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Thursday, November 17, 2011

American Art - Patent Models from the Rothschild Collection

The exhibition "Inventing a Better Mousetrap" features 32 models illustrating the wide variety of 19th-century patented inventions submitted by inventors from across the United States. All of the models on display are from the collection of Alan Rothschild, whose holdings of 4,000 patent models is the largest private assemblage of American patent models anywhere.

The models in the exhibition are grouped by category, including domestic life, leisure and machinery. The models are complemented by drawings, illustrations, a rare early patent signed by George Washington and a full-scale model of a "better" mousetrap with questions about its advantages and disadvantages over more conventional mousetraps. The installation also includes a case of "mystery models," each accompanied by a clue, which allows visitors to guess their purpose. The exhibition is on display in the museum's Allan J. and Reda R. Riley Gallery. Charles Robertson, deputy director emeritus of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and specialist in American decorative arts, is the curator of the exhibition.

        A slideshow of patent models included in the exhibition is available on the museum's website.

About the Smithsonian American Art Museum

        The Smithsonian American Art Museum celebrates the vision and creativity of Americans with artworks in all media spanning more than three centuries. Its National Historic Landmark building is located at Eighth and F streets N.W., above the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metrorail station. Museum hours are 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Admission is free. Follow the museum on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, ArtBabble, iTunes and YouTube. Museum information (recorded): (202) 633-7970. Smithsonian Information: (202) 633-1000; (202) 633-5285 (TTY). Website: americanart.si.edu.

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