Creeping Baby Doll Patent Model
date: label: date made
content: 1871
label: patent date
content: 1871-08-29
name: label: inventor
content: Clarke, George P.
notes: label: Description
content: This model demonstrates the invention of a mechanical crawling doll. It accompanied the patent submission of George Pemberton Clarke, who received U.S. patent No. 118,435 on 29 August 1871 for his “Natural Creeping Baby Doll.” The original patent office tag is still attached with red tape. Clarke’s patent was an improvement on the crawling baby doll patent of his associate Robert J. Clay (No. 112,550 granted 14 March 1871).
label: Description
content: The doll’s head, two arms and two legs are made of painted plaster. The arms and legs are hinged to a brass clockwork body that actuates the arms and legs in imitation of crawling, but the doll moves forward by rolling along on two toothed wheels. A flat piece of wood is attached to top of the movement.
label: Description
content: A commercial version of the doll is also in the collection. See also Catalog number 2011.0204.01a.
label: Description
content: This mechanical toy is part of a fascinating continuum of figures built to imitate human life. This long Western tradition stretches from ancient Greece through the mechanical automatons of the Enlightenment, through wind-up toys to contemporary robots and other machines with artificial intelligence.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: associated place
content: United States: New York, New York City
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Mechanisms
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content: Robots and Automatons
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content: Industry & Manufacturing
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content: Sports & Leisure
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content: Science & Mathematics
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1984.0923.01
label: accession number
content: 1984.0923
label: catalog number
content: 1984.0923.01
label: patent number
content: 118,435
objectType: label: Object Name
content: mechanical doll, patent model
label: Object Name
content: mechanical doll, patent model, automaton
label: Object Name
content: patent model, doll, creeping baby
label: Object Type
content: Patent Model
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 6 3/4 in x 3 5/8 in x 11 in; 17.145 cm x 9.2075 cm x 27.94 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall - from catalog card: 6 in x 3 in x 10 in; 15.24 cm x 7.62 cm x 25.4 cm