Collections Search Results
Your search found 36 records from all Smithsonian Institution collections.
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- Description (Brief)
- This plastic Comfo-Cap brand miner’s helmet was manufactured by the Mine Safety Appliance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The MSA Company first registered their trademark for the Comfo-Cap in 1935 and continues to produce the helmet into the 21st century. The front of the helmet has a bracket for either a carbide mining lamp or electric lamp. This mining helmet has a low profile to avoid bumps, hard plastic to absorb impact, and its flat front served as an excellent mount for mining lights.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-8181B
- accession number
- 239148
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8181B
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- Description (Brief)
- This cotton miner’s cap has a leather brim with a leather lamp bracket holding a carbide lamp. A small union pin that reads “United Mine Works of America @ 1934, Working Button” is attached to the side of the cap. Before head protection became mandatory in industrial workplaces, miner’s caps served as a way to mount their lamps.
- The union pin on this mining cap speaks to the personal connections miner’s had with their cap. A miner chose their headgear, and took it with them to work where it was worn all day and used for decades. It wasn’t uncommon for miner’s to personalize their helmet with stickers or their caps with pins.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9526A
- accession number
- 277982
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9526A
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- Description (Brief)
- This wicker mining helmet was used in India. The prevalence of bamboo and rattan in India may be the reason this helmet was made of wicker instead of the plastic or leather helmets that were prevalent in the United States. The wicker mining helmet has a metal lamp bracket woven into the front of the helmet.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MI-1099.3
- catalog number
- MHI-MI-1099.3
- accession number
- 1978.0288
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- Description (Brief)
- This Hard Boiled brand miner’s helmet was made by the E.D. Bullard Company of San Francisco, California after 1919. A leather and metal lamp bracket is mounted onto the front of the helmet that likely would have held a carbide lamp. Bullard was one of the first producers of protective hard hats, basing their original design off of the “doughboy” helmets worn by World War I soldiers. The helmet was made of canvas, glue, and black paint, and given the trademarked name “Hard Boiled” in because of the steam used in the manufacturing process to stiffen the leather.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9734
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9734
- accession number
- 299389
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- Description (Brief)
- This canvas miner’s cap was manufactured by Thomas Lloyd & Sons of Houtzdale, Pennsylvania. The cap has a leather brim with a leather and metal lamp bracket. The bracket likely held either a carbide lamp or an oil-wick cap lamp. Before head protection became mandatory in industrial workplaces, miner’s caps served as a way to mount their lamps.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9576B
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9576B
- accession number
- 282791
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- Description (Brief)
- This electric cap lamp was made by the Concordia Electric Co. The lamp was powered by a battery enclosed in a self-locking steel case worn on the miner’s belt. A flexible cord, protected by a steel spring where it comes out of the battery, connected the battery to the cap lamp. This lamp is marked as permissible by the U.S. Bureau of Mines, and has an added cord for plugging into an electric outlet. This picture show the lamp attached to the miner’s cap.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MT-2683.02
- accession number
- 115674
- catalog number
- MHI-MT-2683
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- Description (Brief)
- This Skullgard helmet was manufactured by the Mine Safety Appliances Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The Skullgard brand helmet was developed by MSA in 1930. The hat is made of Bakelite plastic with a leather and metal lamp bracket is attached to the front of the helmet, which probably would have held an electric lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MT-2681 [dup2]
- catalog number
- MHI-MT-2681
- accession number
- 115672
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- Description (Brief)
- This wicker mining helmet was used in India. The prevalence of bamboo and rattan in India may be the reason this helmet was made of wicker instead of the plastic or leather helmets that were prevalent in the United States.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MI-1099.2
- catalog number
- MHI-MI-1099.2
- accession number
- 1978.0288
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- Description (Brief)
- This plastic Comfo-Cap brand miner’s helmet was manufactured by the Mine Safety Appliance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The MSA Company first registered their trademark for the Comfo-Cap in 1935 and continues to produce the helmet into the 21st century. The front of the helmet has a bracket for either a carbide mining lamp or electric lamp. This mining helmet has a low profile to avoid bumps, hard plastic to absorb impact, and its flat front served as an excellent mount for mining lights.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-8097C
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8097C
- accession number
- 240639
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- Description (Brief)
- This plastic Comfo-Cap brand miner’s helmet was manufactured by the Mine Safety Appliance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The MSA Company first registered their trademark for the Comfo-Cap in 1935 and continues to produce the helmet into the 21st century. The front of the helmet has a bracket for either a carbide mining lamp or electric lamp. This mining helmet has a low profile to avoid bumps, hard plastic to absorb impact, and its flat front served as an excellent mount for mining lights.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-8097A
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8097A
- accession number
- 240639
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- Description (Brief)
- This Skullgard helmet was manufactured by the Mine Safety Appliances Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The Skullgard brand helmet was developed by MSA in 1930. The hat is made of Bakelite plastic, with a metal lamp bracket protruding from the front that would have held an electric cap lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9713
- accession number
- 299568
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9713
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- Description (Brief)
- This is a Flexo Band Cool Cap. The Flexo Band Cool Cap was patented by Albert A. Strauss around 1933. The cap is made of reinforced leather with a dome comprised of upstanding ribs allowing for protection and ventilation. The Flexo Band Cool Cap was often colloquially referred to as a "turtle shell" helmet, due to its distinctive style. The Flexo Band Cool Cap was distributed by a few different companies during the 20th century, including the MSA Company and the Portable Lamp and Equipment Company. The leather and metal lamp bracket is attached to the front of the cap. The bracket could have held an oil-wick lamp or a carbide lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-8181D
- accession number
- 239148
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8181D
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- Description (Brief)
- This miner’s cap was made during the early 20th century by the T.R. Jones Company of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The cap is a Coal King brand of hat that the T.R. Jones Company produced. The hat is made of reinforced leather, with a thick leather brim, and a thick leather and metal lamp bracket on the front of the hat. The lamp bracket received patent number 1,490,831 on April 15, 1924. The bracket could hold either an oil-wick lamp or a carbide lamp. Originally, mining caps were worn to serve simply as a lamp holder. As miner safety became more of a concern hats began to take on the additional role of providing protection, as evidenced by the inner suspension and reinforced leather of this hat.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-7914A
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-7914A
- accession number
- 233577
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- Description (Brief)
- This plastic miner’s helmet would have been in use during the first half of the 20th century, after 1915. The helmet has a leather and metal lamp bracket attached to the front which would have likely held an oil-wick lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9235B
- accession number
- 268055
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9235B
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- Description (Brief)
- This black Coal King brand miner’s helmet was made during the first half of the 20th century by the T.R. Jones Company of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The helmet is made of re-enforced leather, with a leather and metal lamp bracket in the front and a leather cord holder in the rear. The helmet’s cord holder keeps the cable out of the miner’s way, routing it behind the miner. The cord holder points to this helmet being used in conjunction with an electric lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9575A
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9575A
- accession number
- 282791
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- Description (Brief)
- This canvas miner’s cap has a leather lamp bracket secured to its front with six metal nails. Two union buttons attached to right side. A Lehigh Navigation Coal Company label is attached to the front of the cap. The larger button with the American Flag and numbers "11" and "1928" in center reads: "UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA / WORKERS UNION". The smaller button of red, white, and blue reads: "THRIFT ARMY / LIEUTENANT / CARBON CO. / SCHOOLS." The label has writing from the donor that reads “My first mine cap. / before safety helmet / with Working uniform button / to be worn to so[sic] that / member paid dues / that month.” The hat was owned by John Miller who lived on 160 West Church Avenue in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- associated date
- 1928
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9457
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9457
- accession number
- 277980
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- Description (Brief)
- This miner’s hat is made of canvas, with a leather brim and metal lamp bracket attached to the front of the cap. A miner’s carbide lamp is mounted onto the bracket. This type of hat and lamp would have been used together from around 1900 until the 1930s. Carbide lamps consisted of two chambers, an upper chamber holding water and a lower chamber holding calcium carbide. Acetylene gas is produced when water from the lamp's upper level encounters the calcium carbide stored in the base via a dripping mechanism. The gas is funneled to the burner, where it is lit by a match or a built-in striker. Miner safety became a big issue during the early 20th century, when mining accidents hit an all-time high. Congress established the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1910 to improve miner safety, and miner’s hats began to turn to helmets, and electric lamps replaced the open flame of carbide and oil-wick lamps.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-8146
- accession number
- 239148
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8146
-
- Description (Brief)
- This Hard Boiled brand miner’s helmet was made by the E.D. Bullard Company of San Francisco, California after 1919. A leather and metal lamp bracket is mounted onto the front of the helmet that likely would have held an electric lamp. The rear of the helmet has a metal cord holder. Bullard was one of the first producers of protective hard hats, basing their original design off of the “doughboy” helmets worn by World War I soldiers. The helmet was made of canvas, glue, and black paint, and given the trademarked name “Hard Boiled” because of the steam used in the manufacturing process.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-8782C
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8782C
- accession number
- 265669
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- Description (Brief)
- This plastic Comfo-Cap brand miner’s helmet was manufactured by the Mine Safety Appliance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The MSA Company first registered their trademark for the Comfo-Cap in 1935 and continues to produce the helmet into the 21st century. The front of the helmet has a bracket for either a carbide mining lamp or electric lamp. This mining helmet has a low profile to avoid bumps, hard plastic to absorb impact, and its flat front served as an excellent mount for mining lights.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-8097B
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8097B
- accession number
- 240639
-
- Description (Brief)
- This wicker mining helmet was used in India. The prevalence of bamboo and rattan in India may be the reason this helmet was made of wicker instead of the plastic or leather helmets that were prevalent in the United States.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MI-1099.1
- catalog number
- MHI-MI-1099.1
- accession number
- 1978.0288
