Papers contain archival materials comprising Bathe's research on Oliver Evans (1755-1819), an American engineer engaged in the development of steam engines. The collection includes copies of letters, design drawings, pamphlets and a book written by Evans, patents, a scrapbook, articles, genealogical information, Evans's will, and writings by Bathe on Evans, including his book about him. Correspondence with libraries and other scholars is included, as are papers relating to the book such as reviews, notebooks, and papers relating to the printing and publishing. There is also research material on American engineer Jacob Perkins, for Bathe's books Citizen Genet (1946), Horizontal Windmills (1948), and Ship of Destiny...Merrimac (1951), and assorted trade catalogs and materials pertaining to Bathe's manufacturing companies in London and Philadelphia. A photograph album compiled by Bathe containing photographs and sketches of models built by Bathe is also included.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into six series.
Series 1: Correspdondence, 1893-1960
Series 2: Photographs, 1897-1954
Series 3: Writings, 1933-1960
Series 4: Catalogs/Trade Literature, 1905-1985
Series 5: Research about Oliver Evans (1955-1819), 1933-1962
Series 6: Research about Jacob Perkins (1766-1849), 1937-1944
Series 7: Miscellaneous, 1919-1980
Biographical:
Greville I. Bathe (1883-1964) was born in Cambridge, England. He attended the London Polytechnic Institute, earning a degree in mechanical engineering. Bathe worked in England as a model maker and in 1919 came to the United States to establish a model making business in Philadelphia which he ran until 1936. Bathe retired to Florida in 1948.
Bathe built and collected working scale models of steam engines, a hobby that dates to his childhood in England. During his lifetime he amassed a significant library of books (1,500) on the history of technology before and after the Industrial Revolution. Bathe wrote extensively about steam engines and was the author of many articles and books which included Jacob Perkins: His Inventions, His Times, and His Contemporaries (1943), Horizontal windmills, draft mills and similar air-flow engines (1948), The rise and decline of the paddle-wheel (1962), The St. John's Railroad, 1858 to 1895: a contemporary history of a pioneer railroad (1958), and his definitive biography of Oliver Evans (1935).
Related Materials:
Swarthmore College Libraries
Bathe Collection in the History of Technology
The Bathe Collection is comprised of some 1,500 volumes on the history of technology before and after the Industrial Revolution. The collection was willed to Swarthmore by Greville Bathe, author of several books on the history of technology, and contains primary source material from the 16th through 18th centuries as well as contemporary bibliographies, biographies, histories, and secondary materials. The collection's range of subject matter extends from steam engines and their inventors to post-Newtonian mechanics, early aeronautics, and the Atlantic cable. In addition, it includes Greville Bathe's books, galley proofs, and manuscripts.
Separated Materials:
The Division of Work and Industry, National Museum of American History holds artifacts related to Greville I. Bathe, specifically scale models built by Bathe.
Provenance:
Originally a bequest to the National Museum of American History from Greville I. Bathe.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
