Energy & Power
The Museum's collections on energy and power illuminate the role of fire, steam, wind, water, electricity, and the atom in the nation's history. The artifacts include wood-burning stoves, water turbines, and windmills, as well as steam, gas, and diesel engines. Oil-exploration and coal-mining equipment form part of these collections, along with a computer that controlled a power plant and even bubble chambers—a tool of physicists to study protons, electrons, and other charged particles.
A special strength of the collections lies in objects related to the history of electrical power, including generators, batteries, cables, transformers, and early photovoltaic cells. A group of Thomas Edison's earliest light bulbs are a precious treasure. Hundreds of other objects represent the innumerable uses of electricity, from streetlights and railway signals to microwave ovens and satellite equipment.
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Experimental Graphophone and Recording
- Description
- This is an experimental machine for recording sound with a vertically cut wax record on its cylinder. It was made as a demonstration piece at the Volta Laboratory, Washington, DC, in September 1881. The machine is a modified Edison phonograph. The grooves of the machine’s cylinder have been widened and coated with wax. A hand-written card attached to the machine with sealing wax reads: “The following words and sounds are recorded upon the cylinder of this Graphophone: ‘T-r-r—T-r-r—There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio, than are dreamed of in our philosophy—T-r-r—I am a Graphophone and my mother was a Phonograph.’”
- This machine and recording were part of the proof of invention that the Volta Associates—Alexander Graham Bell, his cousin Chichester Bell, and Charles Sumner Tainter—deposited in a sealed tin box at the Smithsonian on October 30, 1881, in case of a patent fight. The box was opened in the presence of Bell relatives in 1937.
- Sound was recovered from this recording in 2013.
- Speaker: Alexander Melville Bell
- Content (20 seconds): “[trilled r sounds] There are more things in heaven and
- Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy [trilled r sound].
- I am a graphophone, and my mother was a phonograph.”
- References:
- Leslie J. Newville, “Development of the Phonograph at Alexander Graham Bell's Volta Laboratory,” in Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, United States National Museum Bulletin 218, Paper 5 (1959): 69-79.
- Patrick Feaster, “A Discography of Volta Laboratory Recordings at the National Museum of American History”
- date made
- 1881-09
- ID Number
- ME.312123
- catalog number
- 312123
- accession number
- 162298
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Engraved woodblock of an "Aleut dancing or mortuary mask"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of an “Aleut dancing or mortuary mask” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the print was published in 1884 as Plate XXVIII.71 (p.201) in an article by William Healey Dall (1845-1927) entitled “On Masks, Labrets, and Certain Aboriginal Customs with an Inquiry into the Bearing of Their Geographical Distribution” in the Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1881-82.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1884
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Dall, William H.
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0164
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0164
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of an "Indian mask from the northwest coast of America"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of an “Indian mask from the northwest coast of America” was prepared by Henry Hobart Nichols (1838-1887) and the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the print was published in 1884 as Plate XIII.20 (p.171) in an article by William Healey Dall (1845-1927) entitled “On Masks, Labrets, and Certain Aboriginal Customs with an Inquiry into the Bearing of Their Geographical Distribution” in the Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1881-82.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1884
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Dall, William H.
- graphic artist
- Nichols, H. H.
- block maker
- N. J. Wemmer
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0165
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0165
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of an "Eskimo approaching seal"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock, after a photograph, of an “Eskimo approaching seal” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the print was published as Figure 412 (p.484) in an article by Franz Boas (1858-1942) entitled “The Central Eskimo” in the Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1884-85.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1888
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Boas, Franz
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0368
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0368
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of a "Cochiti water vessel"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a “Cochiti water vessel” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the print was published as Figure 637 (p.402) in “Illustrated Catalogue of the Collections Obtained from the Indians of New Mexico and Arizona in 1879” by James Stevenson (1840-1888), in the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1880-81.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1883
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Stevenson, James
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0384
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0384
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of a "Dancer holding up the great plumed arrow"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock for “Dancer holding up the great plumed arrow” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the print was published as Figure 54 (p.434) in an article by Dr. Washington Matthews (1843-1905) entitled “The Mountain Chant: a Navajo ceremony” in the Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1883-84.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1887
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- block maker
- A. P. J. & Co.
- author
- Matthews, Washington
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0438
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0438
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of an "Eskimo child's clothing"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of “Eskimo child’s clothing” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 512 (p.557) in an article by Franz Boas (1858-1942) entitled “The Central Eskimo” in the Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian,1884-85.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1888
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Boas, Franz
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0477
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0477
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of an American Indian woman
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a portrait of an American Indian woman was prepared by Henry Hobart Nichols (1838-1887) and the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C. for the Bureau of American Ethnology in about 1880.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1880
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- graphic artist
- Nichols, H. H.
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0528
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0528
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of a "Basket with pendant buckskin"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a “Basket with pendant buckskin” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 312 (p.213) in an article by William H. Holmes (1846-1933) entitled “A Study of the Textile Art in its Relation to the Development of Form and Ornament” in the Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1884-85.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1888
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Holmes, William Henry
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0850
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0850
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of an "Indian mask from the northwest coast of America"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of an “Indian mask from the northwest coast of America” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Plate XIV.23 (p.173) in an article by William Healey Dall (1845-1927) entitled “On Masks, Labrets, and Certain Aboriginal Customs with an Inquiry into the Bearing of Their Geographical Distribution” in the Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1881-82. According to the annual report, the image shows a “dancing mask used by the Indians of Cape Flattery, Washington Territory” and was originally drawn by J.G. Swan (1818-1900).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1884
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Dall, William H.
- original artist
- Swan, J. G.
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.1011
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.1011
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of a "Bottle with geometric figures"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a “Bottle with geometric figures” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 166 (p.116) in an article by William Henry Holmes (1846-1933) entitled “Ancient Art of the Province of Chiriqui, Colombia” in the Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian,1884-85.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1888
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- graphic artist
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Holmes, William Henry
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.1061
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.1061
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of a "Dancer 'swallowing' the great plumed arrow"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a “Dancer ‘swallowing’ the great plumed arrow” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 55 (p.434) in an article by Dr. Washington Matthews (1843-1905) entitled “The Mountain Chant: a Navajo ceremony” in the Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1883-84.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1887
- block maker
- A.P.J. & Co.
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- author
- Matthews, Washington
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.1112
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.1112
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of the "Parsee Towers of Silence (interior)"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of the “Parsee Towers of Silence (interior).” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 3 on page 104 in an article by H.C. Yarrow (1871-1876) entitled “Mortuary Customs of North American Indians” in the First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1879-80. Henry Hobart Nichols (1838-1887) engraved the image.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1881
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- graphic artist
- Nichols, H. H.
- author
- Yarrow, Harry Crecy
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.1356
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.1356
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of a "Canoe burial"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a “Canoe Burial” was prepared by Henry Hobart Nichols (1838-1887) and the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 23 on page 171 in an article by H.C. Yarrow (1871-1876) entitled “Mortuary Customs of North American Indians” in the First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1879-80.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1881
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- graphic artist
- Nichols, H. H.
- author
- Yarrow, Harry Crecy
- block maker
- Grottenthaler, V.
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.1510
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.1510
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of the "Signal for 'buffalo discovered'"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of “Signal for ‘buffalo discovered’” was prepared by Henry Hobart Nichols (1838-1887) and the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 337 on page 532 in an article by Garrick Mallery (1831-1894) entitled “Sign Language Among the North American Indians” in the First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1879-80.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1881
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- maker
- Nichols, H. H.
- author
- Mallery, Garrick
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.1523
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.1523
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of a "Dipper - province of Tusayan"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a “Dipper - province of Tusayan” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 299 (p.327) in an article by William Henry Holmes (1846-1933) entitled “Pottery of the Ancient Pueblos” in the Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1882-83.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1886
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Holmes, William Henry
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.1725
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.1725
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of a "Handled cup, province of Tusayan"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a “Handled Cup – Province of Tusayan” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 297 (p.327) in an article by William Henry Holmes (1846-1933) entitled “Pottery of the Ancient Pueblos” in the Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1882-83.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1886
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Holmes, William Henry
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.1796
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.1796
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock titled "Shell Gorget - The Cross"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of “Shell Gorgets – the Cross” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the print was published in 1883 as Plate LI.1 (p.268) in an article by William H. Holmes (1846-1933) entitled “Art in Shell of the Ancient Americans” in the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1880-81.
- A gorget is a piece of shell that has been engraved and perforated so that it can be worn as a pendant; in this case, it has been engraved with a cross insignia. The caption beneath the image reveals that the gorget was found in Union County, Illinois.
- In a footnote to his article, Holmes identifies “Kate C. Osgood” as an accompanying artist on his collecting expedition.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1883
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- author
- Holmes, William Henry
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0080
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0080
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of a "Zuni eating bowl"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a “Zuni eating bowl” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the print was published as Figure 426 (p.357) in an article by James Stevenson (1840-1888) entitled “Illustrated Catalogue of the Collections Obtained from the Indians of New Mexico and Arizona in 1879” in the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1880-81.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1883
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Stevenson, James
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0280
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0280
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Engraved woodblock of a "Navajo blanket"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a "Navajo blanket" was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 53 (p.387) in an article by Dr. Washington Matthews (1843-1905) entitled “Navajo Weavers” in the Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1881-82.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1884
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- block maker
- W. T. & B.
- author
- Matthews, Washington
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.1180
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.1180
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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