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- Columbia Meter Company Type D Wattmeter, 1910-1920 - In the late 1800s, companies that supplied electricity to consumers needed a way to measure how much customers used -- and then charge them accordingly. Inventive electrical engineers developed various methods to measure electric power and several companies began production of recording wattmeters. The Indiana-based Columbia Meter Company produced wattmeters during the first decades of the twentieth century before the company folded.

- 1910-1920
- Collections - Artifact
Columbia Meter Company Type D Wattmeter, 1910-1920
In the late 1800s, companies that supplied electricity to consumers needed a way to measure how much customers used -- and then charge them accordingly. Inventive electrical engineers developed various methods to measure electric power and several companies began production of recording wattmeters. The Indiana-based Columbia Meter Company produced wattmeters during the first decades of the twentieth century before the company folded.
- Generator, 1898-1917 -

- 1898-1917
- Collections - Artifact
Generator, 1898-1917
- Pontiac State Hospital Dynamo Room, Pontiac, Michigan, 1898 - In 1898, a modern electric light and power plant was completed at the Eastern Michigan Asylum in Pontiac. Inside, dynamos, motors, machines, and a range of switches and meters helped power the institution's growing infrastructure. This photograph shows the interior of the dynamo room. Hospital administrators funded a new power plant in 1929.

- 1898
- Collections - Artifact
Pontiac State Hospital Dynamo Room, Pontiac, Michigan, 1898
In 1898, a modern electric light and power plant was completed at the Eastern Michigan Asylum in Pontiac. Inside, dynamos, motors, machines, and a range of switches and meters helped power the institution's growing infrastructure. This photograph shows the interior of the dynamo room. Hospital administrators funded a new power plant in 1929.
- Edison Dynamo Used on SS Columbia, 1880 - For Thomas Edison, successful experimental results were but a prelude to continual improvements that would lead to commercial implementation. This dynamo is from the first lighting system he sold -- installed on a ship, four months after the December 1879 experimental demonstration. Its crude finish, at odds with the highly advanced technology it embodied, suggests Edison's impatient eagerness to move from experiment to market.

- 1880
- Collections - Artifact
Edison Dynamo Used on SS Columbia, 1880
For Thomas Edison, successful experimental results were but a prelude to continual improvements that would lead to commercial implementation. This dynamo is from the first lighting system he sold -- installed on a ship, four months after the December 1879 experimental demonstration. Its crude finish, at odds with the highly advanced technology it embodied, suggests Edison's impatient eagerness to move from experiment to market.
- Connecticut Motor Co. Class C Dynamo -

- Collections - Artifact
Connecticut Motor Co. Class C Dynamo
- Siemens & Halske Duncan Type A Wattmeter, 1899-1900 - In the late 1800s, companies that supplied electricity to consumers developed wattmeters to measure how much power customers used so they could charge appropriate usage rates. Thomas Duncan created wattmeters bearing his name for several companies in the late 1890s. Duncan worked for the American branch of the German company Siemens & Halske beginning in 1899 before starting his own meter manufacturing business in 1901.

- 1899-1900
- Collections - Artifact
Siemens & Halske Duncan Type A Wattmeter, 1899-1900
In the late 1800s, companies that supplied electricity to consumers developed wattmeters to measure how much power customers used so they could charge appropriate usage rates. Thomas Duncan created wattmeters bearing his name for several companies in the late 1890s. Duncan worked for the American branch of the German company Siemens & Halske beginning in 1899 before starting his own meter manufacturing business in 1901.
- Ayrton & Perry Voltmeter, 1883-1890 - Companies that generated and distributed electrical power in the late 1800s needed equipment to monitor and measure output. Apparatus used in scientific laboratories proved insufficient. Electrical engineers needed robust, rugged, and portable instruments that they could read quickly without performing complex calculations. William Ayrton and John Perry developed this direct reading voltmeter among other measuring instruments for the new industry.

- 1883-1890
- Collections - Artifact
Ayrton & Perry Voltmeter, 1883-1890
Companies that generated and distributed electrical power in the late 1800s needed equipment to monitor and measure output. Apparatus used in scientific laboratories proved insufficient. Electrical engineers needed robust, rugged, and portable instruments that they could read quickly without performing complex calculations. William Ayrton and John Perry developed this direct reading voltmeter among other measuring instruments for the new industry.
- Slattery Induction System Meter, 1888-1892 -

- 1888-1892
- Collections - Artifact
Slattery Induction System Meter, 1888-1892
- Westinghouse Type TM Voltmeter, 1911-1925 -

- 1911-1925
- Collections - Artifact
Westinghouse Type TM Voltmeter, 1911-1925
- Thomson-Houston Regulator, 1883-1892 -

- 1883-1892
- Collections - Artifact
Thomson-Houston Regulator, 1883-1892