When he wasn’t designing warships, John Ericsson was dreaming up solar technology.
The Swedish American inventor, credited with the screw propeller and the first ironclad vessel in the U.S. Navy, spent much of his later life tinkering with solar engine models. Ericsson believed the power of the sun’s rays could be an alternative energy source to wood and coal and would one day make dry, sunny regions richer than nations hoarding fossil fuels. He developed several devices to demonstrate this potential in 1870s, including a solar-powered steam engine in the collection of the American Swedish Historical Museum.
- PhillyVoice peeks into the collections at different museums in the city, highlighting unique and significant items you won’t typically find on display.
“It’s such a unique piece that kind of speaks to environmentalism before it was really a thing,” Brett Peters, the museum’s curator, said. “He was a very, very, very bright person. All of his patents kind of defy what I would think, to be honest with you.”
A Swedish superstar
Though this solar prototype is not currently on display, Ericsson has a whole room dedicated to his work at the FDR Park institute. Reminiscent of a bygone library or perhaps a posh gentleman’s club, the wood-paneled space features other Ericsson inventions, portraits and ephemera.
It was built into museum founder Amandus Johnson’s original vision for the building, which Peters describes as “essentially a bunch of mini museums in one larger museum.” While the ground floor contains a map room, Pippi Longstocking-themed children’s space and recreated stuga (a traditional Swedish cottage), the second level focuses on what Peters calls “Swedish superstars.” Rooms spotlight not only Ericsson but the feminist author Fredrika Bremer, the influential architect and designer Josef Frank and Jenny Lind, the Swedish opera singer who toured America on P.T. Barnum’s dime…