REPORT ON THE DIVISION OF MECHANICAL TECHNOLOGY. 

 By Gael W. JMitman, Curator. 



Staff. — In the last annual report it was stated that the goal 

 toward which this division was bending its efforts and for which it 

 possessed the nucleus was a museum of engineering. Some progress 

 has been made toward this end, in that on May 1, 1921, the writer 

 was placed in charge of the division of mineral technology and his 

 title changed to read " curator, divisions of mineral and mechanical 

 technology." In this capacity he will administer the work of all 

 strictly engineering units of the department of arts and industries. 

 In addition to the advantages to be thus gained in the development 

 of these phases of the Museum's activities, the reorganization is ma- 

 terially more economical in that the two divisions, which for the past 

 10 years have been cared for by a staff in each, will now be adminis- 

 tered by the writer aided by two assistant curators, one assigned to 

 mineral technology and one to mechanical technology. 



Accessions. — During the time covered by this report there was a 

 marked increase in the amount of material received. The total 

 number of accessions is 33 as against 13 for the year 1919-20, while 

 the number of objects is 162 against 97 for the previous year. 



Of these accessions, 25 were gifts, 4 were loans, 1 a transfer, and 

 2 were prepared in the division laboratory. The designation of 

 the objects was as follows: 122 to transportation and machinery, 

 17 to metrology, 6 to firearms, 6 to communication, and 11 were 

 objects of a miscella'neous character. 



In a division covering such a range of subjects as that in me- 

 chanical technology, it is difficult to place comparative values upon 

 the various accessions, for each one received is of importance in 

 the section to which it belongs. Thus in land transportation, the 

 Duryea gasoline automobile of 1892-93, presented by Mr. Inglis 

 M. Uppercu, New York City, is undoubtedly the accession of greatest 

 importance historically. On the other hand, the full-size single- 

 cylinder sectioned and hand-operated gasoline engine which visual- 

 izes the cycle of operations in the internal-combustion engine as the 

 visitor operates it, is by far the most important accession educa- 

 tionally. There is not a visitor who, upon seeing this exhibit, does 

 not stop before it, operate it, and study it. The exhibit was pre- 



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