General Information

Serial #

59790

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Zinc alloy casing/ other metal parts/ fabric covered wire/ brass mfg. plate

Dimensions

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

Length

15.5 cm

Width

12.0 cm

Height

18.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Motorized Ground Transportation

Category

Automotive engineering

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

KOKOMO

Country

United States of America

State/Province

Indiana

City

Kokomo

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

c. 1920

Canada

From the collection of automobile parts and servicing equipment acquired by Mr. T.H. Oliver, father of donor, during his career in automotive serving. He worked at Willys-Olivand, Fairbanks-Morse in Toronto and an auto garage in Aurora. In 1931, he began his own business, one part of which involved automotive electrical servicing.

Function

Part of an ignition system of internal combustion engine. It uses a magnetic field to produce an electric spark, which explodes gasoline vapour in a cylinder of engine, enabling it to function.

Technical

Early and unusual magneto with several unique features, over designed in period when design practices and materials were highly experimental. Kingston made specialized auto components in early years of century, especially carburetors; their involvement in the magneto field appears to have been short-lived (REF 1). The magneto ignition system was a technological innovation first developed in 1878 by Nikolaus August Otto, which was based on the principle of Siemens' double-T armature (Diesel, Goldbeck, and Schildberger: 64). The development of electromagnetism in the 19th century greatly influenced the advancement of magnetos by various inventors around the world. As the automotive industry grew, the magneto ignition system became the standard automotive ignition system, resulting in the wide spread use of magnetos on early engines (Bosch. "Bosch Product History"). Today, automobiles rely on battery power; however, magnetos are commonly used to power small machines, including lawn mowers or snow blowers, and may be found in small gasoline engines such as motorcycles, tractors, marine, and aircraft engines because they do not need a battery ("Magneto").

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Brass coloured plate reading '"KINGSTON"/ KOKOMO ELECTRIC CO./ KOKOMO, IND., U.S.A."/ incised "59790" on base/ CW Ttag reading "Ross Elliott/ Bradford"

Missing

Appears complete

Finish

Remanants of black paint on magnets & body/ metallic parts/ grey? wire covering

Decoration

Cast "KINGSTON" on casing