Curve Pen
date: label: date made
content: early 20th century
notes: label: Description
content: This 4-7/8" pen for making engineering, surveying, and railroad drawings consists of a steel curved tip with a tightening screw attached to a thin rod that runs through a ridged German silver cylinder to be secured by a German silver screw top. Tightening or loosening the top allowed the user to create straight or curved lines. (The blades of the pen point swiveled when the top was loosened.) Numerous sellers of drawing instruments offered curve pens in the first half of the 20th century; they usually charged about $1.50.
label: Description
content: The donor, Sebastian J. Tralongo (1928–2007), served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and then worked for the Vitro Corporation in Rockville, Md., for 35 years. He patented a device for signaling from deeply submerged submarines. The object was received with several other drawing instruments in a wooden box, 1984.1071.13.
label: Description
content: References: "Tralongo, Sebastian James 'Subby'," <i>Hartford Courant</i>, May 26, 2007; Sebastian J. Tralongo, "Submarine Signal Device" (U.S. Patent 2,989,024 issued June 20, 1961); "Vitro Corp. – Company Profile," http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/25/Vitro-Corp.html.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Mathematics
label: Subject
content: Drafting, Engineering
label: Subject
content: Drawing Instruments
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
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content: Pens and Pencils
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content: Science & Mathematics
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Sebastian J. Tralongo
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1984.1071.09
label: accession number
content: 1984.1071
label: catalog number
content: 1984.1071.09
objectType: label: Object Name
content: pen, curve
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: german silver (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: steel (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 12.4 cm x .8 cm x .5 cm; 4 7/8 in x 5/16 in x 3/16 in