RevolutionCrossroads/si_us_revolutionary_era_collections huggingface dataset:
Jones electrical kit for "G. Adams' Essay on Electricity"
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Electrostatic Demonstration Apparatus
date made: ca 1808
maker: W. & S. Jones
Measurements: box: 21 in x 28 in x 17 1/2 in; 53.34 cm x 71.12 cm x 44.45 cm
.01: 2 in x 7 1/4 in x 7 1/4 in; 5.08 cm x 18.415 cm x 18.415 cm
.02: 1 in x 6 in; 2.54 cm x 15.24 cm
.03: 6 1/4 in x 4 5/16 in; 15.875 cm x 10.9855 cm
.04: 5 1/4 in x 4 3/8 in; 13.335 cm x 11.1125 cm
.05: 10 1/2 in x 4 5/8 in x 3 1/2 in; 26.67 cm x 11.7475 cm x 8.89 cm
.06: 1 in x 7 7/8 in; 2.54 cm x 20.0025 cm
.07: 3/4 in x 4 3/8 in; 1.905 cm x 11.1125 cm
.08: 8 in x 3 1/2 in; 20.32 cm x 8.89 cm
.09: 12 1/2 in x 4 1/2 in x 3 in; 31.75 cm x 11.43 cm x 7.62 cm
.10: 6 1/2 in x 2 1/2 in x 2 3/4 in; 16.51 cm x 6.35 cm x 6.985 cm
.11: 1/4 in x 5 1/2 in x 5 1/2 in; .635 cm x 13.97 cm x 13.97 cm
.12: 2 1/2 in x 1 3/4 in; 6.35 cm x 4.445 cm
.13: 11 1/2 in x 1/4 in; 29.21 cm x .635 cm
.14: 4 1/2 in x 1 1/4 in; 11.43 cm x 3.175 cm
.15: 5 in x 1 in; 12.7 cm x 2.54 cm
.16: 4 1/2 in x 1/4 in; 11.43 cm x .635 cm
.17: 8 7/8 in x 3/16 in; 22.5425 cm x .47625 cm
.18: 4 in x 1 in; 10.16 cm x 2.54 cm
.19: 7 in x 2 in; 17.78 cm x 5.08 cm
.20: 7 1/2 in x 1 7/8 in; 19.05 cm x 4.7625 cm
.21: 3/8 in x 6 in; .9525 cm x 15.24 cm
.22: 5 in x 1/2 in x 1/2 in; 12.7 cm x 1.27 cm x 1.27 cm
Cylinder-type Electrostatic Machine
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: galvanometer
electrostatic generator
electrostatic machine
galvanometer; Measuring Devices
date made: ca 1785
Physical Description: wood (overall material)
glass (overall material)
brass (overall material)
leather (overall material)
cloth (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 25 1/2 in x 25 3/4 in x 16 1/4 in; 64.77 cm x 65.405 cm x 41.275 cm
Credit line: from Wabash College, Physics Department
Topics: Electrostatic Machines
Science
Mathematics
Description (Brief): People from ancient times knew that rubbing certain materials and then touching something caused a spark. Studying what is called electrostatics laid the groundwork for understanding electricity and magnetism. Natural philosophers, scientists, and instrument makers created many ingenious devices to generate electrostatic charges starting in the 1600s. These machines varied in size and technique but all involved rotary motion to generate a charge, and a means of transferring the charge to a storage device for use.
This machine, made around 1785, has a hand-cranked cylinder and a leather pad with silk cloth to mounted on one side. The mount is adjustable by means of the wooden screw set in the base. A prime conductor would be mounted opposite the rubbing pad but is missing from this unit. During the 1750s electrical researchers refined the design of electrostatic machines by replacing earlier spherical globes with a glass cylinder, a design used for many years. This change increased the surface area of the glass in contact with the rubbing pad and improved the efficiency of the generator. There is no extant maker's mark on the machine although it is of the type designed by Edward Nairne in the 1780s. Nairne (1726-1806) of England made electrical and other scientific devices.
Voltaic pile
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Battery
Battery; Electrochemical Devices
date made: ca 1805
ca. 1805
Measurements: overall: 22 1/2 in x 5 1/2 in; 57.15 cm x 13.97 cm
Credit line: from Mount St. Mary's College, thru Professor John W. Richards
Description (Brief): Voltaic Pile, wooden base and cap with three glass uprights containing alternating discs of zinc and silver. Felt pads are interleaved between the discs.
Kinnersley's Thermometer
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Discharge Tube
electrostatic device
Electrostatic device
Discharge Tube; Electrostatic Devices
Measurements: overall: 11 1/4 in x 2 3/4 in; 28.575 cm x 6.985 cm
Credit line: from Columbia University, Department of Physics, thru Alvin P. Tramm
Description (Brief): Kinnersley's Thermometer, "2" on red-bordered paper label, "K1C21" inked on base. No extant maker marks.
Van Marum plate frictional electrostatic generator
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Electrostatic Machine
electrostatic generator
Electrostatic Machine; Electrostatic Devices
date made: 1791
Measurements: overall: 49 in x 33 in x 18 1/2 in; 124.46 cm x 83.82 cm x 46.99 cm
Description (Brief): People from ancient times knew that rubbing certain materials and then touching something caused a spark. Studying what is called electrostatics laid the groundwork for understanding electricity and magnetism. Natural philosophers, scientists, and instrument makers created many ingenious devices to generate electrostatic charges starting in the 1600s. These machines varied in size and technique but all involved rotary motion to generate a charge, and a means of transferring the charge to a storage device for use.
In the latter 1700s electrical researchers adopted improved electrostatic machines that replaced earlier glass cylinders with a flat glass plate. This increased the machines’ efficiency by passing the glass plate between leather rubbing pads that increased the contact area. Experience with plate machines brought many design variations with sizes ranging from small table-top units for laboratory use to large cabinets that powered early x-ray machines.
This plate machine was made by Dutch physician and scientist Martinus van Marum (1750-1837) in 1791. Two glass plates are mounted parallel on a single crank-shaft although the handle is missing from this unit. Each plate has its own pair of leather pads set at top and at bottom that feed two shared prime conductors. The two primes are connected via a distinctive brass frame arching over the top of the unit and supported by three glass insulating rods.
The origin of this machine is uncertain but a paper tag marked “12 E” associates the machine with other electrical devices used in laboratory experiments. All of these devices have similar tags with a number and “E” written in ink in the same hand.
Cylinder-type Electrostatic Machine
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: cylinder-type frictional electrostatic machine
electrostatic generator
cylinder-type frictional electrostatic machine; Electrostatic Devices
date made: ca 1780
associated person: Nairne, Edward
Physical Description: wood (overall material)
glass (overall material)
steel (overall material)
cloth (overall material)
leather (overall material)
brass (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 20 1/2 in x 27 1/2 in x 22 1/2 in; 52.07 cm x 69.85 cm x 57.15 cm
Credit line: from Middlebury College
Topics: Electrostatic Machines
Science
Mathematics
Description (Brief): People from ancient times knew that rubbing certain materials and then touching something caused a spark. Studying what is called electrostatics laid the groundwork for understanding electricity and magnetism. Natural philosophers, scientists, and instrument makers created many ingenious devices to generate electrostatic charges starting in the 1600s. These machines varied in size and technique but all involved rotary motion to generate a charge, and a means of transferring the charge to a storage device for use.
This machine, made around 1780, includes a steel T-shaped charge collector or prime conductor mounted to one side of the cylinder and a leather pad with silk cloth to mounted on the other side. Both mounts are adjustable by means of wooden screws set in the base. During the 1750s electrical researchers refined the design of electrostatic machines by replacing earlier spherical globes with a glass cylinder, a design used for many years. This change increased the surface area of the glass in contact with the rubbing pad and improved the efficiency of the generator. There is no extant maker's mark on the machine although it is of the type designed by Edward Nairne in the 1780s. Nairne (1726-1806) of England made electrical and other scientific devices.
Engraving "Zaal der Natuirkunde In Het Gebauw der Maatschappee Felix Meritis Binnen Amsterdam"
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Print
date made: 1801
U POPULEON.
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Jar
Jar; Pharmaceuticals; Containers; Pharmaceutical Container
Date made: 18th Century
Physical Description: monochrome, blue (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 20.5 cm x 12 cm; 8 1/16 in x 4 3/4 in
Folding Oral and Personal Hygiene Tool Set, or Necessaire
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: oral hygiene product
toothbrush
toothpick
ear spoon
nail file
necessaire
personal hygiene product
Toilet Accessory; Toothbrush; "Necessaire"; Dentistry
date made: 1808
Measurements: overall: 5/8 in x 6 in x 3/4 in; 1.5875 cm x 15.24 cm x 1.905 cm
Credit line: Gift of Estate of Charles F. Wiebusch
Topics: Beauty and Hygiene Products: Oral Care
Dentistry
Beauty and Health
Health & Medicine
Description: Ornately carved device for personal use consisting of a toothbrush, two toothpicks, a nail cleaner/file, and a small spoon for removing wax from the ear, which fold into a common handle. It is made of bone and is marked 1808 and has a carving of a dog on the end opposite to the toilet articles. The donor termed this instrument a “necessaire."
Bur Thimble
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Socket, Ring and Drill
bur thimble
dental instrument
Socket, Ring and Drill; Dentistry
Measurements: overall: 5/8 in x 1 7/8 in x 1 in; 1.5875 cm x 4.7625 cm x 2.54 cm
Credit line: Gift of University of Pennsylvania School of Dentistry
Description: A bur thimble was designed “for placing on the first or second finger, to receive the end of drills, &c., to which a rotary motion is to be given.”
Ref: C. Ash & Sons, A Catalogue of Artificial Teeth, Dental Materials, Instruments, Tools, Furniture, &c. (London, 1880), p. 116.
Dental Forceps
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Forceps, Hand-Forged
dental forceps
forceps, dental
dental instrument
Forceps, Hand-Forged; Dentistry
date made: ca 1800
Measurements: overall: 3/8 in x 6 1/8 in x 2 1/4 in; .9525 cm x 15.5575 cm x 5.715 cm
Credit line: from Mr. Robert Meibauer
Description: Hand forged dental forceps.
Case of Obstetric Instruments
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Kit, Obstetrical
obstetrical kit
instrument set, obstetrical
Kit, Obstetrical; Medicine
Date made: ca. 1780
date made: ca 1780
about 1780
Measurements: overall, case: 3 3/8 in x 18 1/4 in x 9 7/8 in; 8.5725 cm x 46.355 cm x 25.0825 cm
Topics: Women's Health
Description: Obstetric instruments with an “AUGUSCHMA PURTSCHER” inscription on the lid of the case.
Perkins Tractors
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Tractors, Perkins', Batch of
metallic tractors
Tractors, Perkins', Batch of; Medicine
date made: ca 1800
Physical Description: metal (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 1/4 in x 3 1/2 in x 3/8 in; .635 cm x 8.89 cm x .9525 cm
Description: Elisha Perkins (1741-1799) was an American physician who, in 1796, obtained a patent for metal “tractors” that could allegedly cure such ailments as inflammation and rheumatism. A Smithsonian curator acquired this example in 1902 for the "Psychic Medicine" collection.
Ref: Jacques M. Quen, “Elisha Perkins, Physician, Nostrum-Vendor, or Charlatan?” <i>Bulletin of the History of Medicine</i> 37 (1963): 159-166.
vial
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Vial
Vial; Containers
Date made: 18th Century
Physical Description: green (overall color)
glass, ?, transparent (overall material)
green ware (disjoint part popular color name)
flat lip (overall shape)
narrow mouth (overall shape)
round (overall shape)
Measurements: overall: 5 1/4 in x 1/8 in; 13.335 cm x .3175 cm
Bottle and prescription label
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Bottle
bottle, apothecary
Bottle; Containers
date made: 18th Century
Physical Description: green (?? color)
glass, ?, transparent (?? material)
blown glass (?? production method/technique)
narrow neck (overall shape)
round (overall shape)
Measurements: overall: 7 7/8 in x 3 1/2 in; 20.0025 cm x 8.89 cm
bottle: 17 cm x 5 cm; 6 11/16 in x 1 15/16 in
label: 18.3 cm x 5.3 cm; 7 3/16 in x 2 1/16 in
Credit line: Gift of University of Pennsylvania School of Dentistry
Wax Model
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Figure, Female
wax model
model, anatomical, viscera
Wax Obstetric Model
Figure, Female; Medicine
date made: About 1800
Physical Description: glass; paper; wax; wood (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 1 5/8 in x 6 3/8 in x 9 1/4 in; 4.1275 cm x 16.1925 cm x 23.495 cm
Topics: Education
Ophthalmology
Anatomy
Health & Medicine
Description: Wax model of female head and torso.
Wax Model
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Figure, Female
wax model
model, anatomical, female, abdominal organs
Wax Obstetric Model
Figure, Female; Medicine
date made: About 1800
Physical Description: glass; paper; wax; wood (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 1 5/8 in x 6 3/8 in x 9 1/4 in; 4.1275 cm x 16.1925 cm x 23.495 cm
Topics: Education
Anatomy
Description: Wax model of female head and torso.
Wax Model
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Figure, Female
wax model
model, anatomical, fetus in utero
Wax Obstetric Model
Figure, Female; Medicine
date made: About 1800
Physical Description: glass; wax; wood; paper (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 1 3/4 in x 6 3/8 in x 9 1/4 in; 4.445 cm x 16.1925 cm x 23.495 cm
Topics: Education
Ophthalmology
Anatomy
Health & Medicine
Description: Wax model of pregnant woman.
Wax model of a human fetus
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Figure, Female
wax model
model, anatomical, fetus in utero
Wax Obstetric Model
Figure, Female; Medicine
date made: About 1800
Physical Description: glass; paper; wax; wood (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 1 1/4 in x 7 1/4 in x 8 5/8 in; 3.175 cm x 18.415 cm x 21.9075 cm
Topics: Education
Anatomy
Description: Wax model of fetus in utero.
chair, rocking
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: chair, rocking
date made: ca 1800
place made: United States: New Hampshire
Physical Description: wood (overall material)
paint (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 33 1/4 in x 25 3/8 in x 23 in; 84.455 cm x 64.4525 cm x 58.42 cm
Credit line: Gift of Mildred Armistead Baker Ruttencutter, in memory of her mother Margaret Armistead Appleton Baker
Topics: Furnishings
Washington and Franklin
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: medal
Date made: ca. 1807
associated date: 1776
associated person: Washington, George
Franklin, Benjamin
place made: United States
associated place: United States
Physical Description: bronze (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 4.04 cm; 1 19/32 in
George Washington button, United States, 1789
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: button
Date made: 1789
place made: United States
Physical Description: copper (overall material)
George Washington funeral medalet, United States, 1799
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: medalet
Date made: 1799
associated date: 1799-12-14
1799-12-14
associated person: Washington, George
place made: United States
associated place: United States
Physical Description: silver (overall material)
Washington Benevolent Society
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Medal
Date made: 1808
Voltaire medal
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Medal
Date made: 1778
Credit line: U.S. Department of the Treasury, United States Mint
Roman Bust shell
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Medal
Date made: 1799
Credit line: U.S. Department of the Treasury, United States Mint
Ugly Head medal
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Medal
Date made: 1799
Washington Benevolent Society medal, United States, 1808
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Medal
Date made: 1808
maker: Reich, John
place made: United States
Physical Description: silver (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 4.24 cm; 1 21/32 in
Description (Brief): One (1) Washington Benevolent Society medal
United States, 1808
Obverse Image: Liberty crowning a bust of Washington on a pedestal.
Obverse Text: WASHINGTON BENEVOLENT SOCIETY / 1808 / DEFENDER OF HIS COUNTRY
Reverse Image: Good Samaritan assisting a reclining figure.
Reverse Text: BENEVOLENCE / NEW-YORK
Washington Bank, Westerly, RI
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Bank note
Date made: 1800
Credit line: Morton Stack
Mangle Board
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: mangle board
Date made: ca. 1785
place made: Norway
Measurements: overall: 11.5 cm x 64.4 cm x 14 cm; 4 1/2 in x 25 3/8 in x 5 1/2 in
Swedish Mangle Board
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: mangle board
date made: 1789
place made: Sweden
Measurements: overall: 5 1/2 in x 25 in x 6 3/4 in; 13.97 cm x 63.5 cm x 17.145 cm
Credit line: Gift of Mrs. William Duncan McKim
Latvian Icon
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: icon
date made: 18th century
place made: Latvia: Bauskas Novads, Bauska
Physical Description: wood (overall material)
paint (overall material)
silver (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 2 5/8 in x 2 in; 6.6675 cm x 5.08 cm
Credit line: Bequest of Kate Session Marsh
Topics: Religion
Astley's Amphitheatre by Rowlandson & Pugin
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: aquatint
Aquatint
Date made: 1808
maker: Rowlandson & Pugin
place made: United Kingdom: England, London
Physical Description: paper (overall material)
ink (overall material)
Measurements: image: 8 1/4 in x 10 1/2 in; 20.955 cm x 26.67 cm
Credit line: Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
Topics: Art
Peters Prints
Furnishings
Description (Brief): Color print of interior of a theater with spectators seated on four levels around a central ring. In the ring a man performs on the backs of three horses.
Surveyor's Vernier Compass
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: surveyor's vernier compass
date made: ca 1785
maker: Rittenhouse, David
place made: United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Measurements: overall: 13 3/8 in; 33.9725 cm
needle: 5 1/4 in; 13.335 cm
overall: 2 3/4 in x 13 1/2 in x 6 1/2 in; 6.985 cm x 34.29 cm x 16.51 cm
Topics: Geodesy
Surveying
Description: The magnetic compasses that Americans used to determine property boundaries were inexpensive and expeditious but affected by magnetic variation—the fact that magnetic north seldom coincides with true north, and the relation between the two changes over time. The vernier compass solved this problem.
This example dates from around 1785, and is probably the first American instrument of its kind; similar instruments were made in Ireland. The vernier (not easy to see) is on the rim, at north. An inscription reads "David Rittenhouse PHILADELPHIA".
David Rittenhouse (1732–1796) was a skilled clock and instrument maker, man of science, and master of the American mint.
Ref: D. J. Warner, "True North—And Why It Mattered in Eighteenth Century America," <i>Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society</i> 149 (2005): 372–385.
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Surveyor's Vernier Compass
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: surveyor's compass
maker: Heisely, Frederick
place made: United States: Maryland, Frederick
Measurements: overall length: 14 in; 35.56 cm
needle: 5 1/2 in; 13.97 cm
overall: 7 1/2 in x 14 in x 6 1/2 in; 19.05 cm x 35.56 cm x 16.51 cm
Publisher: Rittenhouse
Topics: Geodesy
American Revolution (1775-1783)
Surveying
Description: The variation arc on the south arm of this surveyor's compass extends 14 degrees to either side; the vernier is moved by hand, and reads to 6 minutes. The bottom plate is not solid, as was usually the case, but has six large segments cut out, presumably to save brass and/or reduce the weight of the instrument. The compass face reads clockwise--a feature that was probably introduced at the behest of the surveyor for whom the compass was made. Heisely also made compasses with the more common counterclockwise form. The level vials on the north and south arms, the needle, and one of the sight vanes seem to be later additions.
The "F. Heiseley Fredk: town" inscription is that of Frederick Heisely (1759-1843), a clock and compass maker of German descent who catered to the community of rich German American farmers in the mid-Atlantic region. He apprenticed with John G. Hoff, a clock maker born and trained in Germany. He served in the Revolutionary War, married Hoff's eldest daughter, and opened a shop in Frederick (then called Fredericktown), Md., in the mid-1780s. He moved to Harrisburg, Pa., in 1811.
Ref: Silvio A. Bedini, "Frederick Heisely: Clock and Compass Maker," <i>Rittenhouse</i> 3 (1989):120-124.
Surveyor's Vernier Compass
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Surveyor's Vernier Compass
surveyor's vernier compass
date made: 1807-1817
maker: Potts, William Lukens
place made: United States: Pennsylvania, Bucks county
Measurements: overall length: 14 1/4 in; 36.195 cm
needle: 5 in; 12.7 cm
overall in case: 3 13/16 in x 14 1/2 in x 7 3/8 in; 9.68375 cm x 36.83 cm x 18.7325 cm
Topics: Geodesy
Surveying
Description: William Lukens Potts (1771-1854) worked with Benjamin Rittenhouse in the years 1796-1798, making plain and vernier compasses for surveyors. In 1800, now in business on his own, he advertised "surveying instruments of all kinds, and Rittenhouse' Circumferentors, with each a nounes and spirit level compleat." "Nounes" here refers to a nonius, a term sometimes used in place of vernier.
This example marked "W.L. POTTS Bucks Penna." was made between 1807, when Potts bought land in Bucks County, Pa., and 1817, when he moved to Philadelphia. The variation arc on the south arm extends 15 degrees either way; the "folded" vernier is moved by rack and pinion, and reads to 5 minutes. There is a spirit level on the north arm. A copy of Thomas Whitney's 1814 discussion of "The Variation of the Compass" is pasted into the inside cover of the wooden box.
Surveyor's Compass
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Surveyor's Compass
maker: Dod, Lebbeus
place made: United States: New Jersey, Mendham
Measurements: overall length: 14 1/2 in; 36.83 cm
needle: 5 1/4 in; 13.335 cm
overall: 2 1/2 in x 14 5/8 in x 7 in; 6.35 cm x 37.1475 cm x 17.78 cm
Credit line: Columbia University. Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Publisher: Bedini, Silvio A.. Thinkers and Tinkers. Early American Men of Science, Drost, William E.. Clocks and Watches of New Jersey
Topics: Geodesy
American Revolution (1775-1783)
Surveying
Description: Lebbeus Dod (1739–1816) made clocks and mathematical instruments in Mendham, New Jersey. During the Revolution he established an armory for the manufacture and repair of muskets. Various design features—the face reads clockwise, the bar is narrow, and the vertical sights are held in place with dovetails—indicate that this compass dates from early in Dod's career. The signature reads "Lebbeus Dod, Mendham."
This compass was owned by King's College, which had been established by royal charter as the College of the Province of New–York in the City of New–York in America in 1754. An advertisement of that date mentions instruction in such subjects as numbering, measuring, surveying, and navigation. King's College was renamed Columbia College after the Revolution.
Ref: Silvio A. Bedini, <i>Thinkers and Tinkers. Early American Men of Science</i> (New York, 1973), p. 241.
William E. Drost, <i>Clocks and Watches of New Jersey</i> (Elizabeth, N.J., 1966), pp. 98–104.