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.
85
Page 1 of 5
-
Jar of Blue Glass Rods
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1914
- maker
- Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
- ID Number
- CE.252ab
- catalog number
- 252ab
- accession number
- 57114
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
chimney, lamp
- Description
- This lamp chimney was purposely left unfinshed as part of a series of lamp chimneys that illustrate the various stages of manufacture of lamp chimneys at Macbeth-Evans Glass Company. This particular one is listed as "Number 2 Pearl Top" and demonstrates how a lamp chimney looks in the factory before it is sent for crimping.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- circa 1899-1915
- 1914-1915
- about 1914
- ID Number
- CE.214
- catalog number
- 214
- accession number
- 57114
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Tall Case Clock
- Description
- The earliest domestic clocks in the American colonies were English-made "lantern" clocks, with brass gear trains held between pillars. Along with fully furnished "best" beds, looking glasses, sofas, silver, and case furniture, such clocks were the household objects consistently assigned the highest monetary value in inventories of possessions.
- By the 18th century, the most common style of domestic clock came to look more like a piece of household furniture. A wooden case enclosed the movement, weights, and pendulum. Through a glass window the dial was visible.
- In 1769, Pennsylvania clockmaker and millwright Joseph Ellicott completed this complicated tall case clock. On three separate dials, it tells the time and shows the phases of the moon; depicts on an orrery the motions of the sun, moon, and planets; and plays selected twenty-four musical tunes on the hour.
- The musical dial on the Ellicott clock allows the listener to choose from twelve pairs of tunes. Each pair includes a short tune and a long one. On the hour only the short tune plays, but every third hour, both play. During a tune, automaton figures at the top of the dial appear to tap their feet in time to the music, and a small dog between them jumps up and down.
- Joseph Ellicott moved from the Philadelphia area to Maryland in 1772 and, with his brothers Andrew and John, set up a flour-milling operation in what is now Ellicott City. The clock was a centerpiece in Ellicott family homes for generations.
- Who else owned clocks in early America? Clock owners, like the American colonists themselves, were not a homogeneous group. Where a person lived influenced the probability of owning a timepiece. In 1774, for example, New Englanders and Middle Atlantic colonials were equally likely to own a timepiece. In those regions, roughly 13 or 14 adults out of 100 had a clock in their possessions when they died. Among Southern colonists at that time, only about 6 in 100 had a clock.
- Date made
- 1769
- user
- Ellicott, Joseph
- maker
- Ellicott, Joseph
- ID Number
- 1999.0276.01
- accession number
- 1999.0276
- catalog number
- 1999.0276.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Edison Employee Band Uniform
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1919
- transfer
- Thomas Edison National Historical Park
- ID Number
- MI.73.03.01
- catalog number
- 73.03.01
- accession number
- 301353
- catalog number
- 73.03A
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Fanciful Electric Light Shade
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- est. 1899
- 1914-1915
- maker
- Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
- ID Number
- CE.914
- catalog number
- 914
- accession number
- 58571
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Colorful, Electric Light Shade
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1915
- maker
- Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
- ID Number
- CE.900
- catalog number
- 900
- accession number
- 58571
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Electric Light Shade
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- est. 1899
- 1914-1915
- maker
- Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
- ID Number
- CE.891
- catalog number
- 891
- accession number
- 58571
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Victor® Original Rat Trap
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2000
- maker
- Woodstream Corporation
- ID Number
- 2003.0338.10
- accession number
- 2003.0338
- catalog number
- 2003.0338.10
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Fire at the Atlantic Refining Company
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1884-05-23
- ID Number
- PG.66.24.36
- catalog number
- 66.24.36
- accession number
- 263090
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Machine for Wrapping Wire-Rope, Patent Model
- Description
- This patent model was included with John A. Roebling’s “Method of and Machine for Manufacturing Wire Ropes” patent that received patent number 2,720 on July 16, 1842. Roebling’s patent detailed how to manufacture wire rope; this model functioned to wrap greased insulating wire around the wire rope. Wire rope’s strength and durability made it a superior choice to hemp rope in many industrial applications, but its applications went far beyond replacing rope.
- John A. Roebling & Sons Company were the preeminent manufacturer of wire rope during the late 19th and early 20th century, supplying the wire rope for some of America’s most famous bridges—the Brooklyn Bridge, the George Washington Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. Wire rope had a starring role in the mechanization and electrification of modern America due to its use in cable cars, elevators, telephones, telegraphs, and electrical wire.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1842
- patent date
- 1842-07-16
- inventor
- Roebling, John A.
- ID Number
- MC.308790
- accession number
- 89797
- catalog number
- 308790
- patent number
- 2,720
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Pennsylvania/Kentucky Pistol
- Description
- Physical Description:
- This .54 caliber smoothbore “Kentucky” pistol was assembled by Melchior Fordney. The stock is curly maple, stained with a piano finish. The curved grip has a brass butt cap with a rear extension towards the tang. The brass trigger guard has an English acorn finial with a French front bar. It has two brass ramrod thimbles with two brass side plates.
- It is stamped “C.Arb” on the barrel. “J/Holland” is stamped on the lock. There is a stamp of “IB” possibly for J. Bonewitz.
- History:
- Melchior Fordney made pistols and rifles in Lancaster, Pennsylvania from 1807 to 1846. He was famous for his Kentucky rifles. His life and career were cut short in 1846 when he was killed with an ax by a Baptist Preacher named John Haggerty. Apparently, Haggerty he did not approve of the fact that Fordney lived with a woman outside of wedlock.
- Fordney’s work often had very elaborate detailing and was made one at a time when he was not contracted by the government. This pistol, because of its large size and lack of “C” stamp, is believed to be one of the later pistols of Fordney’s work.
- References:
- Flayderman, Norm. Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms…and their Values, Gun Digest Books, Iola, 2007. 9th edition
- Gardner, Robert E. Col. Small Arms Makers: A Directory of Fabricators of Firearms, Edged Weapons, Crossbows and Polearms, Crown Publishers Inc, New York: 1963, p. 66
- Smith, Samuel E. and Edwin W. Bitter. Historic Pistols: The American Martial Flintlock 1760-1845, Scalamandre Publications, New York: 1986, p. 308.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1815
- maker
- Fordney, Melchior
- ID Number
- 1986.0024.16
- accession number
- 1986.0024
- catalog number
- 1986.0024.16
- collector/donor number
- P88L
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Victor® Quick Set Rat Trap
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2000
- maker
- Woodstream Corporation
- ID Number
- 2003.0338.06
- accession number
- 2003.0338
- catalog number
- 2003.0338.06
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
chimney, lamp
- Description
- This lamp chimney is part of a series of lamp chimneys created to show the different stages of manufacture at the Macbeth-evans Glass Company. This particular one has a flared top opening with 1/4" beaded rim.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- about 1914
- maker
- Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
- ID Number
- CE.211
- catalog number
- 211
- accession number
- 57114
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Roebling Safety Steam Gauge, Patent Model
- Description
- This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to John A. Roebling, of Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, July 16, 1842, no. 2728.
- The model represents a section of a steam-boiler flue and head to which is attached the safety gauge. The gauge consists of a box fastened to the top of the flue and containing a fusible metal upon which rests a weight connected through a lever to a valve in the boiler head. Should the level of water within the boiler fall below the top of the flue, the fusible metal would melt and allow the weight to fall and open the valve, attracting the attention of the engineer. A rod is provided by which the lever and weight are raised by the engineer before admitting more water, so that the fused metal will solidify below the weight and the gauge will be in a position to function again.
- 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1842
- patent date
- 1842-07-16
- inventor
- Roebling, John A.
- ID Number
- ER.308651
- accession number
- 89797
- catalog number
- 308651
- patent number
- 2,728
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Electric Light Shade
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1915
- maker
- Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
- ID Number
- CE.893
- catalog number
- 893
- accession number
- 58571
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Unfinished Lamp Font
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- est. 1899
- 1914-1915
- ID Number
- CE.227
- catalog number
- 227
- accession number
- 57114
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Match Safe
- Description (Brief)
- Souvenir metal match safe with hinged lid from Gettysburg, Pa. A wrap-around celluloid label shows a color image of the High Water Mark Monument on one side, and the house where Jennie Wade was shot, on the reverse. Jennie Wade was the only civilian killed during the Battle of Gettysburg.
- Description
- Match safes were designed to hold friction matches. This one, made of metal covered with celluloid, has a photograph of the High Water Mark Monument in Gettysburg one side, and the Jennie Wade house on the other. High water here refers to the deepest penetration of Confederate troops into the Union Line. Jeannie Wade was a civilian shot at the Battle of Gettysburg.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1908
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0996
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0996
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Miner's Cap Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This is a copper oil-wick cap lamp made by J&A McDougall of Pittston, Pennsylvania likely in the latter half of the 20th 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, or hooked onto any other suitable location.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1881
- ID Number
- AG.059073
- catalog number
- 059073
- accession number
- 014851
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
One of the first examples of optical glass manufactured in the USA
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- est. 1899
- 1914
- ID Number
- CE.239
- catalog number
- 239
- accession number
- 57114
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Victor® Easy Set® Mouse Trap
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2000
- maker
- Woodstream Corporation
- ID Number
- 2003.0338.01
- accession number
- 2003.0338
- catalog number
- 2003.0338.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Pages
Filter Your Results
Click to remove a filter:
-
topic
- Industrialization 83
- Art 43
- Furnishings 43
- Architecture 17
- Engineering 17
- Bulletin 173 14
- Animals 8
- Household Tools and Equipment 8
- Pest Control 8
- Packaging 7
- Plastics 6
- Photography 5
- Disasters 3
- Titian Ramsey Peale Collection 3
- Celluloid 2
- Men 2
- Models (representations) 2
- Music 2
- Musical instruments 2
-
object type
- Lampshades 16
- glass, light shade 16
- shade 16
- Models 14
- Patents 14
- shade, light 12
- Jars 6
- bottle of glass rod samples 6
- Canes (walking sticks) 5
- Shade 5
- chimney, lamp 5
- glass, bottle of glass rod samples 5
- Mousetraps 4
- signal, railroad 4
- Chimney, Unfinished Lamp 3
- Panel, Optical Glass 3
- Photographs 3
- glass, bull's eye, railroad lantern 3
- glass, optical 3
- shade, electric light 3
- date
- place
-
set name
- Industry & Manufacturing 83
- Art 43
- Domestic Furnishings 43
- Home and Community Life: Ceramics and Glass 43
- Work 21
- Work and Industry: Mechanical and Civil Engineering 19
- Engineering, Building, and Architecture 17
- Bulletin 173 14
- Home and Community Life: Domestic Life 8
- Photography 5
- Work and Industry: Photographic History 5
- National Museum of American History 4
- Titian Ramsey Peale Collection 3
- Celluloid 2
- Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments 2
- Measuring & Mapping 2
- Medicine and Science: Chemistry 2
- Music & Musical Instruments 2
- Patent Models 2
- Power Machinery 2
