Full-size patent model (U.S. Patent No. 181,687) of a milk boiler to prevent milk from boiling over, made by John H. Kinsman of Salem, MA, and patented on August 29, 1876. Consists of two, shallow, wide-necked, funnel-like pieces - one with a row of large cutout circles and the other serrated or notched with semicircles along its rim - that friction fit together at their necks, the perforated one at top and the notched one at bottom, to form one unit to be placed in a boiler or pot. Both pieces made in two parts with soft-soldered lapped seams. Tinned interiors. No marks. Darkened paper tags tied through the two pieces with red or purple (faded) wove ribbon and white string are printed and handwritten with patent information.
This patent model accompanied John Howarth’s patent application that received patent number 117,290 on July 25, The patent describes a process for extracting sulphate of lime (gypsum) from salt brine (concentrated sea water) by evaporating the brine and then superheating it.
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patents issued to Joseph W. Thompson, of Salem, Ohio, April 27, 2875, nos. 162714 and 162715. These were assigned to the Buckeye Engine Co., of the same place.
The model represents the first form of J. W. Thompson’s balanced and cut-off valve gear, which was one of the earliest of the “automatic” valve gears. It was introduced in the very successful Buckeye engine.
The model represents a horizontal steam engine with one fixed eccentric and one shifting eccentric driving the main slide valve and the riding cut-off valve, respectively. The valve of the engine is in the shape of a hollow rectangular box the top of which works in close proximity to the valve chest cover and has a steam-tight, ring-packed opening through which steam is admitted to the inside chamber of the valve. The bottom of the hollow box forms the main valve taking steam through the chamber and into the valve chest at the ends of the valve. The opening through which steam is admitted is made enough larger than the steam pipe opening to cause the steam pressure within the chamber to exert some force to keep the main valve on its seat; otherwise the valve is perfectly balanced. A riding cut-off valve operates on the inside face of the bottom of the hollow main valve.
The main valve is operated from a rock shaft directly connected to the rod of the fixed eccentric. The riding cut-off valve is operated from a double-arm rock shaft, which is carried in the main valve rock shaft, one arm being connected to the valve rod, the other to a shifting eccentric on the engine shaft. The position of this eccentric will determine the position of the double-arm rock shaft relative to the main valve rock shaft and will in this way control the point of cut-off.
A shaft governor of the Thompson and Hunt design carries the shifting eccentric and varies its position relative to the crank with changes in speed of the shaft. The governor is mounted in a disk on the shaft and not in the flywheel as has since become practice.
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.
This bucket belonged to Samuel Kennedy, Jr., who lived in Salem, Massachusetts in the mid-nineteenth century. He was listed as a “captain” in the 1850 Salem city directory. Kennedy was most likely a member of the Naumkeag Fire Club, the fourteenth fire club formed in Salem. It was chartered in August 1832. In 1837, the town of Salem also received a Hunneman engine, which was named the Naumkeag #5. (Hunneman engines were named for their maker, William Hunneman, whose company manufactured some 750 engines between 1792 and 1883. ) The volunteer firefighters of Salem most likely chose to name a company and an engine “Naumkeag” because this was the town’s original Indian name. Salem was founded at the mouth of the Naumkeag River in 1626, and the “Christian name” of Salem was given to the town in the first half of the seventeenth century. Companies frequently chose names that had local significance and that would identify them as belonging to and serving a particular neighborhood or town. In Salem, calling a fire club “Naumkeag” connected the organization to the town’s long history, as well with the geography of the region, and thus helped to integrate the club into the community.
This early nineteenth century bucket reads “Laurel Lodge.” This may refer to a Masonic Lodge—a local chapter within the larger fraternal organization—such as the one in Laurel Springs, New Jersey. It is also possible that Laurel Lodge was a tavern or an inn. Either way, the lodge would have kept its own buckets in case of fire. The opposite side of the bucket is painted with an insignia featuring a helmet and two crossed swords. This icon is surrounded by green laurel leaves, in keeping with the name of the lodge; laurel is usually symbolic of triumph or fame.
This hand-sewn leather bucket from 1832 is marked with the owner’s name, W. Forbes, and “Independent,” most likely the name of his fire company or fire society. The public service of firefighting was closely connected with republican ideals of citizenship. The formation of associations was considered uniquely American, and volunteers generally chose names for their organizations that would demonstrate their patriotism and sense of civic duty: “Independent,” “Union,” and “Liberty” were all common names for fire companies. Fire threatened to destroy society, and by protecting the cities in which they lived from physical destruction, firefighters were seen as preserving democratic values, values at the core of American society. Companies chose names that would emphasize their commitment to the young nation and its political principles.
Colored print on folding gameboard. Playing surface has 33 diamond shaped positions arranged in the shape of a cross. The four corners of the board depict knights on horseback; the two on the right are engaged in combat.