COMPLIMENTARY COPY
Published Weekly By Joel Sater Publications www.antiquesandauctionnews.net
VOL. 43, NO. 1 FRIDAY JANUARY 6, 2012
The Roots Of Many Modern Conveniences Can Be Found In This CollectionOf Models n July 4, 1836, President A n d r e w Jackson authorized the construction of a patent office building in Washington, D.C. It was designed to celebrate American invention, technical ingenuity, and the scientific advancements that the patent process represents. In 1840, the Patent Office moved into the south wing of what is now the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s historic main building. Some 200,000 models were originally displayed in cases nine feet high in the grand galleries on the third floor of the building, which was completed in 1868. American patent law in the nineteenth century required the submission and public display of a model with each patent application. These scale models in miniature illustrate not only the imaginative fervor of the era but also the amazing
Mousetrap, Inventor: John O. Kopas and George W. Bauer, 1870, Rothschild Patent Model Collection. Photo by Scherzi Photography.
O
Extension Ladder, Inventor: George Evans, 1878, Rothschild Patent Model Collection. Photo by Scherzi Photography.
craftsmanship required to fabricate these often intricate works of art. Many of the models were constructed by specialized makers in workshops located near the Patent Office. The exhibit i o n “Inventing a B e t t e r Mousetrap: Patent Models From The Rothschild Collection” on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum through November 3, 2013, features thirtytwo models illustrating the wide variety of nineteenth-century patented inventions submitted by inventors from across the United States. All of the models on display are from the collection of Alan Rothschild, whose holdings of 4,000 patent models is the largest private assemblage of American patent models anywhere. The models in the exhibition are grouped by category, including domestic life, leisure, and machinery. The models are complemented by drawings, illustra-
tions, a rare early patent signed by George Washington, and a fullscale model of a “better” mousetrap with questions about its advantages and disadvantages over more conventional mousetraps. The installation also include a case of “mystery models,” each accompanied by a clue, which allows visitors to guess their purpose. The exhibition is on display in the museum’s Allan J. and Reda R. Riley Gallery. Charles Robertson, deputy director emeritus of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and specialist in American decorative arts, is the curator of the exhibition. In 2011, Alan and Ann Rothschild generously donated twentyfive patent models to the museum for its permanent collection. Visitors who can’t get enough of these amazing miniatures of the mind should visit the website for the Rothschild Petersen Patent Model Museum at www.patent model.org. The Rothschild Petersen Patent M o d e l Museum i s the largest privatelyowned viewable collection of United States Patent Models in the world. The collection spans America’s Industrial Revolution. The Rothschild Petersen Patent Model Museum collection is currently located in a custom-designed facility in Cazenovia, New York. Alan Rothschild - an inventor himself - has constructed an impressive facility to display hundreds of the models, along with a workshop/laboratory where the remaining models are stored, studied and cared for.
from around the United States, including the purchase of all 82 models in Carolyn Pollan’s Patent Model Museum in Fort Smith, Models are viewable by appoint- Arkansas. Visitors to “Inventing a ment only. Better Mousetrap: Patent With such limited Models From The space, Rothschild R o t h s c h i l d can display only a fraction of his entire collection. Many of these precious artifacts are in temporary storage and many remain in their original packing materials, untouched by human hands for many decades. The patent models journey began shortly after the birth of the United States. The Patent Act of 1790 required that anyone applying to the U.S. Patent Office for a patent, Collection” submit a model of the their stand in what was origiinvention. Over 200,000 models were submitted during the sub- nally the Patent Office Building, sequent 90 years, but after two fires constructed between 1836 and and a growing lack of space, the 1868. More than 200,000 patent model requirement was abolished models, including the ones in the exhibition were once displayed in in 1880. four enormous galleries on the Congress perbuilding’s top floor. mitted the By the Smithsonian Institution to select some models, but the bulk was sold at auction in 1925. The winning bidder was Sir Henry Wellcome, founder of Wellcome Pharmaceutical Company (now known as Glaxo Smith Kline). After Wellcome’s death, the collection was broken up and thousands of models were sold off by a succession of private owners. Alan Rothschild acquired the remainder of the original collection in the 1990s from aerospace engineer, Cliff Petersen, and 1 8 5 0 ’ s , over 100,000 visitors came to the building e s t a b - each year to view the models and lished the other artifacts and curiosities on Rothschild view. After Congress enacted legislaPetersen P a t e n t tion that provided a procedure for M o d e l issuing patents in 1790, applicants Museum in had to submit a narrative descrip1 9 9 8 . tion, a drawing, and a model of the S i n c e invention to be patented. Unlike England and other counToy Wrestlers, Inventor: James T. tries, the United States was unique in mandating Walker, 1867, Rothschild Patent not only the submission Model Collection. of models but also their Photo by Scherzi public display. In those Photography. early years, America lacked the scientific and technical expertise to evaluate an invention without a model. During the law’s first year only three patents were granted, then, Alan but the number Rothschild has added to the Museum with purchases of increased exponentialsmaller patent model collections ly over the ensuing
decades. By 1880 over 14,000 patents were being issued annually. Eventually, many highly skilled model-making shops grew up around the Patent Office Building to meet the demand for ever more sophisticated inventions. The models increasingly reflected the mechanization of labor and the industrial revolution that was sweeping the country durWashing Machine, Inventor: Alfred T. Sullivan, 1871, Rothschild Patent Model Collection. Photo by Scherzi Photography.
ing this era. Though not specifically mandated, the size of the models was traditionally no larger than one cubic foot. They were not required to be working models but only to demonstrate the feasibility of the patent requested. Many of the applications, including a number whose models are in this exhibition, were for improvements to earlier inventions. The large majority of the patents granted, however, were not deemed practical for commercial production. The law was modified in 1870, and the submission of models became optional, although many inventors continued to provide them. By 1880 the submission of models was prohibited unless they were requested by the Paper Bag Making Machine, Inventor: Edgar Stocking, 1881, Rothschild Patent Model Collection. Photo by Scherzi Photography.
Commissioner of Patents. By this time a professional corps of specialized patent examiners was fully capable of approving patents on the basis of detailed drawings and descriptions alone. Thus came the end of an era in America’s creative and technological history, but the models remain as a unique testament of their inventors’ imagination and the amazing skill of the craftsmen who produced them. To avoid potential light damage, the drawings and other works on paper in “Inventing a Better Mousetrap: Patent Models From The Rothschild Collection” are reproductions of the historic originals. The Smithsonian American Art Museum has published two books that relate to the themes of American ingenuity and the history of the U.S. Patent Office that may interest visitors to this exhibition. Temple of Invention: (Continued on page 2)