electric DC motor, fan, and light
Date: circa 1889
Inventory Number: 1997-1-1323
Classification: Motor
Subject:
Cultural Region:
Place of Origin:
Dimensions:
41.5 × 21 × 27 cm (16 5/16 × 8 1/4 × 10 5/8 in.)
Description:
The motor is fixed on top of a mahogany base, with beveled edges, that sits in turn on four black table legs with subtle curve ornamentation in between them. The motor is mounted in a donut-shaped iron frame. Both sides are encased in a ribbed, wooden veneer.
A rotating cylinder with mounted permanent magnets is visible near the bottom on the back of the device. It is attached to a protruding copper cylinder that shares the same axle. A set of metal brushes is fixed to either side of the device, making contact with the top and bottom of the rotating copper cylinder. Each brush is connected to the device by an insulated wire.
Screwed into a cylindrical iron socket mounted on a square wooden platform on the very top of the motor is a glass light bulb. A brass fan with four leaf-shaped, angled matte blades is screwed onto a thick cylindrical axle that runs through the center of the motor, attaching to the rotor and copper cylinder on the back of the device.
A rotating cylinder with mounted permanent magnets is visible near the bottom on the back of the device. It is attached to a protruding copper cylinder that shares the same axle. A set of metal brushes is fixed to either side of the device, making contact with the top and bottom of the rotating copper cylinder. Each brush is connected to the device by an insulated wire.
Screwed into a cylindrical iron socket mounted on a square wooden platform on the very top of the motor is a glass light bulb. A brass fan with four leaf-shaped, angled matte blades is screwed onto a thick cylindrical axle that runs through the center of the motor, attaching to the rotor and copper cylinder on the back of the device.
Signedembossed on both sides of top iron instrument frame: PERRETS PATENT / MAY 14 1889 / No. 1776 / VOLTS 118 H.P. 1/8 AMP 1 / THE ELEKTRON M'F'G CO.
printed in black lettering on beige label on lightbult: 50 / WATT / EDISON / 12 / 01 / 08
printed in black lettering on beige label on lightbult: 50 / WATT / EDISON / 12 / 01 / 08
Inscribedsticker: "LD 1971"
FunctionThis motor converts electric current into mechanical motion to power the brass fan and the light bulb. The light bulb acts as a resistor for the device; different watt bulbs permit the fan to rotate at different speeds.
ProvenancePresented to the CHSI by Laurence Batcheldor, May 1983.