United States National Museum

?: U563 CRLSSI fr fc y< ' -~- i "T> r , , I i JLk imsrn- S ' U^'j_k_ , I rxi^:=^xiTiM«r^ V t h..». t' r.' — - 1 I 1 Vail *-tv «i aa pa p>^'». ik . fr ^ ;u % John A. Paxton map of Philadelphia, 1811 See page iii for detail map of circled area. Photo courtes) of American Philosophical Society Library A n 3 1 •s r" ' 1* 3 <* -1 — —1 1 r~~i — —1 ir» j* ™ I 1 —I -r— 1 i 1 I—1 —I —i r* J 0$ A-;i-i - J rjOtti So -S ted SE 1 »SL, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 238 WASHINGTON, D.C. 1965 Publications of the United States National Museum The scholarl) and scientific publications of the United States National Museum include two series. Proceedings of the United States National Museum and United States National Museum Bulletin. In these series the Museum publishes original articles and monographs dealing with the collections and work of its constituent Museums— the Museum of Natural History and the Museum of History and Technology—setting forth newly acquired facts in the fields of Anthropology, Biology, History, Geology, and Technology. Copies of each publication are distributed to libraries, to cultural and technical organizations, and to specialists and others interested in the different subjects. The Proceedings, begun in 1878, are intended for the publication, in separate form, of shorter papers from the Museum of Natural History. These are gathered in volumes, octavo in size, with the publication date of each paper recorded in the table of contents of the volume. In the Bulletin series, the first of which was issued in 1875, appear lunger, separate publications consisting of monographs (occasionally in several parts) and volumes in which are collected works on related subjects. Bulletins are either octavo or quarto in size, depending on the needs of the presentation. Since 1902 papers relating to the botanical collections of the Museum of Natural Histor\ have been published in the Bulletin series under the sub-series Contributions from Ike United States National Herbarium . Since 1959, in Bulletins titled "Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology." have been gathered shorter papers relating to the collections and research of that Museum. This work, brought to completion while the author was curator of engineering in the Museum of History and Technology, forms number 238 of the Bulletin series. Frank A. Tayli ir Director, United Slides National Museum United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1965 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C., 20|02 • Price $2.50 (cloth) yM^ in LTD QJL * ' ^^^C"^:^""--— MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY Early Engineering; Reminiscences (1815-40) of George Escol Sellers Ed i ted by Eugene S. Ferguson SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON, D.C. 1965 . Contents Page Preface xi George Escol Sellers xiv Part I: Early Philadelphia Mechanics i i . Fire Engines and Leather Hose 2 2. Jacob Perkins in Philadelphia 12 3. Old Blind Hawkins 26 4. An Adventure in Learning 20 5. John White's Press-Screw Manufactory 31 6. The Philadelphia of Oliver Evans 36 7. Sellers and Pennock Fire Engine Works 43 8. Isaiah Lukens and Joseph Saxton 52 9. The United States Mints 61 10. Redheffer's Perpetual Motion Machine 7g Part II: On Papermaking in the LInited States and England .... 87 1 1 Nathan Sellers and Wire Working 89 12. A Visit to the Mills of the Brandywine 96 13. Papermaking by Hand and Machine 102 14. A Visit to England. I. Maudslay and Brunei 108 15. A Visit to England. II. Donkin's Bermondsey Works 116 16. A Visit to England. III. I botson's Pulp Dresser 127 17. A Visit to England. IV. Perkins's Adelaide Gallery 131 18. An American Counterfeiter 135 Part III: Internal Improvements 143 19. Stage Line to Washington 144 20. Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad 147 21. The Portage Railroad 153 22. Cardington Locomotive Works 160 23. John Brandt, Master Mechanic 166 The Sellers Locomotive 24. 1 72 25. Phineas Davis and the Arabian 180 26. Seth Boyden's Locomotives 185 27. George Escol Sellers Takes Leave of His Friends 190 Appendix 193 Sources of Sellers' Text 193 Amnican Machinist Articles 1 94 Index igr, vii 2 7 Illustrations Figure Page George Escol Sellers (i 808-1 899) Frontispiece iv 1 Coleman Sellers (1 781-1834) xiv 2 Sophonisba Angusciola Peale Sellers ( 1 786-1859) xv 3 High Street, Philadelphia, looking west xvi 4 Patrick Lyon, craftsman, at age 24 in 1 799 3 5 "Pat Lyon at the Forge," by John Neagle, 1829 5 6 Philadelphia-type hre engines of about 1800 7 7 Patrick Lyon's fire engine Diligent, 1820 9 8 "Hydraulion" fire engine and hose, about 1825 10 9 Jacob Perkins (1 766-1849) 13 10 Asa Spencer's scroll lathe, with geometric chuck, 1820 14 1 1 Engraving showing scroll work and siderographic duplication of 1 figures. 1 Merrick & Agnew fire engine, about 1830 19 13 Rowntree fire engine, about 1830 23 14 Perkins triangular-valve ship pump 25 15 231 High Street, the "Market Street Store" of Nathan Sellers .... 28 16 Screw press, 1822 33 17 John White's screw cutting lathe, about 1817 35 18 Oliver Evans (1 755-1819) 37 19 Pumping engine of Philadelphia Water Works, about 1801 39 20 B. H. Latrobe's drawing of Center Square building, 1799 41 21 Center Square Water Works, Philadelphia, 1807 42 22 Great wheel lathe and pole lathe 45 23 Samuel Morey's turpentine engine, 1826 47 24 Isaiah Lukens (1 779-1846) 53 25 Lukens's lithontriptor, 1825 55 26 Maudslay's lathe and slide-tool, about 1807 56 27 Tyler's lathe, 1828 57 28 Slide-rest as built by Sellers about 1820 58 Baldwin 29 and Mason slide-rest, 1827 5g 30 The second U.S. Mint, Philadelphia 61 31 Coining press, U.S. Mint, about 1800 63 32 Coining press, enlarged view 64 33 Arcade Building, Philadelphia 65 34 Steam engine designed by Franklin Peale 67 35 First steam coining press, U.S. Mint, 1836 68,69 36 Medal coined on the steam coining press, March 23, 1836 71 37 Pressing and milling room of the U.S. Mint, Philadelphia 72 38 Coin milling machine, designed by Franklin Peale 73 39 Main steam engine at the U.S. Mint, Philadelphia 75 viii 40 Mint balance built by Joseph Saxton, about 1835 78 41 Redheffer's perpetual motion machine 81 42 Nathan Sellers (175 1 -1 830) 89 43 Wire draw-bench, about 1830 91 44 Dickinson cylinder paper machine, 181 7 97 45 Handmade-paper mill 103 46 Paper mold and deckel 104 47 Paper-drying loft 105 48 Screw press for paper 106 49 Packet ship Hibernia 109 50 Broadside of Thames tunnel, 1827 113 51 Bryan Donkin ( 1 768-1855) r 17 52 Fourdrinier paper machine, about 1850 119 53 Sellers pulp dresser, 1832 120 54 John Dickinson (1 782-1869) 123 55 Saxton's locomotive differential pulley 132 56 Perkins's cone-joint 133 57 Saxton's magnetoelectric machine 134 58 Map of Pennsylvania, showing system of canals and railroads 145 59 Details of "Clarence" rail and roadbed 149 60 Details of roadbed of Phi'adelphia and Columbia Railroad 151 61 Belmont inclined plane on Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad ... 155 62 Grade crossing on Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad 156 63 Roadbed of abandoned portage railroad 157 64 Sectional iron canal boats, 1839 158 65 Baldwin locomotive, 1834 161 66 Baldwin's half-crank 162 67 English locomotive, John Bull, 1831 163 68 Advertisement of Moses Starr & Son, boilermakers 165 69 Device for "Increasing the adhesion of the Wheels of Locomotives" ... 173 70 Thomas Rogers (1 792-1 856) 174 71 Side support for Sellers locomotive 174 72 Matthias W. Baldwin (1 795-1 866) 175 73 Baldwin's locomotive wheel 177 74 Baldwin's conical steam joint 178 75 Advertisement of Coleman Sellers & Sons, locomotive builders 1 79 76 Baltimore & Ohio locomotive Arabian 181 77 Phineas Davis's steam-operated blower fan for locomotives 183 78 Baldwin's stationary steam engine, 1829 186 79 Leather splitting machine, 1809 187 80 SethBoyden (1788-1870) 188 81 Locomotive Orange, 1837, built by Seth Boyden 189 82 Stephen Harriman Long (1784- 1864) 191 83 Joseph Saxton (1799-1873) 192 IX Preface This book describes the development of machines and mechanical skills in the United States during the first half of the 19th century. It illuminates a facet of our technological heritage that is little known despite its essential importance to our understanding of the emergence of the United States as an industrial nation. Here the reader will meet many of the craftsmen and engineers who devised and developed the machines and techniques that made possible the growth of an industrial complex. He will find many fresh details of surprisingly sophisticated tools and skills that existed during an age that he has been taught was mechanically uncouth. Before one can understand why progress occurred as it did, it is necessary to know what actually happened, who did what, and why. This is the kind of infor- mation that is presented in the pages that follow. Written with rare precision, per- ception, detachment, and good humor, these reminiscences have freshness and vigor that commend them to every interested reader. The author, born in 1808 in Philadelphia, a block and a half from Independence Hall, was from early boyhood a constant visitor in and an alert observer of the many mechanical shops that were scattered about that part of the city.

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