A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the Rothschild Petersen Patent Model Museum in Cazenovia, NY (my flickr set is here).
The museum is run by Alan Rothschild, who is the author of an upcoming book from MAKE on some of the amazing patent models in the museum collection as well as the history of patent models.
But that book won’t be coming until next year. The good news is that if you need a taste of these models, you can check out Alan’s exhibit at our third annual World Maker Faire New York (September 29 and 30 at the New York Hall of Science). And if you can’t get enough patent models, you’ve got until November 2013 to check out the 32 models from the museum that are on exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum: Inventing a Better Mousetrap: Patent Models from the Rothschild Collection.
Maker Faire Project Profile
Building a Better Mouse Trap: American History in the Amazing World of Patent Models
This will be an exhibit based on the world famous collection of patent models built during the 18th and 19th century as a requirement for applying for, and assigning a patent. Alan will talk about the collection, the importance of the patent act and invention as it has affected America's economic, social and cultural history and his exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. He will have on hand several of these beautiful models as well as photographs of others and descriptive text. This presentation is the basis of a book by the same name to be published by Read more →
