On Saturday, Oct. 8, Hagley Museum and Library is opening the doors to a major, new exhibition, “Nation of Inventors‘,” taking visitors on a journey through the golden age of American invention.
The pathbreaking, 6,000 square-foot exhibition builds on Hagley’s mission to “inspire all people to be innovative in their own lives” by presenting the stories of 19th-century inventors from all walks of life.
To tell these stories, “Nation of Inventors” features nearly 120 patent models from Hagley’s collection — the largest private collection of its kind.
Patent models are small-scale representations of inventions made during the early years of the U.S. patent system.
From the 1790s through the 1880s, inventors seeking patents to protect their intellectual property were required to submit three-dimensional models of their inventions measuring no more than 12 inches in any direction. Individually, these patent models are truly one-of-a-kind artifacts, as are the stories of the inventors behind them.
The models on display in “Nation of Inventors” introduce stories about women, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, and many other inventors demonstrating that American innovation has, can, and does come from all of us.
It’s unclear how many patent models still exist. During the 19th-century, hundreds of thousands of these uniquely American objects were created.
A major fire in the Patent Office in 1836 destroyed many early patent models and patent documentation. The lost models were considered so important that Congress appropriated funds to recreate models that were damaged or destroyed in the fire. Some of these recreated models from the late 1830s still exist. A few are in Hagley’s collections and are on view in “Nation of Inventors.”
Even more models were lost in 1877. A second fire destroyed countless models in the Patent Office building, in Washington, D.C. — the building that is now home to the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum.
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After the requirement to submit patent models was eliminated in the 1880s, the models were moved to storage before eventually being dispersed by the Department of Commerce in the early 20th century. Hagley began collecting models in 1961 and, in 2015, acquired the collection of Alan and Ann Rothschild, bringing the number in Hagley’s collection to roughly 5,000 models.
“Nation of Inventors” emphasizes the stories of the people behind these models. There are recognizable names in the exhibition like Edison, Bissell, Beam, Corliss and Steinway, famous for their light bulb, floor care products, bourbon, steam engines and pianos, respectively. But even these well-known names introduce surprising stories, like that of Anna Bissell who, after her husband’s death in 1889, became the CEO of Bissell — the first woman CEO in U.S. history.
Other names, like 1877 patentee Mary Augusta Requa, are less recognizable. But her story is a compelling one — she earned a law degree later in life and successfully represented herself in a lawsuit against her employer when the “group of masculine legal minds” she hired proved to be ineffective.
One section of the exhibition features a rare collection of patent models for improvement in prosthetics, an immediate consequence of the Civil War. Here the exhibition brings to light stories of disability in 19th-century America. The exhibition calls attention to these and many other, often-underrepresented stories of the history of American innovation and nation more broadly.
Nation of Inventors is also something of a homecoming for Hagley’s patent models. In 2018, a selection of the models travelled to China, where they were featured in two major exhibitions, including a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the National Museum of China on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Since 2021, a selection of Hagley’s models has been on view in the new Design and Innovation building at the University of California, San Diego.
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Through the end 2022, nearly 50 Hagley patent models will be on display at Philadelphia International Airport as part of the airport’s Exhibitions Program. Another collection of patent models can even be seen in the Discovery Arcade at Disneyland Paris.
Now, finally, Hagley’s patent models will be on view in a permanent exhibition closer to home in the museum’s Visitor Center on the banks of the Brandywine in Wilmington
“Nation of Inventors” opens on Saturday, Oct. 8, and is included with admission to Hagley Museum featuring the historic DuPont gunpowder yards and the first du Pont home and garden in the United States.
For hours and other information visit hagley.org. And, to be inspired by stories of American innovators, visit “Nation of Inventors” when it opens in October.
Mike Adams is director of museum and audience engagement for Hagley Museum and Library.
