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Ingenium, 1992.2453.001
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OBJECT TYPE: turn/rotary/flush
DATE: 1901
ARTIFACT NUMBER: 1992.2453.001

MANUFACTURER: PERKINS
MODEL: Unknown
LOCATION: United States of America

More Information

General Information

Serial #: N/A
Part Number: 1
Total Parts: 1
AKA: N/A
Patents: N/A
General Description: porcelain cup/ hard rubber switch handle/ metal (brass) plate/ metal parts

Dimensions

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

Length: 11.4 cm
Width: 7.0 cm
Height: 5.7 cm
Thickness: N/A
Weight: N/A
Diameter: N/A
Volume: N/A

Lexicon

Group: Energy-electric
Category: User site
Sub-Category: N/A

Manufacturer

AKA: PERKINS
Country: United States of America
State/Province: Unknown
City: Unknown

Context

Country: North America
State/Province: Unknown
Period: early 20th century
Canada: An American made switch of a type used in Canadian households. Part of a large & varied collection of over 7500 electrical items acquired & documented by Ontario Hydro in the 1960s. The collection was thought to be the largest & most comprehensive of its kind in Canada & was donated to the National Museum of Science & Technology in 1992.
Function: An electrical wiring device used to make or break a connection in an electrical circuit, specifically in domestic lighting.
Technical: An example of a rotary switch. Edison was one of the very first to give attention to the question of the branch switch. Out of the many possible movements, he chose that of turning, partly through its association with the gas tap. He thought that it would be a good selling point to allow his customers to turn electricity on or off in the same manner as they were accustomed to dealing with gas. From 1880 to 1890 the great majority of switches were of the turn type (Ref. 3). First they were made of wood, with no definite on or off positions. Later switch bases were made of marble or slate, then porcelain with definite on-off positions. Another improvement was quick-make-and-break mechanisms. Rotary switches of this type were offered in Canadian catalogues from c. 1903 until 1921 (Ref. 1).
Area Notes: Unknown

Details

Markings: raised lettering on underside reads "PERKINS & "PAT'D MAR. 27-94 OCT. 26-01/ raised logo on switch handle consists of "P" enclosed in circle
Missing: appears complete
Finish: black switch handle/ brass coloured plate
Decoration: N/A

CITE THIS OBJECT

If you choose to share our information about this collection object, please cite:

PERKINS, Switch, after 1901, Artifact no. 1992.2453, Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation, http://collection.ingeniumcanada.org/en/id/1992.2453.001/

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