mysterysolved

A large flashbulb?

I'm wondering if this is another item from the Smithsonian featuring an important item from their collections and an attractive young woman. See americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/lighting-a-revolution for some of their Edison bulbs.
One of the earlier Smithsonian items in this What's the Story? album is

www.edisontechcenter.org/incandescent.html has some history on flash bulbs as well as regular incandescent light bulbs.

That's a good guess.. see also

Even in the high-res view it's not totally clear what's inside the glass lamp. The date would be early, and the size a bit large for it to be a flashbulb (unless it's a prototype); and I don't see crumpled foil or wire wool inside (but maybe it has already been fired).

When I first saw this photo I also believed it was a light bulb, but on closer inspection of the high resolution file, I wonder if that's not a plant in there. Could it be some type of terrarium? Also, if you zoom in on the pocket on her jacket, just above her arm, there's some type of cartoon animal embroidered. Does that look familiar to anyone?

Looks like a metal lathe; the cage device probably encloses the drive motor to keep fingers, arms, etc. from getting caught or being shocked.

This is a (near) duplicate of an existing photograph in the Harris & Ewing collection of The Library of Congress.
C. W. (Clarence Wirt) Hecox (1872-1951), an instructor in the machine shop at McKinley Training School, Washington, DC, supervising a student using a lathe in the manufacture of practice shells for the U.S. Navy. The basket weave dome is a venting cover for the lathe motor (in addition to the other safety features Bolobilly said).
– excerpted from original caption, with information added. [1] [2]


As a bonus ;) it appears to me like the student in this photograph is also featured (2d from left) in another photograph
in the Keystone View Company collection of The Library of Congress. "Doing their bit - students of McKinley Manual Training High School, Washington, D.C., with 4-inch shells they have made."

Thanks Bill Forbes for identifying the machine. Also, thanks Pixel Wrangler for locating near duplicate image that has a good caption. We'll update this photo's catalog record with this information.

Various egg scales.

According to Guide to US Food Laws and Regulations [books.google.com/books?id=SdotAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT144&l...] the first quality standards for individual eggs were introduced in 1925.

The box behind him reads "one Dozen" on the end and "Fancy Sel..." on the side. It seems possible that it is "Fancy Select." books.google.com/books?id=Ai45AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA5-PA3 confirms that the "fancy select " label was used for eggs. I cannot read the badge he is wearing, unfortunately.

I have one that looks (as far as I can tell) just like the one he is placing an egg on. Acme Egg-Grading Scale Pat. June 24 1924 The Specialty Mfg Co St. Paul Minn. USA image.sciencesource.com/preview/BX5800-Acme-Egg-Grading-S...

Gradations indicate the number of ounces a dozen of the same size eggs would weigh. "U.S. sizes are defined by the weight of a dozen eggs. (Not individual eggs. An egg in a carton of Extra Large eggs need not weigh at least 27/12 ounces, but the dozen must weigh at least 27 ounces.)" Size- Weight of a dozen eggs Jumbo- 30 ounces Extra Large-27 ounces Large- 24 ounces Medium- 21 ounces Small- 18 ounces Peewee- 15 ounces