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Smithsonian American Art Museum Exhibition - Washington, DC
The Smithsonian American Art Museum will present Inventing a Better Mousetrap: Patent Models from the Rothschild Collection from November 11, 2011, through November 3, 2013. The exhibition will feature thirty-two "models illustrating the wide variety of nineteenth-century patented inventions submitted by inventors from across the United States. All the objects on display are from Alan Rothschild's personal collection, which is one of the largest in the world with nearly 4,000 patent models."
Learn More at the Smithsonian American Art Museum Website
The following is a list of the models on exhibit. Drawings and descriptions explaining how each invention works may be accessed by clicking on the patent number and then on "View Patent."
| Patent # | Date | Model/Invention | Inventor | City | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mousetrap |
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| 102133 | 4/19/1870 | Mousetrap (Improved Animal-Trap) | John O. Kopas and George W. Bauer | Washington, D.C | DC |
Mystery Models |
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| 84362 | 11/24/1868 | Thief Prevention Device (Improvement in Door-Fastening and Alarm) | A.F. Kitchen | Shelton Depot | SC |
| 117281 | 7/25/1871 | Incense Burner (Improvement in Incense-Burners) | E. Warren Hastings | Boston | MA |
| 20426 | 6/1/1858 | Life Preserving Container (Life-Preserving State-Room for Navigable Vessels) | H. Hallock | Brookhaven | NY |
| 49150 | 8/1/1865 | Cotton Seed Planter (Improvement in Cotton-Seed Planters) | B. & N. Platt | St. Louis | MO |
| 392981 | 11/20/1888 | Fence Fabricating Machine (Fence-Machine) | Conrad F. Bartling | Greenville | OH |
Domestic Life |
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| 117940 | 8/8/1871 | Washing Machine (Improvement in Washing-Machines) | Alfred T. Sullivan | San Jose | CA |
| 164899 | 6/29/1875 | Heating Stove (Improvement in Heating-Stoves) | Jabez K. Babcock | Phelps | NY |
| 8763X | 4/14/1835 | Cooking Stove (Cook Stove) | T. Fairbanks | St. Johnsbury | VT |
| 166302 | 8/3/1875 | Sewing Machine (Improvement in Feeding Devices for Sewing-Machines) | Israel M. Rose | Brookhaven | NY |
| 196374 | 10/23/1877 | Sofa Bedstead (Improvement in Sofa-Bedsteads) | Abraham Morris | New York | NY |
Leisure |
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| 62455 | 2/26/1867 | Toy Wrestlers (Wrestling Toy) | James T. Walker | Palmyra | NY |
| 96972 | 11/16/1869 | Toy Bicycle Rider (Toy) | Ernest Santin | New York | NY |
| 109172 | 11/15/1870 | Grand Piano (Improvement in Pianos) | Ole Bull | New York | NY |
| 83216 | 10/20/1868 | Swing (Improvement in Swings) | Benjamin Shaffer | Dayton | OH |
| 40530 | 11/3/1863 | Ice Skate (Skeleton Skates) | Henry Wilson | Binghamton | NY |
Potpourri |
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| 216697 | 6/17/1879 | Road Wagon (Improvement in Road-Wagons) | James L. Phillips | Lowville | NY |
| 235333 | 12/14/1880 | Windmill (Windmill) | Sylvester Ament | Aurora | IL |
| 202426 | 4/16/1878 | Extension Ladder (Improvement in Extension Ladders) | George Evans | Pittsburg | PA |
| 29494 | 8/7/1860 | Artificial Leg (Artificial Leg) | Benjamin Jewett | Gilford | NH |
| 159846 | 2/16/1875 | Pigeon Starter (Improvement in Pigeon-Starters) | Henry A. Rosenthal | Brooklyn | NY |
Machines |
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| 241830 | 5/24/1881 | Paper Bag Making Machine (Paper-Bag Machine) | Edgar Stocking | Washington | DC |
| 99751 | 1/29/1870 | Governor for Steam Engines (Improvement in Governors for Steam and Other Enginery) | Joseph Bell | Cincinnati | OH |
| 122944 | 1/23/1872 | Electro Magnetic Engine (Improvement in Electro-Magnetic Engines) | Claude Victor Gaume | Williamsburg | NY |
| 19701 | 3/23/1858 | Yarn Dyeing Machine (Dyeing Yarn Party-Colored) | David B. Kerr | New York | NY |
| 166121 | 7/27/1875 | Screw Threading Machine (Improvement in Machines for Threading Wood-Screws) | Benjamin Mason | New York | NY |
| 230180 | 7/20/1880 | Horseshoe Making Machine (Horseshoe Machine) | Joseph Dorgan | Plattsburg | NY |
| 12898 | 5/22/1855 | Brick Pressing Machine (Brick-Press) | John Chase Jr. | Pequonock | CT |
| 189999 | 4/24/1877 | Electro Magnetic Railroad Signal (Improvement in Electro-Magnetic Railroad-Signals) | Hakon Brunius | Jonkoping | SWEDEN |
Wall Mounted |
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| 282661 | 8/7/1883 | Artificial Feathers (Imitation Feather) | Henrietta Orttlopp & John Klobert | New York | NY |
| 62606 | 3/5/1867 | Comb (Improvement in Combs) | F.A.L. Cassidey | Newmanville | FL |
| 213113 | 3/11/1879 | Game Indicator (Improvement in Game-Indicator) | Abner Jones & Isaac Osgood | Ilion & Utica | NY |