overall: 6 1/4 in x 6 in x 4 1/4 in; 15.875 cm x 15.24 cm x 10.795 cm
flywheel - from catalog card: 2 1/2 in; x 6.35 cm
tinplate base - from catalog card: 4 in x 6 in; x 10.16 cm x 15.24 cm
Object Name:
toy, electric motor
Date made:
ca 1900
Description (Brief):
The Weeden no. 102 electric generator was produced by the Weeden Manufacturing Company of New Bedford, Massachusetts from 1913 until 1918. This was an earlier version of the model No. 102, as evidenced by the wooden base plate attached to the cast iron base. It is an electromagnetic generator, producing a direct electric current through the rotation of a wire coil in a magnetic field. The generator could be connected to the flywheel of a Weeden steam engine, rotating the center coil, turning mechanical power into electricity.
The Weeden Manufacturing Company was founded in New Bedford, Massachusetts by William M. Weeden in the early 1880s, originally producing a variety of tinplate household items. In 1884 it introduced the Weeden No. 1 Steam engine as “a new and great premium for boys” who were subscribers to the <i>Youth’s Companion</i> magazine. Weeden made over a hundred different models of toy steam engines until the company ceased operations in 1952.
