Set of Drawing Instruments Sold by Sears Roebuck
date: label: date made
content: early 20th century
name: label: distributor
content: Sears, Roebuck and Co.
notes: label: Description
content: This unpolished wood and cardboard case is wrapped in packaging tape added by the donor for transporting the instruments. The set includes:
label: Description
content: 1) 5-1/4" and 4-1/4" steel drawing pens. The tightening screws on the spring blades are marked: SEARS ROEBUCK GERMANY.
label: Description
content: 2) 6" steel dividers. A pin in one leg latches to the other leg. The hinge is marked: SEARS ROEBUCK GERMANY.
label: Description
content: 3) 6" steel compass with one jointed leg and removable pencil point, pen point, and jointed lengthening bar. All parts except the pencil point are marked: SEARS ROEBUCK GERMANY. The lengthening bar is also marked: HAB. A divider point is apparently missing.
label: Description
content: 4) 3" metal handle. The remainder of this instrument, which had a point, is apparently missing.
label: Description
content: 5) 2" and 1-1/4" cylindrical metal cases. The larger has one graphite lead, one needle point, and two tops for screws. The smaller holds 5 graphite leads.
label: Description
content: 6) 3-3/4" bow dividers, bow pen, and bow pencil.
label: Description
content: The donor (b. 1949) reported that his great-grandfather, Henry Arthur Botkin, owned this set. Botkin lived in Missouri and East Texas before the instruments were damaged in a 1903 family house fire. The case may thus be a later replacement and possibly is handmade.
label: Description
content: The date of the instruments is uncertain. After advertising only watches and jewelry from 1888 to 1893, Sears Roebuck began issuing a general catalog in 1894. These objects do not resemble any of the drawing instruments advertised in the Spring 1896 (pp. 467–468), Fall 1897 (pp. 369–370), Fall 1899 (pp. 175–177), or Spring 1905 (pp. 370–371) Sears Roebuck catalogs. The bow pen, pencil, and dividers appear to have first been advertised in Spring 1911 (p. 746). This style of drawing compasses and pens still was not depicted by Spring 1914 (p. 792), when the outbreak of World War I interrupted the import of drawing instruments made in Germany. In Fall 1920 (p. 1200), Sears Roebuck offered a set of instruments like these (with only one lead case and no handle) from Keuffel & Esser's Pilot brand for $15.35. However, when European imports resumed in Spring 1921 (p. 602), none of the instruments advertised resembled these. By Spring 1925 (p. 507), Sears Roebuck sold Schoenner instruments.
label: Description
content: Reference: "History of the Sears Catalog," http://www.searsarchives.com/catalogs/history.htm.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: Germany
topic: label: Subject
content: Mathematics
label: Subject
content: Drafting, Engineering
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
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content: Science & Mathematics
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content: Drawing Instruments
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of John C. Botkin
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1978.0226.01
label: catalog number
content: 336490
label: accession number
content: 1978.0226
objectType: label: Object Name
content: drawing instruments, set of
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: cardboard (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1.5 cm x 24.5 cm x 11.5 cm; 19/32 in x 9 21/32 in x 4 17/32 in