Object Details
Description (Brief)
This toy steam engine was produced by the Buckman Manufacturing Company of Brooklyn, New York during the late 19th century. A brass boiler sits on three iron legs with an overtype engine above the boiler.
Live steam toys enjoyed a period of popularity from the 1880s until the 1930s. The miniature steam engines were marketed as both toys and instructive devices that mimicked full-scale steam-powered machines and allowed every boy and girl to be their own engineer. In toy steam engines, a heating source is introduced into the firebox below the boiler (early toys used lit wicks fueled by denatured alcohol, later toys used electricity) which heated the water to produce the steam pressure that ran the engine. A variety of accessories could be powered by the engine; attachments included windmills, pumps, grinders, and electric lights.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Bequest of the Estate of Greville I. Bathe
date made
1870-1880
ID Number
MC.328980
catalog number
328980
accession number
278175
Object Name
toy, steam engine and boiler
Physical Description
brass (overall material)
Measurements
overall - from catalog card: 4 3/4 in; 12.065 cm
flywheel - from catalog card: 1 1/8 in; x 2.8575 cm
overall: 4 7/8 in x 2 in x 2 in; 12.3825 cm x 5.08 cm x 5.08 cm
place made
United States: New York, Brooklyn
Related Publication
Maass, Eleanor A.. Greville Bathe's "Theatre of Machines": The Evolution of a Scholar and His Collection
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Work and Industry: Mechanical and Civil Engineering
Family & Social Life
Engineering, Building, and Architecture
Engineering Steam Toys and Models
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_847169