Magic Caster, Patent Model and Label
1 of 3
Object Label
In the United States, the government issues patents to protect the innovations of inventors and designers, reflecting the importance of new ideas and the objects that result from them. This is the actual model submitted to the Patent Office by Edward Gleason for a variant of the “magic caster.”
Caption
Edward Gleason. Magic Caster, Patent Model and Label, patented December 1, 1857. White metal, brass, paper, Model: 16 1/4 x 9 x 9 in. (41.3 x 22.9 x 22.9 cm); Label: 3 1/8" x 2 3/4". Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by the Long Island Chapter of the Victorian Society of America, 1992.207a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.1992.207a-b.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Designer
Manufacturer
Title
Magic Caster, Patent Model and Label
Date
patented December 1, 1857
Medium
White metal, brass, paper
Classification
Dimensions
Model: 16 1/4 x 9 x 9 in. (41.3 x 22.9 x 22.9 cm); Label: 3 1/8" x 2 3/4"
Credit Line
Purchased with funds given by the Long Island Chapter of the Victorian Society of America
Accession Number
1992.207a-b
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
What is this?
That is a magic caster! One is the object itself, and the other is a patent model that was submitted to the US Government by the manufacturer, R. Gleason & Sons, for a patent. This would be placed on a dinner table and when the knob at the top was rotated, it would spin and reveal condiment bottles in those little openings!
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