Smithsonian American Art Museum
Opening Today!
Inventing a Better Mousetrap: Patent Models from the Rothschild Collection

 

Toy Bicycle Rider
Toy Bicycle Rider
It's a pretty neat fact that the Smithsonian American Art Museum's main building used to be the Patent Office. Nineteenth-century inventors were required to submit a scale model along with a patent application. Over 200,000 of these models were displayed in tall cases in our building.

Visitors to the museum are fascinated by the history of the building and often ask if we have any patent models on display. Well, now we do! The exhibition Inventing a Better Mousetrap: Patent Models from the Rothschild Collection features thirty-two models submitted by inventors from across the country. Some of them are pretty incredible!

Mystery Model
Mystery Model #1 
Check out the exhibition slideshow to see images of selected models. Underneath the slideshow is a selection of mystery models - can you guess the purpose of each?




Inventing a Better Mousetrap: Patent Models from the Rothschild Collection
will be on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum until November 3, 2013.
Conversation with Collector Alan Rothschild
Thursday, December 1, 7 p.m.  
Collector Alan Rothschild and guest curator Charles Robertson discuss nineteenth-century American ingenuity, the patent models that represent the imaginative fervor of the era, and the amazing craftsmanship that attracts collectors. Reception follows.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

McEvoy Auditorium, Lower Level
 

Related Books

 If you are interested in the history of the Patent Office, check out Temple of Invention: History of a National Landmark. The book is packed with wonderful archival drawings and photographs, many of which can be seen in the companion website.

The idea of American ingenuity is also explored in The Great American Hall of Wonders: Art, Science, and Invention in the Nineteenth Century exhibition and book.

 

Image Credits:
Toy Bicycle Rider
Inventor: Ernest Santin, 1869
New York, NY
Rothschild Patent Model Collection
�Photo by Scherzi Photograhy

Model #1
A.F. Kitchen, 1868
Shelton Depot, SC
Rothschild Patent Model Collection
�Photo by Scherzi Photograhy

Photography, jazz, craft, media arts...
what's your pleasure?

Update your email preferences
to receive only the items you want!
Smithsonian American Art Museum
P.O. Box 37012
Washington, D.C. 20013
Facebook icon   Twitter icon