drawn scrapers and graders.
This is a 1/2" scale four-wheel model of Peter Cooper’s Tom Thumb, which operated on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1830. Few contemporary details about the locomotive’s construction have survived. The model is based on Peter Cooper's recollection printed in the an 1875 issue of the American Railway Master Mechanics Association. The model shows a verticle boiler, a verticle cylinder and piston and a stack.
After making a modest fortune in glue manufacturing in New York City, Peter Cooper purchased property in Baltimore on which he constructed the Canton Iron Works. He was therefore anxious about the future of the newly opened Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, since only a successful line would increase the value of his land holdings. In England, where the railway was first developed, companies operated steam locomotives over farely straight lines. B&O officials believed that their route’s sharp curves were unsuitable for locomotives, and operated trains hauled by horses instead. Cooper, by contrast, insisted that steam locomotives were not only practical but necessary if the line was to make a profit. To argue his position, he constructed a small locomotive that hauled trains carrying B&O Railroad officials during the summer of 1830. The Tom Thumb’s ability to traverse the sharp curves of the line with a speed of 18 mph proved Cooper’s point, and steam locomotives were adopted on the B&O the following year.
Few people could afford the Model T when it was introduced in 1908. But Ford’s moving assembly line increased production volume, and prices fell dramatically from $850 to $260 by 1925. The Model T gave personal mobility to more than 15 million rural and urban Americans and ushered in the automobile age. Light and powerful, it had a three-point suspension that could negotiate rough roads, and parts were available at dealers in small and large communities across America. This car belonged to Harvey W. Locke, a designer and inventor of cameras and camera parts in Rochester, New York.
Joseph N. Hazelip of Baltimore, Maryland produced this wooden velocipede around 1867. The velocipede has wooden wheels, forged iron handle bars, and iron wheels. The front wheel is slightly larger than rear wheel, with spool-pedal-equipped cranks attached directly to front axle. This particular velocipede was donated the the Smithsonian in 1894, making it one of the earliest cycles in the collection.
This velocipede was called a Hanlon type, as the Hanlon brothers of New York City patented a number of inventions in the late 1860s that were designed to improve velocipedes.