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German Steam Toy Traction Engine

National Museum of American History

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
German Live Steam Toy Traction Engine
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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