The Clark Collection of Mechanical Movements

W.M. Clark, of South Orange, New Jersey, in a book accompanying the exhibit described himself as a

"hobbyist ... [who] ... through the help of the book '507 Mechanical Movements', acquired the foundation for a mechanical education, without schooling in the regular way."^{[5][page needed]}

The exhibit, originally titled Mechanical Wonderland, was made over "20 years" by Mr. Clark in the early 1900s and displayed in "the Boys' Department of a New York department store".^[5]

It was inspired by the book Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements by Henry T. Brown, published in 1869.^[6]

• In the 1920s, over 135,000 people saw it in the Grand Central Palace in New York City in a one-week period.^[5]

• In 1928, the Mechanical Wonderland exhibit was displayed at the Museum of Peaceful Arts.^[7][8][9]

• In 1936, the exhibit was displayed in the New York Museum of Science and Industry.^[10]

• The exhibit was transferred to the Museum of Science, Boston before 1954.^[11]

Newark Museum copy of collection

• In 1930, after John Cotton Dana, the founder of the Newark Museum, expressed interest, a second copy of the exhibit was constructed by W.M. Clark and donated to the Newark Museum by Louis Bamberger. The book Mechanical Models was published by the Newark Museum.^[12]

• In 1933, W.M. Clark published A Manual of Mechanical Movements, to accompany the Chicago World's Fair.^[5]

• In 1934, Newark Museum collection was loaned to the Chicago World's Fair, "A Century of Progress".

• In 1943, W.M. Clark published a new edition of A Manual of Mechanical Movements.^[13][14]

• In 1954, The Newark Museum published a review of the exhibit by Kenneth L Gosner.^[11]