General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

METAL, BRASS & LEAD

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

7.6 cm

Width

7.6 cm

Height

10.7 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Motorized Ground Transportation

Category

Automotive parts

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

MOTOMETER

Country

United States of America

State/Province

New York

City

Long Island

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

Unknown

Function

A heat gauge for autos and trucks which registers the temperature of the cooling system and is a warning against over heating (KE – notes: 1980.0372).

Technical

A sample type of a Boyce Motometer heat gauge that consists of a thermometer attached to the top of a radiator cap used to provide temperature control for the engine of automobiles. In 1912, Boyce introduced and patented the first motometer (“Boyce Motometer”). It bridged a period between the production of plain utilitarian radiator caps and cap-mounted hood ornaments or mascots (Boggs and Boggs, “Motometers”). At the turn of the 20th century, automobile engines were not pressurized and were susceptible to overheating. There was no way to measure the internal temperature of the engine unless it overheated and steam was released from the radiator cap. There was a need to know the temperature of the engine’s cooling system because it was important to maintain an efficient operating temperature to prevent engine destruction due to overheating. As a result, the U.S. company Boyce invented the heat gauge to display the engine temperature (Boggs and Boggs, “Motometers”). At first, motometers were constructed with a simple design, however decorative ornamentation was added over time, such as wings, knobs and other embellishments. By the 1920s, the temperature gauge was located on the dashboard inside the automobile and motometers were no longer necessary. As a result, the radiator cap was decorated with hood ornaments or mascots (“The History of Hood Ornaments”).

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Text stamped onto bottom front and back of metal casing: ‘Boyce MotoMeter’; Text on the front inside layer states temperature scale and patents: ‘Patented [unreadable - Mar-7-14?]/ July-16-18/ Aug.-13-18’; Text on the back inside layer states name and location of manufacturer, as well as the model of gauge: ‘Boyce MotoMeter/ Patented/ The MotoMeter Co. Inc./ Long Island City, N.Y., U.S.A./ Hudson Equip.’

Missing

N/A

Finish

Unknown

Decoration

N/A