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OBJECT TYPE: pendant/feed-through/3-heat/2 circuit
DATE: 1914
ARTIFACT NUMBER: 1992.2523.001

MANUFACTURER: Cutler-Hammer
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: brass shell/ synthetic buttons & parts/ metal parts/ fabric covered wiring

Dimensions

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

Length: 4.4 cm
Width: 3.9 cm
Height: 9.0 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: Cutler Hammer
Country: United States of America
State/Province: Unknown
City: Unknown

Context

Country: North America
State/Province: Unknown
Period: circa 1914
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: This type of mechanism was used with small appliances like electric irons. By clearly indicating if the current was off or on, it reduced socket wear & the danger of overheating. This three-heat switch could only be used with an appliance having two circuits. The notched buttons indicated to the touch which heat was being used: low, medium or high. This type of switch was designated in the CGE catalogue of 1915-1916 as a feed-through or cord switch. The Cutler Hammer company was founded in 1892 as the Chicago Electric & Mfg. Co. (Ref. 1 & 3).
Area Notes: Unknown

Details

Markings: incised lettering on shell reads "3A/ 250V.", "C-H [logo]", "6A./ 125V." & "BLACK BUTTONS/ PATENTED/ UND. LAB. INSP." with instructions as to which buttons to press
Missing: appears complete
Finish: nickel plated shell/ black & brown buttons/ brown wire covering
Decoration: N/A

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

Cutler-Hammer, Switch, circa 1914, Artifact no. 1992.2523, Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation, http://collection.ingeniumcanada.org/en/id/1992.2523.001/

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