Odometer
date: label: date made
content: around 1900
name: label: maker
content: Bell Odometer Works
notes: label: Description
content: Established in 1879, the U.S. Geological Survey tested distance measurers to see which best suited their purposes. Those that failed muster were sent to the Smithsonian in 1907. This bell odometer—so-called because a bell rings for every revolution of the wheel—is one of those instruments. The “S. H. DAVIS & CO. / BOSTON, MASS. U.S.A.” inscription on the dial refers to a hardware store that advertised this type of instrument.
label: Description
content: The form came on the market in 1893. Originally made for horse-drawn vehicles, it was later adapted for automobiles. The Bell Odometer Works began in Washington, D.C., and later moved to Oakmont, Pa.
label: Description
content: Ref: “The Improved Bell Odometer,” <i>Scientific American</i> 72 (1895): 405.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
label: See more items in
content: Measuring & Mapping
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PH.247959
label: catalog number
content: 247959
label: accession number
content: 47736
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Odometer
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 2 in x 2 13/16 in x 3 1/2 in x 2 3/8 in; 5.08 cm x 7.14375 cm x 8.89 cm x 6.0325 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 3 7/16 in x 2 13/16 in x 2 in; 8.73125 cm x 7.14375 cm x 5.08 cm