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- Odometer by American Taximeter Company
Odometer by American Taximeter Company
Object Details
- Description
- The upper third of the metal casing houses the mechanism to measure distance traveled. The hollow, lower two-thirds of the cylinder attaches the odometer to the vehicle and is secured with three screws. The face consists of four small windows displaying numerals; the unit of measurement is not specified.
- The Post Office Department equipped route agents with odometers to establish rural free delivery routes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Using odometer readings and maps, officials worked to optimize the routes in new areas. They sought to use the minimum number of carriers and to portion the routes into equal distances. Some carriers used odometers to argue for changes to their routes, recording their miles covered and hoping to prove that an alternate road could save time.
- Data Source
- National Postal Museum
- Date
- c. 1900
- Object number
- 0.298799.1
- Manufacturer
- American Taximeter Company
- Type
- Transportation Equipment & Models
- Medium
- metal; glass; paint
- Dimensions
- Height x Width x Depth: 2 5/8 × 2 5/8 × 4 7/8 in. (6.67 × 6.67 × 12.38 cm)
- Place
- New York
- See more items in
- National Postal Museum Collection
- Topic
- Transportation
- Postal Employees
- Record ID
- npm_0.298799.1
- Usage
- Not determined
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