General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

porcelain cup/ metal switch handle & parts/ synthetic parts

Dimensions

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

Length

9.2 cm

Width

3.8 cm

Height

4.9 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

Hart Hegeman

Country

United States of America

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

North America

State/Province

Unknown

Period

circa 1925

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

The tumbler switch was one of the most characteristic British contributions to wiring installation practice. Coming into regular use around 1890, it rapidly superceded all other movements in Britain & ultimately went abroad to replace the established turn & two-button arrangements in America & Europe (Ref. 3). In Canada, the tumbler switch became popular only after 1930; before that flush turn & two-button switches were favoured. Tha Hart & hegeman Co. was founded in 1890 (Ref. 1).

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

raised lettering on porcelain reads "H&H [logo], "X8381" & "MADE IN U.S.A."/ incised lettering on metal fasteners reads "UND. LAB. INSP./ MADE IN U.S.A." & "10A. 125V./ 5A. 250V."

Missing

plate

Finish

unglazed white porcelain/ black & metallic parts

Decoration

N/A