PREFACE 



Objects illustrating the development of the mechanical arts and 

 sciences have been collected and preserved by the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution from the earliest period of its existence. For years this activ- 

 ity was continued incidentally to the work of the ethnological sec- 

 tions of the Institution in the United States National Museum. In 

 1884, however, acquisitions from the Centennial Exposition of 1876 

 had increased the collections so greatly, particularly in the field 

 of transportation, that a section of transportation was created in 

 the Museum. This section has in time grown in scope and size into 

 the present Department of Engineering and Industries and includes 

 collections and exhibits in nearly every branch of engineering and 

 industry. 



The Department of Engineering and Industries is now, in effect, the 

 national museum of engineering and industry of the United States, 

 and in size, scope, and merit of collections and in numbers of visitors 

 to its exhibits it compares favorably with the national museums of 

 science and industry abroad. This comparison could readily be made 

 more favorable were it not for the fact that the collections at present 

 are crowded in antiquated and inadequate buildings that prevent 

 exhibition of the material in the most appealing and instructive 

 manner. It is anticipated that in due time modern housing for these 

 important collections will be provided. 



The division of engineering, one of the four divisions of the De- 

 partment, collects, preserves, and exhibits material illustrative of the 

 progress in all fields of engineering and the physical sciences, includ- 

 ing such diversified subjects as transportation, aeronautics, mining, 

 communications, tools and crafts, timekeeping, office machines, and 

 many others. The collections described in this catalog, compiled by 

 Frank A. Taylor, curator of engineering in the United States Na- 

 tional Museum, are in the group roughly designated as prime movers 

 or power-producing devices and their accessories and auxiliaries. 

 It includes such macliines as windmills, water wheels, steam, oil, and 

 gas engines, and steam boilers, and it will serve as a typical example 

 of what has been done in recording, by relics, the progress made in a 

 fundamentally important engineering field in America. 



It is intended that this catalog will prove a useful guide to the 

 collections, particularly for those who cannot visit the Museum. 

 At the same time, it will illustrate the deficiencies of the collections 

 and, it is hoped, enlist the aid of all who can offer information, sug- 



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