Holbrook's Geometrical Forms and Arithmetical Solids

Object Details

Holbrook School Apparatus Manufacturing Company

Description: In the years before the Civil War, several Northern states opened free elementary or common schools. To communicate with large numbers of students, teachers used a wide range of objects, including these models of simple geometrical shapes. Connecticut school reformer and lecturer Josiah Holbrook developed a collection of apparatus for teaching by families and in schools. The models were part of this set. He designed them to help students learn the names of simple solids, basic rules for calculating the area of various flat surfaces, and elementary drawing. Holbrook advertised that his equipment was "Good enough for the best, and cheap enough for the poorest." It was used in thousands of schools. Even after Holbrook died in 1854, his family continued to manufacture school apparatus; these models date from about 1859.

1859

Physical Description: paper (label material); wood (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 9 cm x 22.1 cm x 14.5 cm; 3 9/16 in x 8 11/16 in x 5 11/16 in

place made: United States: Illinois, Chicago; United States: New York, New York City

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Mathematics; Science & Mathematics; Arithmetic Teaching
Exhibition: Art in Industry
Exhibition Location: National Museum of American History

National Museum of American History

GUID (Link to Original Record): https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-049a-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa