Biscuit and cracker machine

• A scale model of a machine sent to the US Patent Office during the patent application process, circa 1832. The label reads: "Master John and Charles Bruce's Ship Biscuit and Cracker Machine, The Design is made by substituting other Cutting Cylinders to make Biscuits of any size or form whatever."

Until 1880, the US Patent Office required inventors to submit a 3-dimensional model of their invention in addition to written specifications. The models were displayed in the Patent Office in Washington, DC. In 1926, Congress passed a bill to dispose of the models due to storage space issues. The Smithsonian selected about 10,000 models for its collections and the rest were sold at auction.