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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USS Alaska Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth
- Description
- The wooden screw sloop of war USS Alaska was built in 1868 and spent much of her career in the southern Pacific and Far East representing the American nation in foreign ports. In June 1878, she cleared New York for San Francisco and stopped at several South American ports on the way.
- One of Alaska's port calls from 20-29 September 1878 was to Talcahuano, in the center of Chile's coast and that nation's main naval port. It also was one the principal stops for American whalers in the Pacific seeking fresh supplies and entertainment. This massive sperm whale's tooth was probably purchased there and engraved by one of Alaska's crew to commemorate his visit. While the carver of this tooth is unknown, it may have been one of the officers who kept the official ship's logbooks, because the calligraphy on the covers of the logs for this voyage is exceptionally elaborate and colorful.
- As this tooth indicates, the Talcahuano visit and liberty calls were memorable. Sent ashore on liberty, 54 of Alaska's crew went AWOL (Absent WithOut Leave), and three more were confined to double irons (feet and hand cuffs) for drunk and boisterous behavior or fighting.
- Date made
- 1878
- USS Alaska port call to Chile, Talcahuano
- 1878-09
- ID Number
- DL.374477
- catalog number
- 374477
- accession number
- 136263
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Sperm Whale Tooth Watch Stand
- Description
- Scrimshaw known to have been made specifically for men is comparatively rare. This unfinished tooth was hollowed out at the back to carry a gentleman’s pocket watch inside, perhaps set on a wardrobe, a bureau or a dressing table overnight.
- Patriotic imagery was very popular on American scrimshaw. At the top is a large eagle in flight clutching arrows and an olive branch; the hole for the watch is framed by a simple scalloped line. The space at the bottom was probably reserved for the owner’s initials or possibly a date, and the two holes were likely drilled for ivory buttons. The piece was unfinished when it was donated in 1875 by J. H. Clark of Newport, R.I.
- date made
- 19th century
- Associated Date
- collected
- ID Number
- DL.024905
- catalog number
- 024905
- accession number
- 4331
- 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 William Roberts of Cincinnati, Ohio that received patent number 209,082 on October 15, 1878. In his patent filing, Roberts claimed “the combination of the transparent shell, surrounding the flame and provided with a cap or shell, and the wire-gauze chimneys, mounted upon said cap or shell, and arranged one within the other, so as to form an annular space or chamber between them.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patent date
- 1878-10-15
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9740
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9740
- accession number
- 088881
- patent number
- 209082
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Oil-Wick Miner’s Lamp Patent Model
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick lamp is a patent model constructed by James C. Moore of Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, that received patent number 180,258 on July 25, 1876. Moore claimed as his invention “a miner's lamp, with a spring lid-holding device.” The device kept the font’s lid closed during the miner’s workday agitations.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patent date
- 1876-07-25
- patentee
- Moore, James C.
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9750
- accession number
- 088881
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9750
- patent number
- 180258
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Oil-Wick Miner’s Lamp Patent Model
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick lamp is a patent model constructed by William C. Winfield of Hubbard, Ohio that received patent number 126,606 on May 7, 1872. The patent claims as its invention “securing the lid or cap of the ordinary ‘miners' lamp’ to its body through the medium of screw-threads in the cap and on the neck of the lamp, the cap being furnished with an elastic packing-disk, air-chamber, and openings for the ingress of air.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patent date
- 1872-05-07
- patentee
- Winfield, William C.
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9753
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9753
- accession number
- 088881
- patent number
- 126606
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Oil-Wick Miner’s Lamp Patent Model
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick cap lamp is a patent model constructed by William C. Winfield of Hubbard, Ohio that received patent number 115,143 on May 23, 1871. Winfield’s claim in the patent filing is a miner's lamp with “a new article of manufacture, viz., a miner's lamp, provided with a screw-cap constructed, arranged, and operating with relation to the body of the lamp.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patent date
- 1871-05-23
- patentee
- Winfield, William C.
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9737
- accession number
- 088881
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9737
- patent number
- 115143
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Scrimshaw Whale Bone Food Chopper
- Description
- Simply carved and without any engraving, this food chopper, or mincer, was made in two pieces from a sperm whale’s jawbone. Its blunted, curved blade was used to chop soft foods such as bread dough, fruits, sausage, and animal fats. This example was donated by former Secretary of the Institution Spencer F. Baird (1823–1887) to the Smithsonian, where it became one of the earliest objects in the maritime collections.
- date made
- 1800s
- purchased
- 1876-11-30
- ID Number
- AG.024909
- catalog number
- 24909
- accession number
- 2009.0157
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Oil-Wick Miner’s Lamp Patent Model
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick lamp is a patent model constructed by John Fleming of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania that received patent number 219,352 on July 24, 1879. Fleming claimed as his invention “a miner's lamp provided with a hard-metal bottom having a flange that supports the lower edge of the body of the lamp, and the flange bearing against the inner wall of the body.” Miner’s would strike the bottom of their lamps against a hard surface to raise and lower the wick, and this extra bottom prevented damage to the lamp’s body.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patent date
- 1879-09-09
- patentee
- Fleming, John
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9747
- accession number
- 088881
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9747
- patent number
- 219352
- 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 Jacob Vogle of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, in the late 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 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patent date
- 1879-09-09
- ID Number
- AG.059213
- catalog number
- 059213
- accession number
- 014982
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Oil-Wick Miner’s Lamp Patent Model
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick lamp is a patent model constructed by Josiah J. Weinel of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, that received patent number 188,703 on March 20, 1877. Weinel claimed as his invention “a miner's lamp with an inner spout that has a thread for securing itself in the spout, with perforations for supplying air to the burner and returning oil to the font.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patent date
- 1877-03-20
- patentee
- Weinel, Josiah J.
- ID Number
- AG.MHI-MN-9749
- accession number
- 088881
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9749
- patent number
- 188705
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Whaler's Explosive Lance
- Description
- Explosive lances were designed to kill a whale by exploding inside its body. Many different types were invented in the late 19th century. When they worked properly, they were extremely efficient.
- They could either be shot out of guns or set at the end of darting guns. These devices resembled harpoon handles, to which the explosive lances were fixed. Once a plunger touching the whale’s skin moved a specific length, it triggered an explosive charge that shot the lance into the whale’s body.
- date made
- late 1800s
- patent date
- 1879
- explosive lances were invented
- late 19th century
- patentee
- Pierce, Eben
- manufacturer
- Brown, Frank E.
- ID Number
- AG.316544
- catalog number
- 316544
- accession number
- 066767
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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