English Patent Model, Screw Propellor

Woodcroft, Bennet · ca 1832

This model represents the "revolving spiral paddle, for propelling boats and other vessels on water," that Englishman Bennet Woodcroft patented in the United Kingdom in 1832. The model once formed part of the technology displays at the U.S. Patent Office, from which it was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1926.