Five-Minute Museum

Tiny instruments of American invention

Nineteenth-century patent models on display at the Smithsonian recall an age of inventive fervor

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    Rothschild Patent Model Collection/Photo by Scherzi Photography

    Cooking Stove, 1835. Inventor: T. Fairbanks.
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    Rothschild Patent Model Collection/Photo by Scherzi Photography

    Theft Prevention Device, 1868. Inventor: A.F. Kitchen.
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    Rothschild Patent Model Collection/Photo by Scherzi Photography

    Washing Machine, 1871. Inventor: Alfred T. Sullivan.
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    Rothschild Patent Model Collection/Photo by Scherzi Photography

    Toy Wrestlers, 1867. Inventor: James T. Walker.
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    Rothschild Patent Model Collection/Photo by Scherzi Photography

    Yarn Dyeing Machine, 1858. Inventor: David B. Kerr.
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    Rothschild Patent Model Collection/Photo by Scherzi Photography

    Screw Threading Machine, 1875. Inventor: Benjamin Mason.
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    Rothschild Patent Model Collection/Photo by Scherzi Photography

    Horseshoe Making Machine, 1880. Inventor: Joseph Dorgan.
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    Rothschild Patent Model Collection/Photo by Scherzi Photography

    Mousetrap, 1870. Inventors: John O. Kopas and George W. Bauer.
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    Rothschild Patent Model Collection/Photo by Scherzi Photography

    Grand Piano, 1870. Inventor: Ole Bull.
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    Rothschild Patent Model Collection/Photo by Scherzi Photography

    Road Wagon, 1879. Inventor: James L. Phillip.
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    Rothschild Patent Model Collection/Photo by Scherzi Photography

    Sewing Machine, 1875. Inventor: Israel M. Rose.
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    Rothschild Patent Model Collection/Photo by Scherzi Photography

    Swing, 1868. Inventor: Benjamin Shaffer.
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    Rothschild Patent Model Collection/Photo by Scherzi Photography

    Fence Fabricating Machine, 1888. Inventor: Conrad F. Bartling.