German Steam Toy Traction Engine

Object Details

Description (Brief)

This toy steam traction engine was manufactured by an unknown German maker during the early 20th century. The traction engine consists of a black firebox below a boiler painted orange. The steam powers a horizontal slide valve engine attached to a flywheel that is chained to the tractor’s rear wheel.

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. This traction engine achieves motion by the same method.

Location

Currently not on view

Credit Line

Bequest of the Estate of Greville I. Bathe

early 20th century

ID Number

MC.328932

catalog number

328932

accession number

278175

Object Name

toy, steam engine and boiler

Measurements

overall - from catalog card: 11 1/2 in x 8 1/4 in; 29.21 cm x 20.955 cm

overall: 11 3/4 in x 4 3/8 in x 8 1/8 in; 29.845 cm x 11.1125 cm x 20.6375 cm

place made

Germany

Related Publication

Maass, Eleanor A.. Greville Bathe's "Theatre of Machines": The Evolution of a Scholar and His Collection

See more items in

Work and Industry: Mechanical and Civil Engineering

Family & Social Life

Engineering, Building, and Architecture

Engineering Steam Toys and Models

National Museum of American History

Record ID

nmah_847154

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a6-8354-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa