General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Steel/Glass

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

8.5 cm

Width

3.3 cm

Height

13.9 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Motorized Ground Transportation

Category

Automotive parts

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

MOTOMETER

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Hamilton

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

Made and used in Canada

Function

A heat gauge for autos and trucks which registers the temperature of the cooling system and is a warning against over heating

Technical

A sample type of a Boyce Motometer heat gauge that consists of a thermometer that would screw onto the top of a radiator cap and used to provide temperature control for the engine of automobiles. In 1912, Boyce introduced and patented the first motometer (“Boyce Motometer”). It bridged a period between the production of plain utilitarian radiator caps and cap-mounted hood ornaments or mascots (Boggs and Boggs, “Motometers”). At the turn of the 20th century, automobile engines were not pressurized and were susceptible to overheating. There was no way to measure the internal temperature of the engine unless it overheated and steam was released from the radiator cap. There was a need to know the temperature of the engine’s cooling system because it was important to maintain an efficient operating temperature to prevent engine destruction due to overheating. As a result, the U.S. company, Boyce invented the heat gauge to display the engine temperature (Boggs and Boggs, “Motometers”). At first, motometers were constructed with a simple design, however decorative ornamentation was added over time, such as wings, knobs and other embellishments. By the 1920s, the temperature gauge was located on the dashboard inside the automobile and motometers were no longer necessary. As a result, the radiator cap was decorated with hood ornaments or mascots (“The History of Hood Ornaments”).

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Text on front and back metal casing: [top] ‘Boyce MotoMeter/ Trademark Registered/ Patented Apr.-27-15/ Others pending’; [bottom] ‘The MotoMeter Company of Canada Limited/ Hamilton, Ontario, Canada’; The thermometer scale is printed on the front inside plate. Text on the back inside plate: ‘Boyce MotoMeter Standard’.

Missing

N/A

Finish

Outer casing- nickel plate/ beveled glass

Decoration

N/A