There is a group of people collecting vintage lawn sprinklers. Surprisingly, there are many designs of old water sprinklers.
Lawn and garden sprinklers have not changed over the years much. The vintage ones were most likely made of cast iron and produce the spray over a smaller area because the water pressure was lower in the 1920s. They were garden and lawn décor shaped like frogs, toads, swan, duck, and people. As for function, they have not changed much.
Today they are made mostly of plastic, however, have a longer range due to higher water pressure. A common sprinkler sold is the pulse (impact or cht-cht-cht) sprinkler. It throws water in a circle either 10 to 360 degrees and does well in larger lawns. These sprinklers do not plug up like others. Some have through connectors so you can link several together. Needs higher water pressure.
The most common sprinkler in the side by side (oscillating) sprinkler which throws the water in a rectangular area, which you can adjust the square feet. Some are a simple design and others are more complex with controls adjusting the water pressure and control knobs.
Rotary sprinklers have the arms coming going in a circular motion. Good for small lawns and flower beds because it is a gentle spray. Works well in lower water pressure areas.
Traveling (either impact or rotary) has been around for 100 years. Guided by your hose placement it can reach larger lawn areas as long as the ground is level.
Sprinkler hose popular in the 1950’s acts as a low impact sprinkler. Longer the hose, the more water pressure you need.
If you have hard water from a well, you might want to use a filter to prevent dirt from gumming up the nozzles.