1925 ca.

Photograph signed

Title: [Henry Ford]

Signed photograph of a middle-aged Henry Ford by an unknown photographer. Ford signed over his jacket lapel.

GLC02684

[1800 ca.]

Young, Arthur, 1741-1820

Document

Title: Detailed description of a plow

George Washington introduced Tobias Lear to Young, a prominent British agriculturalist.

GLC02794.178

[1800 ca.]

Document

Title: "Demention [sic] of a Thrashing Machine"

Detailed description of James Tod's threshing machine.

GLC02794.177

28 October 1818

Marshall, John, 1755-1835

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Bushrod Washington

Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States, writes to Associate Justice Washington regarding the case of Oliver Evans, who claimed one of his patents had been violated. States that to his knowledge, the court "meant to decide that the specification was sufficient & enabled O. E. to prove under it at the trial that his improvement had been violated."

GLC02815

1912

Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964

Book signed

Title: Georgius Agricola De Re Metallica

Also authored by Lou Henry Hoover. Translated from the first Latin edition of 1556 and published by the Mining Magazine, Salisbury House, London, England. Inscribed by Hoover to Edwin A. Elsbach. De Re Metallica or "On the Nature of Metals" was the standard text on mining for two centuries. Agricola reviewed everything then known about mining, including equipment and machinery, means of finding ores, methods of surveying and digging, assaying ores, smelting, mine administration, and occupational diseases of miners. It also contains descriptions of ores and of strata. Pages uncut.

GLC02796

9 July 1878

Porter, Horace, 1837-1921

Letter signed

Title: to George C. Pullman

Written as Vice President of the Pullman Company to the President. Discusses revenues through the previous day. Mentions that night travel has remained unchanged and daytime usage has fallen off due to the warm weather. Reports on fuel usage and conservation and employee numbers. Lists the new board members of the Metropolitan Company, of which both Pullman and Porter are members. Reports on the stockholders' meeting, of which the issue of noise pollution was mentioned. Porter writes that Thomas Edison can fix the problem with little expense. Written on Pullman's Palace Car Company…

GLC02879

1905-1940

Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924

Book

Title: Address of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts in honor of Theodore Roosevelt, Ex-President of the United States before the Congress of the United States Sunday, February 9, 1919 [word processed inventory available]

Memorial address at the time of Theodore Roosevelt's death. Printed by the Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Pasted within the book are 13 letters, one photograph of Henry Cabot Lodge, three manuscripts, and five prints of Roosevelt. Seven of the letters and two of the manuscripts are written by Theodore Roosevelt. Out of the seven letters by Roosevelt, four are to Charles Greenough, a lawyer in Boston, Massachusetts dated 1912-1918. Two are to George W. Goethals, the chief engineer of the Panama Canal dated 1918-1919, and one is to Henry Cabot Lodge, 1905. Also includes…

GLC02920

6 April 1860

Colt, Samuel, 1814-1862

Letter signed

Title: to Henry C. Deming

Informs that he will gladly present his share of payment for a proposed compliment to a "most deserving friend Burr." Written to Deming as the Mayor of Hartford, Connecticut.

GLC02925.06

22 May 1849

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Printed document

Title: [Patent for Abraham Lincoln's improvement in buoying vessels over shoals]

Patent granted to Lincoln for inventing "a new and improved manner of combining adjustable buoyant air chambers with a steamboat or other vessel for the purpose of enabling their draught of water to be readily lessened to enable them to pass over bars ... " Includes a written description and diagram.

GLC01304

29 July 1783

Bushnell, David, 1740-1826

Manuscript document signed

Title: [Army rations issued to sappers & miners]

Provision return for non-commissioned and privates of the sappers and miners. Docket signed by J. Lovely.

GLC02437.02349

10 October 1783

Bushnell, David, 1740-1826

Manuscript document signed

Title: [Army Return of the Sappers and Miners Corps]

Lists men by status, rank and file. Written at Constitution Island

GLC02437.02631

1871

Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942

Photograph

Title: Hydraulic Gold Mining, Alder Gulch near Virginia City

Negative number cut off of left side.

GLC03095.07

February 14, 1864

Francis, Joseph, 1801-1893

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Edwards Pierrepont

Discusses the delay in the army for the order of his pontoon bridge. Mentions General John Adams Dix. Informs that Colonel Edward Serrell needs to go to Washington to see Francis's bridges but there is a problem getting the orders for Serrell to get there by train. Francis asks Pierrepont to write to Edwin Stanton, the Secretary of War, and ask him to allow Colonel Serrell to go stating, "It is merely to ask Mr. Stanton to allow Coln Serrell (who is the best & most popular Engineer officer in the Army) to examine my system. He cannot object to this, and I should think he would be glad…

GLC03502

March 30, 1845

Ericsson, John, 1803-1889

Autograph letter signed

Title: to James Bennett

A private letter in which Ericsson defends the merits of his screw propeller over Steven's Scull. Claims that reports that the scull beat his ship are misleading. Accompanied by a two page manuscript autographed by Ericsson that details his invention. John Ericsson invented the screw propeller, which replaced the paddle wheel and remains the most common form of marine propulsion to this day. James Bennett was editor of the New York Herald.

GLC03513

January 13, 1807

Fulton, Robert, 1765-1815

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Mr. Law

Endorses the plans of Benjamin Latrobe for a canal on the eastern and western branches of the Potomac. Describes the proposed canal. Compares it's potential to bolster commerce to the Duke of Bridgewater's canal in Manchester (which Fulton had studied while in England). Discusses the canal's expected cost and how it will be recovered through the canal's commercial advantages. Fulton concludes by deeming the project fiscally superior to the proposal to construct a bridge. Law was possibly involved with appropriations for public works in Washington, D.C.

GLC04687

1812/01/30

Fulton, Robert, 1765-1815

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Oliver Evans

Requests that Evans try out his engine against Watt's and promises that if Evan's's is in any way superior, there will be a good deal of interest in the engine.

GLC04331

November 4, 1798

Livingston, Robert L., 1746-1813

Autograph letter signed

Title: to William Constable

Asking Constable to meet in London with James Watt to inquire about terms for purchasing one of Watt's 24-inch cylinder steam engines. Counsels Constable to use his "discretion" in making terms. Livingston encloses a letter [not present] to Watt, which he asks Constable to read and copy, "as it will put it in your power to negotiate with any other projector if Dr. Watt has not come up to what you may deem reasonable." Earlier that year, Livingston had been granted a monopoly on steamboat traffic in New York; he would eventually team up with Robert Fulton to start the Hudson River Steamboat…

GLC04330

13 December 1813

Clinton, DeWitt, 1769-1828

Document signed

Title: [Depositions of Andrew Bartholomew & Arthur H. Roorbach]

Clinton's written summary of the depositions of Andrew Bartholomew & Arthur Roorbach, both steamboat captains employed by Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston. Also includes a statement by Clinton certifying that the depositions are true. The depositions relate to the length of service of these two men and the kind of work they have been doing. Both men state they have captained steamboats for Fulton for almost three years and claim they have towed many boats during this time. These depositions seem to be part of an attempt by Fulton to establish that he was the first to employ…

GLC04332

25 December 1814

Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Robert Fulton

Adams states that Levett Harris, then handling U.S. affairs in Russia, has learned from the Russian Minister of the Interior that Fulton is in danger of losing his "patent of exclusive privilege for his Steam-Boat invention" in Russia because he has failed to provide the required drawing and description. Adams reports that he has asked Harris to assure the Russian Minister of the Interior that Fulton was not guilty of neglect, but most likely never received Adams's letters on the subject due to "the extreme difficulty of the communications" in the war-torn winter of 1813-1814. He urges Fulton…

GLC04334

1813/06/23

Adams, John, 1735-1826

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Robert Fulton

Agreeing with Fulton that "the diamons [sic] in the quarries of science are inexhaustable" and commenting "perseverance will succeed; indolence never can."

GLC04351

9 August 1931

Carver, George Washington, 1864-1943

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Grady Porter

Carver, a celebrated agricultural chemist, requests peanut vines from Porter, a researcher from a peanut processing plant in Columbus, Georgia. In an attempt to assist Porter in peanut planting and diagnosing peanut disease, Carver states that wilted vines are acceptable. Requests that Porter bring the vines next time he travels to Tuskegee. Comments on the large quantity of rain Tuskegee recently received. Written on Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute stationery, with an envelope containing the printed return address of the Director, Research and Experiment Station, Tuskegee…

GLC04207

1 January 1844

Morse, Samuel Finley Breese, 1791-1872

Autograph document signed

Title: Statement Showing expenditures on account of Magnetic Telegraph

Details the amount of money drawn from the Treasury, expenditure, and the balance left for the magnetic telegraph. Morse signed as Superintendent of the Electro Magnetic Telegraph. Entire right edge of paper is damaged with paper loss.

GLC04234

1 May 1789

Paine, Thomas, 1737-1809

Autograph letter signed

Title: to unknown

Invites the unknown recipient to inspect a new iron bridge he designed. "We have erected our Experiment Rib and Struck the Center." With engraving.

GLC04218

13 June 1843

Morse, Samuel Finley Breese, 1791-1872

Autograph letter signed

Title: to John Spencer

Writes to the Secretary of the Treasury about saving $920 in making telegraph wires with colored varnish instead of colored thread. Asks permission to sell the unnecessary colored thread.

GLC04235

12 May 1854

Morse, Samuel Finley Breese, 1791-1872

Autograph letter signed

Title: to E.H. Sanford

States that Amos Kendall is his agent for the management of his telegraphic business and he cannot answer Sanford's inquiry about the sale of telegraph patent rights in Oregon and California until consulting with Kendall. Comments that he believes that no definite sale has been made yet but advises on Kendall's whereabouts and states he will send Sanford's letter to him.

GLC04236