Natural Resources
The natural resources collections offer centuries of evidence about how Americans have used the bounty of the American continent and coastal waters. Artifacts related to flood control, dam construction, and irrigation illustrate the nation's attempts to manage the natural world. Oil-drilling, iron-mining, and steel-making artifacts show the connection between natural resources and industrial strength.
Forestry is represented by saws, axes, a smokejumper's suit, and many other objects. Hooks, nets, and other gear from New England fisheries of the late 1800s are among the fishing artifacts, as well as more recent acquisitions from the Pacific Northwest and Chesapeake Bay. Whaling artifacts include harpoons, lances, scrimshaw etchings in whalebone, and several paintings of a whaler's work at sea. The modern environmental movement has contributed buttons and other protest artifacts on issues from scenic rivers to biodiversity.
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Bait Knife
- Description
- This knife has a long, narrow, steel blade with a single edge and a pine handle. The blade is 8.5 inches long and the handle adds another 6 inches. It was made in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1877, and was displayed in 1883 at the International Fisheries Exhibition in London. In a catalog of the exhibition, the knife is described as “the earliest style of knife used by Cape Ann fishermen to prepare slivers of menhaden for cod, haddock, or mackerel bait” (p. 840).
- Menhaden are herring-like fish, that spawn in large runs. At the time this knife was in use, menhaden were abundant and typically caught for bait in seines or stationary pound nets near the shore. Schooner captains fishing Georges and the Grand Banks purchased bait at ports in the Canadian Maritimes. The bait was frozen and kept on ice, which eased the work of slivering the fish.
- Describing baiting operations in the 1940s, Capt. R. Barry Fisher wrote, “The bait was used carefully. It was stood on its head, your hand holding the tail, and then with a bait knife you sliced down along the belly side toward the head. The two pieces together were placed side by side on a cutting board and you chopped away the head. Then you chopped these halves so as to get about twelve to sixteen usable pieces of bait. The tails and the heads were discarded. Four to six herring or mackerel were needed to bait one line of gear.” (A single line would have 52 to 54 hooks; a two-man dory crew would set about 30 such lines at a time in what was called a "trawl line.") A Doryman’s Day (Gardiner, Maine: Tilbury House, 2001) pp. 29-35.
- Date made
- 1877
- ID Number
- TR.029407
- catalog number
- 29407
- accession number
- 12679
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Engraved wood block "Madeira Boat"
- Description
- Joseph H. Brightly (about 1818–about 1858) of Philadelphia and New York City engraved this printing block after a drawing of a Portugese Madeira Boat by expedition artist Joseph Drayton. The wood engraving illustration was published on page 26 of Volume I of the U.S. Exploring Expedition Narrative by Charles Wilkes, 1844.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1844
- ca 1844
- publisher
- Wilkes, Charles
- graphic artist
- Brightly, Joseph H.
- author
- Wilkes, Charles
- original artist
- Drayton, Joseph
- printer
- Sherman, Conger
- ID Number
- 1999.0145.005
- catalog number
- 1999.0145.005
- accession number
- 1999.0145
- catalog number
- 1999.0145.005
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Engraved wood block "Natives of Wytoohee"
- Description (Brief)
- This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 1 (page 334 of the Lea & Blanchard stereotyped copy). The image was drawn by Joseph Drayton, and drawn on wood by John H. Manning. It was engraved by O'Brien, and originally printed by C. Sherman of Philadelphia in 1844.
- Description
- Robert O'Brien engraved this printing block after a drawing, Natives of Wytoohee, by Expedition Artist Joseph Drayton. Wytoohee is part of the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia. The wood engraving illustration was published on page 334 of Volume I of the U.S. Exploring Expedition Narrative by Charles Wilkes, 1844.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1844
- ca 1844
- publisher
- Wilkes, Charles
- graphic artist
- O'Brien
- original artist
- Drayton, Joseph
- graphic artist
- Manning, John H.
- printer
- Sherman, Conger
- author
- Wilkes, Charles
- ID Number
- 1999.0145.081
- accession number
- 1999.0145
- catalog number
- 1999.0145.081
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Framed Photograph of a White Ash Tree
- Description (Brief)
- This photograph of a white ash tree is one of forty-nine framed black and white photographic prints bequeathed to the Smithsonian by William F. Bucher of Washington, D.C. Bucher, a cabinetmaker, framed each photograph in wood of the same species as the tree depicted in the print. The photos were displayed in a special exhibition, Our Trees and their Woods at the United States National Museum in 1931.
- The tree depicted in this photograph was located on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., with the Capitol visible in the background. The image was made by William Bucher. The frame is made of white ash veneer on chestnut, with an ebony back band and an Andaman padauk glass bead.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1931
- frame maker
- Bucher, William F.
- photographer
- Bucher, William F.
- ID Number
- AG.115767.43
- catalog number
- 115767.43
- accession number
- 115767
- maker number
- 48
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner’s Cap
- Description (Brief)
- This canvas miner’s cap has a leather brim, with a leather and metal lamp bracket attached to the front. The lamp bracket could have held either an oil-wick lamp or a carbide lamp. The leather part of the bracket is stamped with the text “PATENTED LAMPHOLDER/”DOUBLE SAFETY”/GUARDS FOREHEAD.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-8218
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8218
- accession number
- 241803
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner's Cap Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This lamp is an oil-wick cap lamp. The oil-wick cap lamp was first invented in Scotland in 1850 and remained in use until the 1920’s. The font contained a mix of fat and oil for fuel, and a wick was inserted into the spout. The resulting light was much brighter and more efficient than the candles it replaced. The hook enabled the lamp to be worn on a cap, or hooked onto any other suitable location.
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-8467
- accession number
- 253945
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8467
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner’s Safety Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This is a safety lamp manufactured by the Friemann and Wolf Company of Zwickau, Germany in the late 19th century. The Friemann and Wolf Company was a prominent lamp manufacturer that exported their lamps to the U.S. until World War I, when buying German products became unpopular. This lamp is one of the most popular Wolf designs, employing a glass enclosure, wire gauze on the top-interior, and a metal bonnet exterior to protect the flame.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-8771
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8771
- accession number
- 265669
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner's Electric Cap Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This Model "K" lamp was manufactured in 1931 by the Edison Storage Battery Company. The Edison Cap Lamp consisted of a battery encased in a self-locking steel case worn on the miner’s belt. A flexible cord traveled to the cap lamp, and its entrance into the battery was protected by a flexible steel cover. The battery could power the six-candlepower lamps for 12 hours and was recharged at the end of a miner’s shift.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-8948
- accession number
- 236603
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-8948
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner’s Cap Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick cap lamp was made by an unknown maker during the second half of the 19th century. The oil-wick cap lamp was first invented in Scotland in 1850 and in use until the 1920’s. The font contained a mix of fat and oil for fuel, and a wick was inserted into the spout. The resulting flame was much brighter and more efficient than the candles it replaced. The hook enabled the lamp to be worn on a cap.
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MT-3368
- accession number
- 239341
- catalog number
- MHI-MT-3368
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Red Anemone Preserved in Plastic
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1946
- ID Number
- AG.A.7554
- accession number
- 198812
- catalog number
- A.7554
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Chicken Wishbone Preserved in Plastic
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.A.7582
- accession number
- 198812
- catalog number
- A.7582
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Poison Sumac Preserved in Plastic
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1943-10-11
- ID Number
- AG.A.7594
- catalog number
- A.7594
- accession number
- 198812
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner's Safety Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This lamp was manufactured by the J. Davies & Son Ltd. from Baltimore, Maryland in the late 19th century. The “safety” mining lamp was a tremendous step forward in preventing mining disasters. Encasing the flame in glass or metal gauze prevented the combustible gases (called firedamp) from exploding, as would happen with the open flames of carbide or oil-wick lamps. This lamp’s exterior metal coating is called a “bonnet” and was a big improvement in safety lamp design.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-7721
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-7721
- accession number
- 235039
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner's Safety Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This lamp's manufacturer is unknown, but based on its design, it was most likely made in the late 19th century. The safety mining lamp was a tremendous step forward in preventing mining disasters. Encasing the flame in glass or metal gauze prevented the combustible mining gases (called firedamp) from exploding, as would happen with the open flames of carbide or oil-wick lamps.
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-7722
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-7722
- accession number
- 235039
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner's Cap Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This lamp's manufacturer is unknown, but based on its design it was most likely made in the latter half of the 19th century. This is an oil-wick cap lamp, where the font contained a fuel consisting of lard and oil, the proportions subject to what was most affordable and available to miners at the time. The hook enabled the lamp to be worn on a cap and the spout bezel protected the cap from wick drippings.
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-7727
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-7727
- accession number
- 235038
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner’s Cap with Carbide Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This cap was made by an unknown maker around the early 20th century. The cap is made of soft cotton canvas with a leather bill, and leather 'L' on the front for the attachment of the lamp. A carbide lamp (object number AG*MHI-MN-9442B) is attached to the cap.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9442A
- accession number
- 263098
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9442A
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner’s Cap and Carbide Lamp
- 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 2 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.
- date made
- 1930
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9526B
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9526B
- accession number
- 277982
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner’s Safety Lamp Patent Model
- Description (Brief)
- This safety lamp is a patent model constructed by Nicolas Louis Beaufils and Jacques Rexroth of Paris, France that received patent number 95,184 on September 28, 1869. The inventors claim in the patent filing that whenever an operation is to be performed on the lamp such as filling fuel, trimming the wick, or any action that would expose the flame to the air, the lamp will be forcibly extinguished.
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9739
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9739
- accession number
- 88881
- patent number
- 095184
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Miner's Carbide Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This “Half-Shift” carbide mining lamp was made by the Baldwin Company of New York City around 1908. 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 amount of water flowing into the calcium carbide container can be controlled, with more water producing more gas and a bigger flame when the lamp is lit.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MT-311988
- catalog number
- MHI-MT-311988
- accession number
- 157348
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Environmental Button
- Description
- This button produced by the California Department of Water and Power advocates prudent energy usage.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2003.0014.0367
- catalog number
- 2003.0014.0367
- accession number
- 2003.0014
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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