Telegraph message, printed in Morse code, transcribed and signed by Samuel F. B. Morse. This message was transmitted from Baltimore, Maryland, to Washington, D.C., over the nation's first long-distance telegraph line.
In 1843, Congress allocated $30,000 for Morse (1791-1872) to build an electric telegraph line between Washington and Baltimore. Morse and his partner, Alfred Vail (1807-1859), completed the forty-mile line in May 1844. For the first transmissions, they used a quotation from the Bible, Numbers 23:23: "What hath God wrought," suggested by Annie G. Ellsworth (1826-1900), daughter of Patent Commissioner Henry L. Ellsworth (1791-1858) who was present at the event on 24 May. Morse, in the Capitol, sent the message to Vail at the B&O Railroad's Pratt Street Station in Baltimore. Vail then sent a return message confirming the message he had received.
The original message transmitted by Morse from Washington to Baltimore, dated 24 May 1844, is in the collections of the Library of Congress. The original confirmation message from Vail to Morse is in the collections of the Connecticut Historical Society.
This tape, dated 25 May, is a personal souvenir transmitted by Vail in Baltimore to Morse in Washington the day following the inaugural transmissions. The handwriting on the tape is that of Morse himself. Found in Morse’s papers after his death the tape was donated to the Smithsonian in 1900 by his son Edward, where it has been displayed in many exhibitions.
In 1977, Commodore introduced the PET (Personal Electronic Transactor) home/personal computer. Appearing before either the Apple II or the Radio Shack TRS-80, it was among the first personal computers. The PET 2001, Commodore's first model, included four kilobytes of memory, cost $495, and was fully functional out the box. The computer sold well, but initially Commodore could produce only a meager thirty units a day.
The PET had a main board with a 1 MHz MOS 6502 processor and room for additional RAM. The machine included a built-in cassette on the front of the case for data storage. Users could write their own programs in BASIC, but many complained about the small keyboard, which made touch typing difficult. The screen of the PET computer was small (9"), and had a black or blue display. Users could design simple graphics, do animations, or work out math problems. A notable feature of the PET 2001 was that the top of the computer opened for maintenance like the hood of a car.
PET 2001 was designed by computer pioneer Chuck Peddle. He came to Commodore during the company's acquisition of MOS Technology in 1976. AT MOS, he had designed the KIM (Keyboard Input Monitor) computer. At Commodore, he convinced managers that computers were "in" and won approval to design the PET. It paved the way for later Commodore machines, such as the Commodore-64.
This particular PET 2001 was donated by Louis Mittleman, who noted not only that the keyboard was a serious "drawback," but also that the manual did not have much information.
In the early 1980s, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) was the second largest computer company in the United States, following IBM, and was the leading producer of minicomputers. DEC had missed the initial development of personal computers, but decided to enter the market with a 16 bit machine. In 1982, it introduced the DEC Rainbow 100, for a price of $2,500.
The Rainbow 100 had both a Z-80 and an Intel 8088 microprocessor that ran at 4 MHz. It had 64 KB or RAM and 24 KB of ROM and had two built in floppy drives that could accommodate 400 KB single-sided quad density disks. It had three operating systems: MS-DOS, CP/M-86, and CP/M. Users made a selection by a menu at boot time. This portion - CPU - sat on a floor stand. For the monitor, see 1994.0078.01.2. For the keyboard, see 1994.0078.01.3. For related documentation, see 1994.3022.
The Rainbow could be used for word processing, spreadsheets, and games, although it had a monochrome screen. In addition to operating as a stand-alone computer, the Rainbow worked effectively as a VT-100 or VT-220 terminal emulator on larger machines, such as DEC's minicomputers. Although the Rainbow was a powerful and effective personal computer, it was not fully compatible with IBM systems, and eventually was overshadowed and undersold by IBM clones.
According to the donor, Steve Lubar, writing at the time he gave the machine to the museum, "purchased the Rainbow 100 in 1984, through my wife, Lisa Thoerle,who was then an employee of Digital Equipment Corporation.There was a large employee discount, perhaps almost 50%,(if I remember right!) which made the machine affordable,and close in price to more common PCs.
At the time,I was employed as a historian in the Department of
History of Science and Technology,working on the Engines of Change exhibition and a variety of scholarly papers. I used the Rainbow for word processing mostly, using WordStar software,and as a VT-100 terminal, using the built-in emulation, to call bulletin boards. I always used the machine in its CP/M mode, mostly because I found
that the only software I had for the MS-DOS mode(an early version of WordPerfect) was dreadful. Lisa used the machine a bit; she had a
C compiler,but found the machine too slow to use to do any serious
work. (She was used to VAXs and PDP-11s).
I used the Rainbow until 1988 or 1989,when I purchased a
Macintosh SE.The Rainbow,it was clear by that point, was a
technological deadend,too expensive to upgrade,and too
idiosyncratic to take advantage of the ever-cheaper prices on
hardware upgrades then available for IBM-standard PCs."
After the success of the IBM's business PC, IBM attempted to capture the home market with the IBM PCjr. The PCjr system was compact, low cost, and designed for applications related to learning, entertainment, and personal productivity.
The computer had an Intel 8088 microprocessor that ran at 4.77 MHz–faster than most systems on the market at the time. It had 64 KB of RAM, which could be expanded to 256 KB and later to 720 KB with third party add-ons. It featured an internal 5 1/4" floppy drive and a wireless keyboard. King's Quest, a popular Adventure game of the 1980s, debuted on the PCjr.
Despite a flashy debut and a strong technology core, the PCjr flopped in the market. Consumers were not as attracted by the IBM name as business had been. Price was a major factor. The PCjr cost about the same as the Coleco Adam, but for the price, the Adam included two tape drives, a printer, and software. The PCJr was twice as expensive as the Commodore 64. With the exception of the Apple II, it was possible to purchase a complete system (computer, disk drive, and printer) from almost any of IBM's competitors for less money. However, criticism of the system focused on the "chiclet" keyboard. Similar to that of a pocket calculator, the small keys were cheap and difficult to use for touch typing. IBM later replaced this with a wireless conventional-sized keyboard. But it could only be used two or three feet away from the machine and drained batteries quickly.
Announced in November 1983 and available in March 1984, IBM sold the PCJr for $669 with 64 KB RAM, and $1,269 for 128 KB RAM. The more expensive system also included a floppy-disk drive. The device was manufactured in Lewisburg, Tennesee, by Teledyne, IBM discontinued the PCjr in March of 1985 after selling only approximately 270,000 units.
The Apple Lisa introduced the graphic user interface (GUI) into the Apple Computer Corporation's line of personal computers. Instead of using only text-based commands, users could employ pictorial icons displayed on the screen to initiate operations. Officially, "Lisa" stood for "Local Integrated Software Architecture," but it was also the name of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' daughter. This computer was also Jobs "baby," as he championed its creation and believed it would revolutionize personal computing. Apple spent four years and $50 million to develop it, but it turned out to be a commercial flop, in large part because of the $10,000 per unit cost. Only 80,000 were eventually sold. The Lisa is most important historically as the computer that pioneered concepts later used in the far more successful Macintosh.
This Lisa has model number A65B100 and serial number B08B832370482. It was owned and used by Roslyn Lang and her family. Her husband used it for academic work, while she and her children used it for computer games. She said: "As I recall, these were mainly games that you played against the software by looking at pictures of a castle and trying to free the princess without being eaten by an ogre!”
Susie's New Stove: The Little Chef's Cookbook was written by Annie North Bedford with illustrations by Corinne Malvern, and published by Simon & Schuster in New York, New York, in 1949.
Raised in New Jersey, Corinne Malvern (1901-1956) was a child actress who, along with her sister, performed in traveling plays, vaudeville and movies. After an accident in her teens, Malvern was forced to give up her acting career and later attended the Art Students League of New York. Proficient in watercolor, pastel, pencil and ink and paint, she launched a career as a commercial artist, and was known for her fashion illustrations and magazine covers. Shortly after, she teamed up with her sister, a children’s author, and began drawing children’s books, including seventeen for the Little Golden Book series, including Doctor Dan, Nurse Nancy, How Big?, Susie’s New Stove, and 5 Pennies to Spend.
The illustrations in Susie's New Stove reflect the traditional gender roles of the 1940s and 1950s and portrays the idyllic setting of home sweet home. The simple recipes included in the books gave little girls the chance to practice their culinary and homemaking skills. This is in stark contrast to the social upheaval that would emerge in the 1960s, challenging and altering perceptions of gender roles and civil rights.
Susie’ New Stove featured the “Little Chef” toy stove which had a working hot plate that could boil water. High-end models had a working hot plate and two functioning ovens that could be heated to 375 degrees. "Little Chef" is a trademark term used by Tacoma Metal Products, Tacoma Washington. maker of the stove.
In 1987, Commodore introduced the Amiga 500, also known as the A500, as an inexpensive version of a 16 bit multimedia home computer. The goal was to provide a machine that would compete successfully against other 16 bit machines, just as the Commodore 64 had outsold many competitive 8 bit computers. The A500 did sell well against the Atari 520ST and was the low end successor of the Amiga 1000.
The A500 used a Motorola 68000 microprocessor that ran at 7.14 MHz and had 256 KB of ROM and 512 KB of RAM, which was expandable to 9MB. The Amiga 500 used a special system for its RAM configuration. It had 512 KB of Chip RAM, which could be accessed by the sound and video custom chip, and FAST RAM, which could only be accessed only by the CPU.
The Amiga 500 was followed by the Amiga 500+. It doubled the amount of the A500s Chip RAM to 1 MB. Both versions could be connected to a TV set or to a video monitor. The A500 computers were the best selling in the Amiga series. Besides doing well in the United States, they also were popular in Europe. Many users favored the Amiga because, in addition to being inexpensive, it had excellent graphics and sound capability for a computer of its era.
Introduced in 1983 at a cost of $199.95, the Timex-Sinclair 2068 (TS 2068) was the fourth and last Sinclair personal computer sold in the US market. It followed the ZX-81 (marketed by Sinclair Research through an American branch), TS 1000, and TS 1500. It’s design also drew on Sinclair’s ZX Spectrum (the Spectrum was not marketed in the U.S.).
The TS 2068 used a Z80 processor that ran at 3.58 MHz. Its memory included 48 KB of RAM and 24 KB of ROM. A cassette recorder was used for external storage. Like the TS 1000, the 2068 included a BASIC interpreter to run programs. Additional functions had been added to handle more complex graphic and sound commands. The TS 2068 included a sound chip and speaker at the bottom of the computer and had a range of 10 octaves and 130 semitones directly programmable from BASIC. Users could buy a TS 2040 printer that was attached to an expansion port.
The TS 2068 was well equipped for playing games and, with the use of an appropriate cartridge, could be used with most software designed for the ZX Spectrum. The computer was generally used for entertainment, educational, and programming tutorials.
This toy steam engine was made by the Märklin Company during the early 20th century. This toy steam engine consists of a firebox, vertical brass boiler, chimney stack, and vertical engine that powered a flywheel, all mounted on a red cast iron stand. The Märklin Company logo can be seen stamped on the side of the boiler.
The Märklin Company was established in 1859 in the town of Göppingen, Germany by tin smith Theodor Friedrich Wilhelm Märklin. Märklin began his business with the production of tin doll houses, but the company soon began producing a variety of tinplate and metal items, eventually specializing in toys that included steam engines such as this one.
This original artwork, for pages 2, 4, 5, 9, 15, and 20, was used for the book Come Play House written by Edith Osswald with illustrations by Eloise Wilkin. This book was published by Simon and Schuster in New York, New York, in 1948.
A Graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, Eloise Wilkin (1904-1987) studied illustration. In her early years she worked as a freelance artist in New York City, illustrating schoolbooks for children learning to read, paper dolls and puzzles. She was married and raising a family in upstate New York when she started working from home creating illustrations for Little Golden Books in 1946. A prolific illustrator, Wilkin's work is easily identifiable for her adorable images of children with round faces and rosy pink cheeks. It is reported that she modeled her characters on her own family members and friends. Her beautifully detailed settings and backgrounds demonstrate her meticulous research and attention to detail. Her depiction of the idyllic home and family life reflected the post war optimism of the 1950s. She worked for Little Golden Books until 1984 and continued to design dolls for Vogue and Madame Alexander.
A stalwart Catholic, Wilkins was much attuned to the awakening social conscious of the 1960s. In 1964, the National Urban League, headed up by Whitney Young, brought attention to what he considered a fundamental omission on the part of the juvenile publishing world who he accused of racial stereotyping. Indeed, there were no children of color depicted in this vast category of books, but Eleanor Wilkin was one of the first illustrators to include an integrated classroom in We Like Kindergarten.
The computers in the Apple II family were among the most popular personal computers in the late 1970s and 1980s. The last model and most impressive of the Apple II family was the Apple II GS (GS=graphics + sound). When it was released in September of 1986—Apple's 10th anniversary—at the price of $999 (without a monitor—or $1498 with an RGB monitor), the Apple II GS competed against other computers such as the Commodore Amiga and the Atari ST.
The Apple II GS used the Western Design Center 65816 16 bit microprocessor, which ran at 2.8 Mhz. It had 256 KB of RAM, which could be expanded to 8 MB. There were seven slots to accommodate an expansion of memory. It was the first computer to utilize the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) which linked standard input device such as keyboards, mice, and graphics tablets. This made it possible for Apple to sell a single set of peripherals that both the Apple Computer and later the Macintosh could use. The IIGS display had a 600 X 200 pixel mode with 2-bit palletized cooler and a 320 X 200 pixel mode with a 4-bit palletized color. The Apple II GS could display 256 colors on the screen. Its ProDOS 16 as system software allowed users to handle any number of open files at the same time.
The IIGS seemed well positioned to capture a large market. However, by the time it was released, Apple was putting its energy into developing the Macintosh and the IIGS suffered from limited marketing. Apple discontinued the line in December 1992.
This example of the Apple IIGS is model number A26000, Serial number A2S2-E80113DA2S6000. For related documentation, see 1998.3062.
Volunteerism plays an important role in philanthropy in America. After Hurricane Katrina destroyed lives and homes in the Gulf Coast in 2005, many nonprofit groups organized volunteers to help the recovery effort. Jillian Gross led a team from Habitat for Humanity in rebuilding homes in Louisiana.
Description
This hard hat was worn by Jillian Gross while working for Habitat for Humanity, a not-for-profit, non-government organization advocating affordable housing around the world. Hard hats are used for head protection on construction and other work sites. This hat has a lightweight shell with suspension straps inside that absorbs shock from falling objects. It is made by MSA Incorporated.
When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in August 2005, Jillian Gross had worked with Habitat for Humanity for three years learning woodworking and house-building skills. Groups such as Habitat for Humanity marshaled volunteers, tools and lumber to step in when it became clear that normal avenues of housing assistance were overwhelmed.
In November 2005, Habitat for Humanity launched “America Builds on the National Mall,” a demonstration house-building marathon in Washington, D.C. in which the basic components of 51 homes were assembled within a week and shipped to the Gulf Coast. Upon completion of the project Ms. Gross, one of the house building leaders during this event, donated her tool belt, tools and protective wear to the Smithsonian Institution.
Ira Wertman, a farmer in Andreas, Pennsylvania, raised fruits and vegetables and peddled them with this truck to retired coal miners near Allentown. He also used the truck to take produce to market and haul supplies from town to the farm. Pickup trucks have been versatile aids to a wide range of agricultural, personal, and business activities. Early pickup trucks were modified automobiles, but postwar models were larger, more powerful, and able to carry heavier loads. Some postwar pickups were used in building suburban communities. Others were used for recreational purposes such as camping, hunting, and fishing. By the 1990s, many people purchased pickups for everyday driving.
Original artwork, of page 12, from the book Howdy Doody's Lucky Trip, written by Edward Kean with illustrations by Harry McNaught, and published by Simon & Schuster in New York, New York, in 1953.
In addition to Howdy Doody's Lucky Trip, Harry McNaught illustrated several Little Golden Books, including the Wizard of Oz series from the 1950s, the popular Animal Babies and several Big Golden Books on nature and science. More recently, he created the images for two Little Golden Books on the characters from the Muppets.
From 1947 to 1960, the Howdy Doody Show was the leading children’s TV program in the United States. The creator of the Howdy Doody character, “Buffalo” Bob Smith, first performed him as a radio character. When the show transitioned to TV, Frank Paris created the new puppet, but left the show (with the puppet) in 1948 to disputes over merchandising rights. Velma Dawson created the now ubiquitous Howdy Doody that debuted in 1949. This Howdy Doody became popular spokes character, hawking sponsored products on the show or in print.
Text and photograph from Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War, Vol. II. Negative by David Knox, text and positive by Alexander Gardner.
The monotony of camp life was relieved by every variety of amusement that was known, or could be devised. During the periods of inactivity, base ball, cricket, gymnastics, foot races, &c., were indulged in to a great extent, and on holidays horse races, foot races, and other games were allowed. Sometimes the men would put up a greased pole, with a prize on the top, for anyone who succeeded in climbing up to it, and not unfrequently a pig would be turned loose with a shaved and greased tail, for the men to catch. Any grip but a "tail hold" was illegitimate, but he who seized and held the pig by this appendage, carried it off in triumph to his mess.
Cock fighting, however, was quite unusual, and seldom permitted, except when some of the contrabands incited their captured Shanghais, or more ignoble fowls, to combat. Such displays were always ludicrous, and were generally exhibited for the amusement of the mess for whom the feathered bipeds were intended. Horses and mules perished by hundreds from ill-usage, but with thin exception it would be exceedingly difficult to cite an instance of cruelty to animals in the army. Fowls, dogs, kittens, and even wild animals, were made pets of, and were cared for most tenderly. Sometimes a regiment would adopt a dog, and woe to the individual who ventured to maltreat it. Several of the Western regiments carried pet bears with them, and one regiment was accompanied by a tame eagle in all its campaigns.
Original artwork, of page 9, for the book New Brother New Sister, written by Jean Fielder with illustrations by Joan Esley, and published by Golden Press in New York, New York, in 1966.
Marjorie Joan Esley (1904-2000) was born in upstate New York and showed a proficiency for art at a young age. She attended the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute (now known as RIT) and the Grand Central School of Art in New York City. During her time at RIT she became close friends with a fellow student, Eloise Wilkin, who also became an illustrator for Little Golden Books. Esley, worked as a freelance artist illustrating children’s readers for school textbooks, as well as drawing for the Girl Scout Magazine and the Post. Esley contracted with Little Golden Books to work on New Brother, New Sister and Play Street, both written by Esther Wilkin, sister-in-law of fellow illustrator, Eloise Wilkin. In addition to her work as an illustrator, Esley went on to author and illustrate several books of her own.
The concept of the "here and now” as seen in New Brother, New Sister, was Golden Books attempt to introduce and link children to everyday life experiences. Promoted in home advice columns as well as advertisements, this book and others like The New Baby, were early attempts to help 2-5-year old children welcome the new sibling to the family. The theories behind progressive education stressed the need for intellectual, personal and emotional development in order to create a well-rounded individual.
All-American Glee Club. side 1: Rambling Wreck From Georgia Tech (track 1) Hail to Georgia (track 2) Cavalier Song/Virginia, Hail, All Hail (track 3); side 2: Carolina's Day (track 1) Hark! The Sound of Tarheel Voice/Here Comes Carolina (track 2) (Victor 26684), from the album, College Songs, Vol. 3 - Southern (Victor P 34). 78 rpm.
This plastic and glass thermos bottle was made by Aladdin Industries in 1970. It has a screw-on white plastic cup lid with handle and screw-on white plastic stopper. The thermos bottle is decorated with various Dr. Seuss cartoons, including the Cat in the Hat.