This picture seems like it captures such a simple, everyday kind of object. And, to some certain extent, that’s true. This is a thermostat. A device used to control the temperature. But look again because it’s so much more than that.
This particular thermostat is in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Meyer May House in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is over 100 years old, having been completed in 1909. The thermostat was made by the Minneapolis Heat Regulator company, before it merged with Honeywell. This thermostat was one of the last ones to not have a clock incorporated into the design.
But beyond the history of this thermostat is the item itself. The all metal case and screws, glass tube, and red mercury are a stark contrast to the plastic, LED lit, Wi-Fi connected, phone controlled thermostats of today. The cut-out metal work on the sides is a nod to the era in which it was made. And the patina. Metal, worn and aged, by 100 years of hands. Hands that built the house. Hands that lived in the house. Hands that rebuilt the house. And hands that preserve the house. And how many have walked right by such a simple object, not giving it a second thought? But that simple object holds a decade of stories, both known and secret.