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OBJECT TYPE: pendant/push-button/double
DATE: 1912
ARTIFACT NUMBER: 1992.2463.001

MANUFACTURER: Pass & Seymour
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: metal (brass) shell/ synthetic push buttons/ fabric covered wiring/ metal parts

Dimensions

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

Length: N/A
Width: N/A
Height: 7.5 cm
Thickness: N/A
Weight: N/A
Diameter: 4.2 cm
Volume: N/A

Lexicon

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

Manufacturer

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

Context

Country: North America
State/Province: Unknown
Period: early 20th century
Canada: A switch, possibly made in Canada, 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: The first patent for a push-button switch was granted to Ediswan in 1895. The single push-button switch had the disadvantage of not indicating if the switch is open or closed & has seldom been used. The two button arrangement, however, was free from this defect & enjoyed great popularity in America. These switches da double bushing, the inner one suitable for No. 11 gauge lamp cord. This inner bushing could be removed when a larger cord was to be used. A similar model to this one was offered by CGE in its 1904 catalogue & by Hart & Hegeman in 1915, & CGE in 1921, but by 1929 had disappeared. Pass & Seymour was founded in Syracuse, NY in 1890 to make porcelain insulators & still makes wiring devices today. In 1980 the American firm acquired Pass & Seymour Canada (see Supp. Info.).
Area Notes: Unknown

Details

Markings: partially illegible incised lettering on shell reads in part "P&S/ PATENTED"
Missing: appears complete
Finish: gold coloured metal/ brown & black push buttons/ brown wire covering
Decoration: N/A

CITE THIS OBJECT

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

Pass & Seymour, Switch, circa 1912, Artifact no. 1992.2463, Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation, http://collection.ingeniumcanada.org/en/id/1992.2463.001/

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