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Machine ToolsMachine Tools
The Museum's machine tool collection is one of the most extensive collections in the world. Included are single and multiple spindle lathes, shapers, planers, milling machines, single and multi spindle drills and grinding machines. The highlight of the machine tool collection is the machines developed in this building by Robbins and Lawrence to mass produce firearms with interchangeable parts. The remainder of the collection spans over two hundred years, representing the major advances in precision manufacturing from the earliest uses of the slide rest up to the introduction of CNC (computerized numerical controls) control, powered by foot, water and electricity.

FirearmsFirearms
The museum's extensive gun collection traces the history of firearm design and construction in the Connecticut Valley, beginning with custom guns made by Nicanor Kendall, David Hall Hilliard, and Asa Story. Moving into the era of the factory-made gun, the collection includes examples of every gun manufactured in the building over its long history, including the Enfield Minie rifle and the 1841 Mississippi Rifle made by Robbins & Lawrence, the Model 1861 Special Musket manufactured by Lamson, Goodnow & Yale, the Jennings rifle, the Palmer carbine, the Ball repeating carbine and the rare Windsor Sharps rifle.

Measuring DevicesMeasuring Devices
Making products with interchangeable parts requires skill and above all, precision. Parts must be made to the correct specifications so that they will be interchangeable. The Museum's collection includes measuring devices such as comparators, calipers and gauges that were used to measure parts of machines and their products. Screws, gun locks, and mechanisms are just a few of the parts that were scrutinized for precise measurements.

Sewing MachinesSewing Machines
After 1850, many of the gun making machines were retooled to make sewing machines, such as Edwin Clark's Revolving Looper, made by Lamson, Goodnow and Company. Many of the earliest sewing machines in the collection are extremely simple and entirely functional. Later machines, built after the mechanical technology improved, are beautifully crafted. Painted trim, mother-of-pearl inlays and manufacturers' medallions decorate the machines, which are mounted in carefully crafted wooden cases. The major manufacturers represented in the collection are Howe, Singer, and Willcox & Gibbs.

TypewritersTypewriters
The Museum's typewriter collection includes examples by Barlock, Remington, Oliver, the Northern Typewriter Company, and many others. The Hammond No. 12 Multiplex, developed in the 1890s, prints with the hammers striking the paper from behind. The Blickensderfer, first introduced at the Columbia Exposition at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, has a changeable type wheel, allowing the use of different fonts or languages. The variety and ingenuity of these early typewriters is well represented by over fifty typewriters in the Museum's collection.

Collection HighlightsCollection Highlights
This section highlights unique objects from the collection. The Museum is proud to include in its collection the Gnome of Maxfield Parrish, as well as objects from his workshop. Parrish was not only an artist, but a machinist who made architectural embellishments for his home and models to use in his paintings. The Museum also houses the working models of John Aschauer, including his model steam power plant constructed when Aschauer was only fourteen years old. One of the most unique objects in the collection is John E. Worrell Keely's Etheric Force Machine built in 1878 to measure vibrations.

ArchivesArchives
The Museum's archival collection includes photos, drawings, records and associated materials relating to the last two hundred years of precision manufacturing. This includes the records of Brown and Sharpe, Jones and Lamson and the National Acme Company. The Museum's archive collection is temporarily unavailable to the public. Please contact the museum staff for reference requests.

LibraryLibrary
The Museum has extensive library holdings that complement its collection of machine tools, sewing machines, firearms, typewriters and measuring devices. Books range on subjects discussing the history of precision manufacturing, the inventors, machinists and companies of precision valley as well as using precision tools and a large reference for firearms. The Museum's library collection is currently unavailable to the public. Please contact the museum staff for reference requests.

Collections PolicyCollections Policy

The American Precision Museum (APM) and the Vermont Museum and Gallery Allliance (VMGA) welcomed Vermont Governor Jim Douglas to the mueum May 13, 2008 where he signed into law An Act Relating to Property Loaned to Museums.  The event was attended by museum professionals and legislators who worked on the bill as well as trustees and friends.

"This new museum legislation is important for all Vermont cultural institutions because it provides standardized guidelines for dealing with abandoned or undocumented property in museum collections,"said Ann Lawless, APM's Executive Director.  "We are grateful to Vermont's legislators, especially to members of the House Commerce Committee and the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs for their work on this effort."

"This legislation represents a step forward for Vermont in joining 34 other states in addressing the burdens museums and other cultural institutions encounter with unclaimed and undocumented property that may have been languishing in their collections for decades," said Eileen Corcoran, VMGA's Executive Director.  "This legislation provides the proper balance between the needs and limited resources of our unique cultural institutions, while still preserving the rights of our treasured donors and lenders.  VMGA looks forward to working with our members to properly utilize the legislation and implement the professional standards Vermont's cultural institutions, large and small, strive to meet every day."

To view the museum's Collections Management Policy click here.

To download the APM Proposed Acquisitions Form click here.