Search Results

Collection Creator:

Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence.  Search this

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Civil Engineering Department  Search this

Underwood and Underwood  Search this

Container:

Box 13, Item 9

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Date:

undated

Collection Restrictions:

Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection, 1886-1931, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection / Series 1: Engineering / 1.3: Bridges, Concrete Arch, and Beam / 1.3.4: Concrete Arch

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8106b8e52-0499-44bd-99dd-888db6a897fd

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1013-ref1465

Collection Creator:

Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence.  Search this

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Civil Engineering Department  Search this

Underwood and Underwood  Search this

Container:

Box 13, Item 14

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Date:

undated

Collection Restrictions:

Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection, 1886-1931, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection / Series 1: Engineering / 1.3: Bridges, Concrete Arch, and Beam / 1.3.4: Concrete Arch

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c375dc8a-9eff-45af-9250-d85cea2ce96b

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1013-ref1470

Collection Creator:

Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence.  Search this

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Civil Engineering Department  Search this

Underwood and Underwood  Search this

Container:

Box 13, Item 22

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Date:

undated

Collection Restrictions:

Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection, 1886-1931, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection / Series 1: Engineering / 1.3: Bridges, Concrete Arch, and Beam / 1.3.4: Concrete Arch

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep87ffd7d8f-1646-47a9-a605-8a04a39c02d7

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1013-ref1478

Sculptor:

Paolo, Cartaino S. b. 1882  Search this

Subject:

Samuel Walker McCall  Search this

Medium:

Carrara marble

Type:

Sculptures

Owner/Location:

Massachusetts State House Beacon Hill Boston Massachusetts 02133 Accession Number: 1925.2

Date:

1917

Topic:

Portrait male--Bust  Search this

Occupation--Political--Governor  Search this

Occupation--Political--Congressman  Search this

Control number:

IAS 20550017

Data Source:

Art Inventories Catalog, Smithsonian American Art Museums

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_ari_296728

Creator:

Lewis & Valentine Company  Search this

Donor:

Lewis, Hewlett Withington  Search this

Names:

Lewis & Valentine Company  Search this

Longwood Gardens (Kennett Square, Pa.)  Search this

Rodin Museum (Philadelphia, Pa.)  Search this

Lewis, Harold Carman  Search this

Owner:

Auchincloss, Hugh D.  Search this

Du Pont, Eugene  Search this

Kahn, Otto Hermann, 1867-1934  Search this

Schwab, Charles M., 1862-1939  Search this

Stotesbury, Edward Townsend, 1849-1938  Search this

Woolworth, F. W.  Search this

du Pont, Pierre S.  Search this

Extent:

2.5 Cubic feet (documents, 366 photographs, 1 videotape.)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Videotapes

Brochures

Books

Lists

Correspondence

Trade catalogs

Photographs

Place:

New York (State) -- Greenvale

New York (State) -- Roslyn

Date:

1916-1971

Summary:

The Lewis & Valentine Company Collection contains records of the Lewis & Valentine Company dating from 1916 to 1971 including photographs, negatives, brochures, books, trade catalogs, company papers, letters from clients, customer lists and a history of the company written by Harold Carman Lewis. Photographs document the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, estates in Long Island, New York, and the properties of Hugh D. Auchincloss, Eugene du Pont, Walter P. Chrysler, Otto H. Kahn, F. W. Woolworth, Pierre S. du Pont (Longwood Gardens), Charles M. Schwab and Edward T. Stotesbury. This collection contains only a sampling of the records of Lewis & Valentine and should not be considered comprehensive.

Arrangement note:

The collection is arranged into 3 series:

Series 1: Documents Series 2: Photographs Series 3: Videotape

Biographical/Historical note:

Specializing in moving and replanting large trees, Lewis & Valentine was one of the most prominent landscape contracting companies in the eastern United States during the first half of the twentieth century. The Lewis & Valentine Company was formed by five brothers whose father had hoped that his sons would grow up to be lawyers. Instead, the Lewis brothers formed a landscape design, installation and nursery firm that specialized in developing "successful methods for transplanting full-grown trees." Their success was based on "doing well the task which is usually considered impossible."

The company was the inspiration of H.C. Lewis, the oldest of seven brothers, who believed that estate owners should have the luxury of immediate landscapes, rather than waiting decades for their landscapes to mature. The Lewis brothers started their business in the early 1900s. Shortly afterwards, a Mr. Valentine, roommate of Albert Addison Lewis at the Amherst Landscape School in Massachusetts, invested in the business. After three years Mr. Valentine moved on and the Lewis brothers bought back his interest, but continued to keep Valentine part of the company's name.

Lewis & Valentine was the largest firm in America devoted to transplainting mature trees in the years leading up to the Great Depression. It claimed to be "the most experienced and most versatile, backed by an intimate knowledge of horticulture and the development of fine estates." The company was noted as a leader in providing complete landscape services, from selling and guaranteeing the plants, to designing and installation, requiring that its staff be men "of good character and not afraid of hard work." This was evident in the firm's principle of no limitations to the size of trees that they were willing to deliver. The trees were often full-grown and ranged in age from twenty to a hundred years old. Many were so large that 20 or more tons of earth had to be moved during the relocation process.

During its first 25 years in business, Lewis & Valentine opened nineteen offices east of the Mississippi serving such notable clients as Charles A. Schwab and Pierre du Pont at his estate, Longwood. The business was set up as an organization of independent companies. Each was incorporated under the laws of the state in which it operated. The offices were located in Connecticut (Darien), Florida (Palm Beach), Illinois (Chicago), Maryland (Baltimore), Massachusetts (Boston and Hanover), Michigan (Detroit), Pennsylvania (Ardmore and Pittsburg), New Jersey (Ashbury Park and Morristown), New York (Buffalo, Roslyn-Long Island, Rye, Valley Stream-Long Island, New York City), North Carolina (Winston-Salem) and Ohio (Cleveland and Cincinnati). Although no longer owned by any members of the Lewis family, the company still exists and operates in Long Island under the name Lewis & Valentine Nurseries.

Separated Materials:

Dozens of historic photographs from the Lewis & Valentine Co. were found In the Eleanor Weller Collection at AAG amongst images that had been amassed by Weller for possible use in The Golden Age of American Gardens: Proud Owners, Private Estates, 1890-1940. These photos were removed from the Weller Collection and added to the Lewis and Valentine Co. Records.

Provenance:

Gift from Hewlett Withington Lewis, former owner of Lewis & Valentine Nurseries.

Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Nurseries (Horticulture) -- United States  Search this

Gardens -- New York (State)  Search this

Tree moving  Search this

Landscape gardening -- New York (State)  Search this

Genre/Form:

Videotapes

Brochures

Books

Lists

Correspondence

Trade catalogs

Photographs

Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Lewis & Valentine Company Records.

Identifier:

AAG.LVC

See more items in:

Lewis & Valentine company records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6b87d85b6-90fe-4657-96f1-2b4c381715e0

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aag-lvc

Photograph by:

C. Dunklee's Portraits, American  Search this

Subject of:

Unidentified Child or Children  Search this

Medium:

albumen and silver on paper on card mount

Dimensions:

H x W: 6 1/2 x 4 1/4 in. (16.5 x 10.8 cm)

Type:

cabinet photographs

albumen prints

portraits

Place made:

Greenfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America

Date:

1890-1896

Topic:

African American  Search this

Children  Search this

Christianity  Search this

Photography  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Family of Keith M. Jones in honor of Lonnie Bunch

Object number:

2009.31.30

Restrictions & Rights:

No Known Copyright Restrictions

Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Media Arts-Photography

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5239ec921-675c-454a-849a-2c608e57cf85

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2009.31.30

Company Name:

Charak Furniture Co.  Search this

Notes content:

OVERSIZE ; reproductions of Colonial and Georgian furniture ; "The Story of Colonial Furniture in the American Home."

Includes:

Trade catalog

Black and white images

Physical description:

3 pieces; 2 boxes

Language:

English

Type of material:

Trade catalogs

Trade literature

Place:

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Date:

1900s

Topic (Romaine term):

Furniture and furnishings  Search this

Topic:

Furniture industry and trade  Search this

House furnishings  Search this

Interior decoration  Search this

Record ID:

SILNMAHTL_10416

Location:

Trade Literature at the American History Museum Library

Collection:

Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collections

Data source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:SILNMAHTL_10416

Company Name:

American Radiator & Standard Sanitary Corp.  Search this

Related companies:

C. F. Church Mfg. Co. (div.); Fox Furnace Co., Elyria, OH (div.) ; Heating and Plumbing Finance Corp. (div.) ; Standard Sanitary Mfg. Co. ; American Blower Corp. (Detroit, MI) ; Kewanee Boiler Corp. ; Arco Vacuum Corp. ; Standard Air Conditioning Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA) ; Canadian Sirocco Co., Ltd. (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) ; American Radiator Co. (Chicago, IL) ; American-Standard, Sunbeam Air Conditioner Div. (Elyria, OH); Houston Mfg. (Rockford,IL);  Search this

Notes content:

one envelope OVERSIZE ; Includes color groupings of baths, lavatories, water closets, urinals, kitchen and laundry sinks, drinking fountains ; fittings ; room ideas for bathrooms, utility rooms, recreation rooms, laundries, and kitchens ; toilet seats ; Sunbeam Winterglo Winter Air Conditioners. Fox Furnace Co.: Sunbeam air conditioners, gas-fired and oil ; heaters ; overhead heating units ; Sunbeam furnaces. American Blower Corp.: centrifugal compressors. American Radiator Co.: Ideal boilers ; water heaters ; American radiators ; Vento Cast-Iron Heaters. Sunbeam Air Conditioner Division: Sunbeam and Mayfair winter air conditioners. Heating and Plumbing Finance Corp.: "The Better Finance Plan for Better Housing" ; "This Way to Profits" ; "Sell the Best Way."

Includes:

Trade catalog, price lists and manual

Black and white images

Color images

Physical description:

43 pieces; 9 boxes

Language:

English

Type of material:

Trade catalogs

Trade literature

Place:

Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States

Date:

1900s

Topic (Romaine term):

Architectural designs and building materials  Search this

Heating; ventilation and air conditioning  Search this

Plumbing supplies and fixtures  Search this

Topic:

"Decoration and ornament, Architectural"  Search this

Air conditioning  Search this

Architectural design  Search this

Building materials  Search this

Heating  Search this

Heating and ventilation industry  Search this

Plumbing equipment industry  Search this

Plumbing fixtures  Search this

Ventilation  Search this

Record ID:

SILNMAHTL_11189

Location:

Trade Literature at the American History Museum Library

Collection:

Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collections

Data source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:SILNMAHTL_11189

Creator:

Smithsonian Education  Search this

Type:

Lectures

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-11-29T22:12:26.000Z

YouTube Category:

Entertainment  Search this

Topic:

Education  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianEducation

Data Source:

Smithsonian Education

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianEducation

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_0-KCwiodyqA

Creator:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-03-25T12:34:43.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Art, Asian  Search this

See more by:

FreerSackler

Data Source:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

YouTube Channel:

FreerSackler

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_9cx965RdxW0

Creator:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2019-07-02T16:53:47.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Design  Search this

See more by:

cooperhewitt

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

YouTube Channel:

cooperhewitt

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_SdK6fiIbt4M

Creator:

Boyden, Uriah A. (Uriah Atherton), 1804-1879  Search this

Francis, Joseph Sidney  Search this

Schultze, Bernhard  Search this

Names:

American Association for the Advancement of Science  Search this

Ames Manufacturing Company  Search this

Amoskeag Manufacturing Company.  Search this

Atlantic Cotton Mills  Search this

Boston and Lowell Railroad Corporation  Search this

Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation  Search this

Boston and Worcester Railroad Corporation  Search this

Hamilton Manufacturing Company (Lowell, Mass.).  Search this

Jackson Manufacturing Company.  Search this

Lawrence Company.  Search this

Lowell Appleton Company.  Search this

Lowell Manufacturing Company.  Search this

Manchester Printing Works.  Search this

Merrimack Manufacturing Company.  Search this

New England Glass Company.  Search this

Saco Water Power Company.  Search this

Salmon Falls Manufacturing Company.  Search this

Smithsonian Institution  Search this

Stark Mills  Search this

Suncook Mills Company.  Search this

Tilestons & Holllingsworth Upper Mill.  Search this

Boyden, Seth  Search this

Francis, James B. (James Bicheno), 1815-1892  Search this

Nobel, Alfred Bernhard, 1833-1896  Search this

Sawyer, Edward  Search this

Storrow, Charles S. (Charles Storer), 1809-1904  Search this

Straw, Ezekiel Albert, 1819-1882  Search this

Extent:

21 Cubic feet (20 boxes, 45 map folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Patents

Newspapers

Correspondence

Clippings

Articles

Drawings

Financial records

Legal documents

Notebooks

Place:

Nashua (N.H.)

Lowell (Mass.)—Industries

Manchester (N.H.)

Brookline (Mass.)

Brandon (Vt.)

Charlestown (Boston, Mass.)

Boston (Mass.)

Foxborough (Mass. : Town)

Date:

1806-1879

bulk 1830-1879

Summary:

Papers of Uriah A. Boyden (1804-1879), a Boston civil and mechanical engineer and the inventor of the Boyden turbine. Materials include correspondence, notes, calculations, articles, notebooks, legal documents, financial documents, patents and patent assignments, design drawings, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, business cards, and a print of a daguerreotype.

Scope and Content:

This collection documents the activities of Uriah Atherton Boyden (1804-1879), a Boston civil and mechanical engineer. The papers cover the span of Boyden's life, but the bulk of the papers date from between 1830 and 1879. The materials relate to his professional engineering life, including his work as an engineer for the Nashua and Lowell Railroad Corporation and his work with turbines at New England mills and manufacturing companies. The collection also contains papers that illustrate his scientific interests, including sound, meteorology, chemistry, and physics. Materials include correspondence, notes, calculations, articles, notebooks, legal documents, financial documents, patents and patent assignments, design drawings, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, business cards, and a print of a daguerreotype.

Series 1, Correspondence, 1823-1879, consists of three subseries: Subseries 1, Outgoing Correspondence, 1830-1879; Subseries 2, Incoming Correspondence, 1823-1879; and Subseries 3, Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1825-1879. The bulk of the series is comprised of letters, although some telegrams are included. The majority of Boyden's letters discuss his business dealings and scientific interests, but some correspondence is related to family matters. Family correspondents include his brothers Seth Boyden (1788-1870), William Pitts Boyden, Otis Boyden, Benjamin F. Boyden, and Alexander Boyden (1791-1881); his sisters Sarah Boyden (d. 1834) and Sabra Smith; and his parents Seth (1764-1840) and Susanna Boyden. He also corresponded with his niece Susan Boyden Burnet and sister-in-law Abigail Boyden. Subjects discussed include Seth Boyden's illness, death, and will in 1840 and Sarah Boyden's death in 1834.

Correspondence from the 1830s discusses the construction of the dry dock at the Charlestown Navy Yard, Massachusetts; experiments conducted at the Boston and Roxbury Mill Dam; Boyden's work as Chief Engineer for the Nashua and Lowell Railroad Corporation and his subsequent lawsuit against the Nashua and Lowell Railroad Corporation over a pay dispute; the employment of assistants; and the construction of a mill at the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company.

Frequent correspondents include William Livingston, who was deposed in Boyden's lawsuit of the Nashua and Lowell Railroad Company; F. George Stark of Amoskeag Village; John Jacques of Worcester, Massachusetts; R. Read of Amoskeag Manufacuring Company; and Ezekial Albert Straw (1819-1882), a civil engineer and agent for the Amoskeag Manufacuring Company and the governor of New Hampshire from 1872-1874. Correspondence from the 1840s is primarily about turbines. Subjects include the development of the Boyden Turbine at the Lowell Appleton Company and Boyden's patents (US Patents 5,068, 5,090, 5,114, 10,026, and 10,027).

Other topics include the Merrimack Manufacturing Company's new mill; the Stark Company's turbine; turbine pits for the Merrimack Company's Picking House; Boyden's design for a turbine built at the Lowell Machine Shop and used at Tilestons & Hollingsworth Upper Mill; and requests for books. During this period, Boyden sent letters to various manufacturing companies and mills, informing them he would be willing to sell his patent rights for turbine improvements and provide plans and specifications, although he would not oversee the construction of turbines. Recipients of these letters include hydraulic engineer James B. Francis, P. T. Jackson, treasurer of the Proprietors of Locks and Canals; T. G. Cary, treasurer of the Appleton Company; John Avery, agent of the Hamilton Manufacturing Company; Alexander Wright, agent of the Lowell Manufacturing Company; Charles T. Storrow, treasurer of the Essex Company and the Atlantic Cotton Mills; R. Read, agent of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company; Amos A. Lawrence, treasurer of Salmon Falls Manufacturing Company; John Mixer, treasurer of the Suncook Manufacturing Company; and William Dwight, treasurer of the Saco Water Power Company.

Letters relating to the Atlantic Cotton Mills turbine design, testing, and lawsuit comprise a portion of the correspondence from the late 1840s and 1850s. Other correspondence from the 1850s includes letters to and from Boyden's employee Norman W. Stearns, who traveled to California and Australia; discussion of the testing of a turbine at the Hamilton Manufacturing Company Mills at Lowell; an extract from a report on the power derived from the tides at the Boston and Roxbury Mill Dam; a letter from the Smithsonian Institution encouraging Boyden to publish his research on turbines; and the difficulties with turbine experiments at the Nashua Manufacturing Company's mills. Boyden continued to offer his patent rights to various companies, including James T. Ames, agent of the Ames Manufacturing Company, and Ezekial Albert Straw, agent of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company.

Some letters were written by assistant Edward Sawyer on behalf of Uriah Boyden. Letters from the 1860s include Boyden's correspondence with the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia concerning the prize he created for any resident of North America who could determine by experiment whether all rays of light are transmitted at the same velocity. Common subjects include turbines; physics; Henri Giffard's invention of the injector; an apparatus for atmospheric electrical experiments; expanding gas; and the purchase of chemical substances.

There are many letters to the Bailliere Brothers, importers of periodicals; and E. G. Wallis, the Assistant Assessor of the third district of Boston for taxes. In 1862, Boyden wrote a letter to Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew offering a letter of recommendation for hydraulic engineer James B. Francis. Boyden also paid for a lecture in 1862 given by George Boutwell on liberating some Southern slaves. Letters from the 1870s discuss a variety of topics, including patents, the New England Glass Company, and the purchase of books. Finally, a folder of miscellaneous materials includes several letters of recommendation and introduction for Boyden, and a few letters neither to nor from Boyden.

Series 2, Notes on Turbines, 1833-1870, contains primarily Boyden's notes and calculations relating to the design, development, construction, and testing of turbines. There are also drawings of turbines, excerpts from scholarly journals about turbines, and the manuscript article about turbines for American Cabinet authored by Boyden. A published copy of this article is located in Series 10, Printed Material, 1835-1879. Some materials are in French.

A large portion of the papers are the calculations and results of experiments on Turbine No. 3 of the Atlantic Cotton Mills. More information on these experiments can be found in the Series 5, Notebooks, 1819-1867, and Series 6, Lawsuits, 1836-1864. Experiments conducted at the Appleton Company, where Boyden developed the Boyden turbine, appear in this series.

The turbine notes also contain measurements and computations for turbines for the Chicopee Manufacturing Company; designs and calculations for the Tileston and Hollingsworth's turbine in Dorchester, Massachusetts; an estimate for installing turbines for the Jackson Company; and a report to the Boston Water Power Company on the estimate of power from the Boston and Roxbury Mill Dam. Boyden was assisted in his calculations and experiments by Maximilian L. G. Wilde, Edward Sawyer, [Neil?], W. Mertz, David Dows, and James Emerson. The series contains an oversize miscellaneous folder comprised of calculations and tables.

Series 3, Subject Files, circa 1827-1875, contains groups of papers that Boyden assembled into packets and numbered and labeled with topical categories. The papers cover a wide range of topics. A large portion of the materials are excerpts or notes from published sources, although some packets contain Boyden's own calculations, tables, and surveys. Some materials are in French, German, and Greek and some have been translated from French and German into English.

One subject Boyden explores in depth is tobacco, including the tobacco trade, taxes on tobacco, consumption statistics from the United States and Europe, different varieties of plants, and tobacco's effect on health, including whether or not it contributes to mental illness. In addition, he discusses alcohol's effect on health; whether crime is connected with drinking alcohol, liquor licensing laws, and the option of prohibition in Massachusetts. He was also interested in the early history of the Bible, including how it was translated from the original Hebrew and how Egyptian connects to Old Testament history. Boyden compares different religious practices, including Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and ancient Greek and Egyptian religion.

Boyden collected a great deal of information from census data in the United States and Great Britain. In the Boston area, he looks at the number of births among Irish immigrants compared to native born Americans, and in particular explores whether tobacco use increases or decreases births among Irish immigrants. He also utilizes population statistics to discuss mental illness in both Europe and the United States. Like Series 4, Notes and Papers, 1806-1879, the Subject Files contain statistics on the cause of and response to fires in Boston.

Finally, the Subject Files include information on a variety of scientific subjects. For instance, a portion of materials discuss hydraulic lime, atomic theory and molecules, chemistry, thermoelectricity, meteorology, astronomy, batteries, and water pressure through pipes. Boyden quotes from Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species in his explorations of natural history. Several packets are comprised of surveys of property lots in Brookline, Massachusetts and the Longwood area of Boston. Sources Boyden utilized include publications such as the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Bible, the New York Herald, The Boston Daily Advertiser, L'Annales des Ponts et Chaussées (The Annals of the Department of Civil Engineering), Brockhaus's Encyclopaedia, Annals of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Les Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences (The Proceedings of the French Academy of Sciences), Annales de Chimie et de Physique (Annals of Chemistry and Physics), Annales d'Hygiène (Annals of Hygiene), Appleton's Cyclopaedia, Hunt's Merchant's Magazine, Esquirol's Treatise on Mental Maladies, The London Times, and Poggendorff's Annals. The packets also contain call slips from the Boston Athenaeum and the Boston Public Library.

Series 4, Notes and Papers, 1806-1879, consists of a wide range of material. Some papers are in French and German, or translated from published French and German into English. The series encompasses notes from Boyden's scientific experiments and observations. One subject Boyden studied indepth was meteorology, and the series contains weather observations, recordings of temperature and air pressure, and eyewitness accounts of unusual weather.

In addition, Boyden conducted experiments on the effect of a dam in the Merrimack River, the specific heat of steam, electricity, the effects of rays on bisulphide of carbon, glass making, and oils. Five notebooks document experiments on the chemical combination of oxygen with liquids at atmospheric temperatures. Furthermore, the series contains information on sound experiments made at Chelsea, Massachusetts, and at the Charlestown, Massachusetts aqueduct, which are also discussed in Series 5, Notebooks, 1819-1867, and Series 9, Drawings, circa 1835-1872. Boyden conducted surveys of various industrial projects, including the Jackson Manufacturing Company's mill work and dam; the sewers of Lowell, Massachusetts; the Nashua Mills; the aqueduct, cistern and pumping apparatus for the Boston Iron Company; the Lewiston Water Power Company; the bursting of a locomotive for the Boston and Lowell Railroad; and the cold well at Brandon, Vermont.

The series consists of several folders of drawings, including sketches of an apparatus for making signal sounds, and a design for a mercurial pump, and various scientific instruments. There are also copies of drawings of a differential galvanometer, dynamometer, pneumatic apparatus, and pneumatic glasses. The originals are located in Series 9, Drawings, circa 1835-1872. A significant portion of the series consists of Boyden's investigations of the causes of fires in Boston, including statistics and eyewitness accounts. The series also contains Boyden's computations and design for a chronometer.

Boyden is the author of several published papers found in this series, including "Researches in Meteorology," "Paper on Mechanical force," "An Essay on Caloric's Repulsing Caloric and its Attracting Ponderable Matter," and "Paper on Sound." "Explosions produced by Niter in Burning Buildings" appeared in The Boston Post May 9, 1862. Boyden also wrote Researches in Physics, which was printed in 1863. The series also contains translations and copies of papers and articles on various scientific subjects, including magnetism, electricity, heat, light, meteorology, and physics. These include articles from the Annales de Chimie et de Physique (Annals of Chemistry and Physics), the Bulletin des Sciences Mathématiques (Bulletin of the Mathematical Sciences), the Annalen der Physik und Chemie (Annals of Physics and Chemistry), Mémoires de l'Academie Royale (Imperial) des Sciences de l'Institut de France, and Les Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences (The Proceedings of the French Academy of Sciences). Boyden also collected single works, including A Treatise on the Heat of Permanent Gases by John Plana, New Branch of Physics, or Studies Concerning Bodies in the Spheroidal State by P. H. Boutigny, and Thermochrosis, or Calorific Coloration by Macedoine Melloni.

Nine miscellaneous folders contain citations from encyclopedias, notes from scientific articles and newspapers, calculations, notes on laws, notes from experiments, a tide table, accounts of the weather, directions for experiments, specifications for a section of a canal built in Lowell by the Proprietors of the Locks and Canals, and a description of a heliostat. One oversize miscellaneous folder contains a legal document concerning lease from the Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation to Horace Gray, a plan of a screwdriver, a table of experiments made in grinding rye at the City Mills, and experiments on the flow of water over dams made at the Lower Locks in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Series 5, Notebooks, 1819-1867, consists of bound notebooks ranging in size from 5" x 7" to 7" x 8". The notebooks demonstrate Boyden's wide-ranging scientific interests. They contain primarily technical information, such as experiments on sound, electromagnetism, and thermometers and include drawings and tables with data. His notebooks include excerpts from scientific journals on physics and chemistry, including some materials in French.

The personal memoranda feature notes from his travels around New England and the Mid-Atlantic States, including descriptions of railroads, dams, and mills; bridges in Georgetown, Washington, District of Columbia; a smelting furnace in Pottsville, Pennsylvania; and the Baltimore Water Works aqueduct. Several additional personal notebooks document Boyden's property and expenditures. Many notebooks were written or corrected by others, presumably Boyden's assistants, including Edward Sawyer, Levi York, Maximilian S. G. Wilde, Charles Leonard, Charles Mason, Jeremiah Dickson, L.W. Cushing, and A. Neill. One common subject is Boyden's work with turbines and water-wheels at New England mills and manufacturing companies. Many notebooks record turbine experiments at the Lowell Appleton Company, where Boyden developed the Boyden turbine, and at the Atlantic Cotton Mills. For more information on Boyden's work at the Atlantic Cotton Mills, see Series 6, Lawsuits, 1836-1864 and Series 2, Notes on Turbines, 1833-1870.

Other notebooks document Boyden's involvement in the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he developed a hydraulic power system. Other mills Boyden studied include the Stark Mills, the Lawrence Company's mills, and the Boston and Roxbury Mill Dam. Boyden was interested in the construction of canals and locks, including the Weston Canal near Lowell, Massachusetts. Railroad surveys comprise a significant portion of the notebooks' content and include his work with railroad companies, including the Boston and Lowell Railroad Corporation and the Boston and Worcester Railroad Corporation. Boyden conducted a survey of a cold well at Brandon, Vermont. More information about that well can be found in Series 3, Subject Files, circa 1827-1875, and Series 3, Notes and Papers, 1806-1879.

Series 6, Lawsuits, 1836-1864, consists of legal materials related to lawsuits Boyden was involved in, both as a plaintiff and as a witness. The majority of the series is comprised of documents relating to Boyden's Atlantic Cotton Mills lawsuit, a conflict over whether Boyden had a right to conduct tests on turbines built from his design at the Atlantic Cotton Mills. The suit also involved a dispute over Boyden's patent rights to his turbine improvements used at the Atlantic Cotton Mills. On February 14, 1856, the court decided in favor of Boyden, and required the Atlantic Cotton Mills to award him reparations.

The series contains copies of correspondence related to Boyden's dealings with the Atlantic Cotton Mills, including letters to and from Charles S. Storrow and William Gray, treasurers of the Atlantic Cotton Mills. Also included are depositions; replies to allegations; Boyden's drafts of his answers to interrogatories; and calculations, notes, and drawings, presumably used as evidence in court. Bernhard Schultze (see Series 12, Bernhard Schultze Materials, 1837-1857) compared and corrected Boyden's November 21, 1855 reply to the answer of the Atlantic Cotton Mills and a statement of some expenses in measuring the power expended in actuating turbine No. 3 of the Atlantic Cotton Mills.

Also included are letters of reference for Boyden, probably related to his lawsuit of the Nashua and Lowell Railroad; Boyden's answers to interrogatories filed by the Boston Water Power Company in the case of Boston Water Power Company v. Horace Gray, which also includes his answers to interrogatories filed by the Boston and Worcester Railroad Company in regard to the receiving basin of the Boston Water Power Company; and Boyden's deposition in the case of Oswego Canal Company v. Henry M. Ames & Isaac L. Merriam.

Series 7, Financial Papers, 1820-1876, contains both personal and business financial papers. A large portion documents the New England Glass Company, including records of the stockholders meetings and end of year reports on the financial state of the company. There are also copies of receipts of bills Boyden sent to companies he worked for, including the Atlantic Cotton Mills, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, the Boston and Lowell Railroad Corporation, the Ames Manufacturing Company, the Salmon Falls Manufacturing Company, the Lowell Machine Shop, and the Holyoke Water Power Company. Boyden also received stock dividends from some of the same companies and others, including the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, the New England Glass Company, the Old Colony Railroad Company, Stark Manufacturing Company, the Lancaster Mills, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, the Boston and Lowell Railroad Corporation, and the Boston Gas Light Company.

Another aspect of the papers includes Boyden's requests to buy certain items, including metals, glass cylinders, and wire for his experiments; books in English, French and German; and periodicals. There are also reports of Boyden's income for the Internal Revenue Service dating from 1864-1871. One document is a quitclaim deed for the Savin Hill property in Dorchester, Massachusetts, which Boyden surveyed. Surveying records can be found in Series 3, Subject Files, circa 1827-1875.

Series 8, Patents, 1838-1847, consists of three subseries, Subseries 1, Boyden's Patents, 1843-1847; Subseries 2, Other Patents, 1838-1843; and Subseries 3, Patent Assignments, 1849-1856.

Subseries 1, Boyden's Patents, 1843-1847, consists of issued patents for Boyden's turbine improvements with attached drawings and specifications, including patents for improvement in turbines, September 20, 1843 (US Patent 10,026); improvement in hydraulic motors, September 20, 1843 (US Patent 10,027); improvements in hanging shafts of waterwheels, April 17, 1847 (US Patent 5,068); and improvement in diffuser for waterwheels, May 1, 1847 (US Patent 5,090).

Subseries 2, Other Patents, 1838-1843, consists of a patent granted to John R. Wheeler for an improved waterwheel on April 14, 1838, and a patent granted to Amasa B. Beckwith for improvement in waterwheels on October 20, 1843.

Subseries 3, Patent Assignments, 1849-1856, consists of legal documents giving various companies the right to use Boyden's patented turbine improvements in their mills in exchange for royalties. Companies include the Great Falls Manufacturing Company, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, the Appleton Company, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, the Lowell Manufacturing Company, and the Lowell Machine Shop.

Series 9, Drawings, circa 1835-1872, contains oversize drawings and some tables, ranging in size from approximately 48'' x 30'' to 21'' x 30''. Some of the papers are brittle and crumble easily. The series contains one work in German, "Werke Theorie und Bau der Wasserraeder" (A Work on the Theory and Construction of Waterwheels).

A significant portion of the series consists of Boyden's designs for turbines used at various mills throughout New England, including the Ames Manufacturing Company; the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company; the Appleton Company, the Atlantic Cotton Mills; the Hamilton Manufacturing Company; the Essex Company Machine Shop and Blacksmith Shop; the Lancaster Mill; the Manchester Printing Works; the Merrimack Manufacturing Company; the Merrimack Print Works; the Perkins Mills the Salmon Falls Manufacturing Company; the Stark Mills; and the New England Worsted Company and Suncook Manufacturing Company. More information on Boyden's work designing turbines for these companies can be found in Series 1, Correspondence, 1823-1879; Series 2, Notes on Turbines, 1833-1870; and Series 5, Notebooks, 1819-1867.

Of particular note are drawings from "Lowell Hydraulic Experiments", a work published in 1855 by James B. Francis. Francis developed an improved turbine based on the inward flow Poncelet turbine, which became known as the Francis turbine and was more efficient than the outward flow Boyden turbine. Boyden was an associate of Francis's, but it is unclear how closely involved he was in the development of the Francis turbine. One subseries, Boyden's improvements, contains drawings that demonstrate Boyden's development of new turbines.

The series also includes records from Boyden's experiments on sound in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Notes from other experiments on sound can be found in Series 4, Notes and Papers, 1806-1879, and Series 5, Notebooks, 1819-1867. Included in the series are designs for various tools, including a chronometer, differential galvanometer, hydraulic apparatus, and pneumatic glasses. Smaller copies of some of these drawings can be found in Series 4, Notes and Papers, 1806-1879.

Two folders of miscellaneous materials include several tables documenting people admitted to mental hospitals, the observation of tides made at the Charlestown Navy Yard; a table of fires in Boston; experiments on the wheel of the Poncelet System; a plan and sections for showing the results of surveys at the cold well in Brandon, Vermont; and designs for a brass apparatus, a rack of reflectors, an apparatus for measuring the heights of water, a glass scale, and a dynamometer. Nine folders contain unidentified drawings.

Series 10, Printed Material, 1835-1879, contains newspaper clippings and other printed material collected by Boyden. The major subjects covered by the newspaper clippings include a campaign to supply Boston with drinking water, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Smithsonian Institution. Other newspaper clippings discuss the career of Patrick Tracy Jackson, the founder of the Merrimack Manufacturing Company; Boyden's turbine wheel; railway accidents; a court case involving an escaped slave; the rotation of the earth; the establishment of a public library in Boston; the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; the Louisiana imbroglio of 1874-1875; and smoking. Boyden frequently clipped from the Daily Evening Traveller, the Boston Advertiser, The Boston Atlas, the Boston Post, and the Boston Evening Transcript. Some newspapers have been saved and placed in a folder in a map case drawer.

The series also includes a pamphlet entitled Martin's Twenty-One Years in the Boston Stock Market, or Fluctuations Therein from January 1835 to January 1856, two bulletins of new books offered by the Boston Public Library and marked up by Boyden, patents for Alfred Nobel's new explosive compound, several of Boyden's business cards, a print portrait of Boyden, and a metal sign that hung outside his office in Boston. The series contains one miscellaneous file that includes items such as a price list for mechanists' tools, an article on the phenomena of sound, and a table of the work and expenses on the Boston and Lowell Railroad.

Series 11, Seth Boyden Materials, 1840-1841, is comprised of documents related to the death of Uriah Boyden's father, Seth Boyden (1764-1840). Included are drawings of the headstones for the graves of Seth Boyden (1764-1840) and Uriah Boyden's sister, Sarah Boyden; Seth Boyden's last will and testament; a poster for an executer's sale; and the account of Uriah Boyden and Benjamin F. Boyden, the executers of Seth Boyden's (1764-1840) last will and testament.

Series 12, Bernhard Schultze Materials, 1837-1857, contains the letters and papers of Bernhard Schultze, a man employed by Boyden as a translator from around November 26, 1853 until his death in August 1857. Schultze was a witness in the case of Boyden v. Atlantic Cotton Mills and compared and corrected materials related to the case. These can be found in Series 6, Lawsuits, 1836-1864. He died from a head injury that occurred in Boyden's offices at 81 Washington Street.

More information about the accident in Boyden's official statement, August 17, 1857, to the coroner and the jury investigating Schultze's death, in Series 1, Correspondence, 1823-1879. Half of the materials are in German and consist of correspondence, receipts, registered letter slips, a medical bill, and a program for the Paine Festival and Annual Ball in 1857. Several of the documents relate to politics in the late 1850s and the election of 1856. Included is a newspaper article reporting on a pro-German James Buchanan rally; a circular supporting John C. Fremont and William L. Dayton, the Republican ticket in the election of 1856; and the by-laws of the Boston Kansas Club.

Series 13, Joseph Sidney Francis Materials, circa 1855-1872, consists of drawings made by Joseph Sidney Francis while studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They are labeled as the property of James B. Francis, the hydraulic engineer and inventor of the Francis turbine who worked closely with Boyden. Included in this series are tables documenting the number of fires in Boston and the number of people admitted to French mental hospitals.

Arrangement:

The papers are arranged into thirteen series. The contents of each series or subseries is arranged chronologically, with the exception of Series 3, which is arranged numerically, and Series 9, which is arranged alphabetically by subject. The series and subseries arrangement of the papers are as follows:

Series 1, Correspondence, 1823-1879

Subseries 1, Outgoing, 1830-1879

Subseries 2, Incoming, 1823-1879

Subseries 3, Miscellaneous, 1825-1879

Series 2, Notes on Turbines, 1833-1870

Series 3, Subject Files, circa 1827-1875

Series 4, Notes and Papers, 1806-1879

Series 5, Notebooks, 1819-1867

Series 6, Lawsuits, 1836-1864

Series 7, Financial Papers, 1820-1876

Series 8, Patents, 1838-1847

Subseries 1, Boyden Patents, 1843-1847

Subseries 2, Other Patents, 1838-1843

Subseries 3, Patent Assignments, 1849-1856

Series 9, Drawings, circa 1835-1872

Series 10, Printed Material, 1835-1879

Series 11, Seth Boyden (1764-1840) Materials, 1840-1841

Series 12, Bernhard Schultze Materials, 1837-1857

Series 13, Joseph Sidney Francis Materials, circa 1855-1872

Administrative/Biographical History:

Civil and mechanical engineer and multi-faceted scientist, Uriah Atherton Boyden was born on February 17, 1804 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. His father Seth Boyden (1764-1849) was a farmer and blacksmith and invented a machine to split leather (Reynolds 2010). His brother Seth Boyden (1788-1870) was a noted inventor in Newark, New Jersey, and in 1825 Boyden worked for him in a "leather and sheepskin bookbinding business" (Reynolds 2010). Boyden moved back to Massachusetts in 1828 and worked with James Hayward on surveys for the Boston and Providence Railroad, and with Loammi Baldwin on a dry dock for the Charlestown Navy Yard (now Boston Navy Yard) (Reynolds 2010). In the 1830s he opened his own engineering practice and worked on mills in the growing industrial center of Lowell, Massachusetts and was the chief engineer from 1836-1838 on the Nashua and Lowell Railroad. He designed a hydraulic power system for the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester, New Hampshire around 1840 (American Society of Mechanical Engineers 1975, 5).

Boyden is best known for inventing the Boyden turbine, "the first turbine to be manufactured in quantity in the United States"(American Society of Mechanical Engineers 1975, 1). Boyden developed this turbine around 1844 while working for the Appleton Company in Lowell, Massachusetts(American Society of Mechanical Engineers 1975, 5). Boyden improved the efficiency of the Fourneyron outward flow turbine by "providing a conical approach passage for the incoming water… providing guide vanes in the outlet passages and by adding a submerged diffuser" (American Society of Mechanical Engineers 1975, 2). Boyden assigned his patent rights to a number of mills and manufacturing companies in New England and provided them with plans and specifications for turbines, although he did not oversee construction.

The Boyden turbine was superseded in 1849 by the more efficient inward flow Francis turbine, developed by James B. Francis with Boyden's assistance (American Society of Mechanical Engineers 1975, 2-3). The Francis turbine is now used throughout the world (Reynolds 2010).

After 1850, Boyden focused on scientific pursuits, including chemistry, physics, and meteorology. His other interests included the causes of fires in Boston, tobacco's effect on people's health, and mental illness in Europe and the United States. However, he rarely published the results of his research (Reynolds 2010). In 1874, Boyden "deposited $1,000 with the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia to be awarded to any resident of North America who should determine by experiment whether light and other physical rays are transmitted at the same velocity" (American Society of Mechanical Engineers 1975, 5). No one has claimed the prize. Boyden died on October 17, 1879 in Boston. In his will, he bequeathed approximately $250,000 to Harvard University, which it used to build an observatory in Peru (Reynolds 2010). The Boyden Observatory is now located in South Africa.

Reference List

1975. The 102-inch Boyden Hydraulic Turbines at Harmony Mill No. 3, Cohoes, New York. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. http://files.asme.org/ASMEORG/Communities/History/Landmarks/5507.pdf, (accessed 18 July 2010).

Reynolds, Terry S. 2010. Boyden, Uriah Atherton. American National Biography Online. Oxford University Press. http://www.anb.org/articles/13/13-00178.html (accessed 18 July 2010).

Provenance:

Unknown.

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 rules may apply. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: reproduction fees may apply.

Topic:

Water-wheels  Search this

Tobacco  Search this

Thermometers  Search this

Thermoelectricity  Search this

Specific heat  Search this

Sound  Search this

Religions  Search this

Railroads -- Surveying  Search this

Railroads -- Construction  Search this

Radiometers  Search this

Pneumatics  Search this

Physics  Search this

Optics  Search this

Ozone  Search this

Natural history  Search this

Mental illness  Search this

Mills and mill-work  Search this

Dividends  Search this

Civil engineers  Search this

Chemistry  Search this

Chronometer  Search this

Census  Search this

Atomic theory  Search this

Fires -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Drinking of alcoholic beverages -- Law and legislation  Search this

Hydraulic turbines  Search this

Inventions -- 19th century  Search this

Glass manufacture  Search this

Hydraulic engineering and engineers  Search this

Lawsuits  Search this

Inventors -- 19th century  Search this

Genre/Form:

Patents -- 1840-1850

Newspapers

Correspondence -- 19th century

Clippings

Articles

Drawings

Financial records

Legal documents

Notebooks

Citation:

Uriah A. Boyden Papers, 1806-1879, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0982

See more items in:

Uriah A. Boyden Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep885c5f4ab-b3e4-41bb-b41e-da133b559eae

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0982

Manufacturer:

E. Howard & Co.  Search this

Physical Description:

wood (overall material)

brass (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 93 in x 22 1/4 in x 14 1/2 in; 236.22 cm x 56.515 cm x 36.83 cm

Object Name:

regulator, E.Howard & Co., Boston

Place made:

United States: Massachusetts, Boston

Date made:

1855-1859

Credit Line:

Gift of Elizabeth H. Allan, Richard H. Allan, Mary Stewart Allan, Eleanor A. Hanson,

ID Number:

ME.335723

Catalog number:

335723

Accession number:

1977.0507

See more items in:

Work and Industry: Mechanisms

Science & Mathematics

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-6f7c-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1204800

Maker:

William Bond & Son  Search this

Physical Description:

"brass" (movement material)

wood (case material)

glass (pendulum bob, part of material)

Measurements:

overall: 78 in x 16 in x 8 1/2 in; 198.12 cm x 40.64 cm x 21.59 cm

Object Name:

clock

Other Terms:

clock; Mechanical, Weight-Driven; Tall Case Clock

Place made:

United States: Massachusetts, Boston

Date made:

ca 1850

ID Number:

1981.0322.01

Accession number:

1981.0322

Catalog number:

1981.0322.01

See more items in:

Work and Industry: Mechanisms

Science & Mathematics

Measuring & Mapping

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a6-a39e-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_852072

Creator:

Calumet and Hecla Mining Company.  Search this

Leavitt, Erasmus D., 1836-1916  Search this

Former owner:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this

Extent:

20.4 Cubic feet (4 boxes, 82 folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Account books

Blueprints

Diaries

Drawings

Letterpress books

Notebooks

Scrapbooks

Place:

Upper Peninsula (Mich.)

Date:

1861-1955

Summary:

Papers document prominent nineteenth-century steam engineer Erasmus D. Leavitt.

Scope and Contents note:

The Leavitt Papers include a Civil War diary, personal account books, photographs, drawings, and engineering materials relating to steam engines.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into three series.

Series 1: Engineering Materials, 1861-1955

Series 2: Photographs, 1890s, undated

Series 3: Engineering Drawings, 1874-1906

Historical:

The Calumet and Hecla Company, which was formed in about 1866, was one of the largest mining operations in the Lake Superior region of Upper Michigan. Over 3 billion pounds of copper were removed from its extensive mines by the time operations ceased in 1939. To facilitate the work in both the mines and smelting plants, the company installed some the largest steam engines ever built. The aggregate amounted to over 55,000 horsepower.

Noted 19th century steam engineer Erasmus Darwin Leavitt was hired to design the series of huge multi-cylinder engines. Each had sufficient power to support several operations at one time. While an engine drove one of the hoists, it might also power pumping, conveying, and air compressing machinery. At the peak of operations there were at least 50 steam engines of all sizes providing power to Calumet and Hecla. Falling copper prices during the 1920s and the economic depression of the 1930s ultimately forced the mines to close. The engines were of no further use and their countless tons of cast iron and steel ended up in the scrap drives of World War II.

Biographical:

Erasmus Darwin Leavitt was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1836 and died in 1916 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was educated in the Lowell public schools, entered the machine shop of the Lowell Manufacturing Company in 1852, and served three years as an apprentice. He spent one year with Corliss and Nightingale and was later assistant foreman of the City Point works in South Boston, where he was in charge of building the engines for the flagship "Hartford." From 1859 to 1861 he was chief draftsman for Thurston, Gardiner & Co., of Providence, Rhode Island, leaving to enter the United States Navy in the summer of 1861.

Leavitt served during the Civil War and he was detailed to the Naval Academy at Annapolis as instructor in steam engineering. Resigning in 1867, he resumed the practice of mechanical engineering, making a specialty of pumping and mining machinery. He was consulting engineer of the Calumet and Hecla Mining compan from 1874 to 1904 during which time he designed the equipment. He was also consulting engineer for Henry R. Worthington, the Dickson Manufacturing Company, City of Boston and City of Cambridge, and designed the pumping engine for the City of Louisville, Kentucky. He was advisory engineer and designed machinery for the Bethlehem Steel Company and for South African mining companies. He was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and formerly its president; the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Institute of Mining Engineers, Boston Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Naval Engineers, an honorary member of the British Society for the Advancement of Science, life member of Franklin Institute, and member of Institution of Civil Engineers and of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers of Great Britain. He was also a fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In 1884 Mr. Leavitt received the honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology of New Jersey. Leavitt retired from active practice in 1904. He married Annie Elisabeth Pettit in 1867, and had three daughters, Mary, Margaret and Annie.

Source

Cambridge Chronicle, March 18, 1916

Related Materials:

Materials at Other Organizations

Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections

Calumet and Hecla Mining Company Collection

Provenance:

Collection materials donated by Calumet and Hecla, Inc. in 1960 and by Thomas E. P. Rice, 1977.

The collection came to the Smithsonian in 1960 from Calumet & Hecla, Inc. In the course of a reorganization in 1952 mining had been dropped from the company name as the emphasis was on chemicals, foundry work, and forest products. Its remaining mining activites in other areas of Michigan were phased out during the 1960s and in 1968 Calumet & Hecla merged with Universal Oil Products, Inc. Late in 1970 Universal Oil Products scrapped what was left of the Calumet & Hecla physical plant and its remaining assests were auctioned off.

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.

Topic:

Engines  Search this

Hoisting and conveying  Search this

Mineral industries  Search this

Mining  Search this

Pumping  Search this

Steam-engines  Search this

Waterworks  Search this

Genre/Form:

Account books

Blueprints

Diaries

Drawings

Letterpress books

Notebooks

Scrapbooks

Citation:

Erasmus D. Leavitt Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0966

See more items in:

Erasmus D. Leavitt Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c5e7ffde-5f5f-415c-ae48-45a3c941509b

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0966

Collection Creator:

Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence.  Search this

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Civil Engineering Department  Search this

Underwood and Underwood  Search this

Container:

Box 12, Item 22

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Date:

undated

Collection Restrictions:

Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection, 1886-1931, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection / Series 1: Engineering / 1.3: Bridges, Concrete Arch, and Beam / 1.3.2: Bridges, Masonry Arch

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8a0c8e683-3c37-403c-ad83-3c627ac97556

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1013-ref1413

Collection Creator:

Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence.  Search this

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Civil Engineering Department  Search this

Underwood and Underwood  Search this

Container:

Box 9, Item 46

Type:

Archival materials

Postcards

Date:

1907

Collection Restrictions:

Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection, 1886-1931, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection

Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection / Series 1: Engineering / 1.2: Bridges, Cantilever / 1.2.7: Old Quebec Cantilever [Quebec Bridge (French: pont de Québec)]

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep890b97582-c43e-4b18-8123-8d0578f63845

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1013-ref1241

Designed by:

Sonya Clark, American  Search this

Bo Peng, Chinese  Search this

Manufactured by:

Swamp Press, American  Search this

Subject of:

Rita Dove, American, born 1952  Search this

Medium:

lead, tin and antimony alloy

Dimensions:

H x W x D (2023.77.1a): 7/8 × 1/4 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.7 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1b): 7/8 × 3/16 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.5 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1c): 7/8 × 1/4 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.6 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1d): 7/8 × 9/16 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 1.4 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1e): 7/8 × 3/8 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.9 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1f): 7/8 × 3/8 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.9 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1g): 7/8 × 3/8 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 1 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1h): 7/8 × 1/4 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.6 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1i): 7/8 × 1/4 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.7 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1j): 7/8 × 5/16 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.7 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1k): 7/8 × 1/4 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.6 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1l): 7/8 × 3/16 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.4 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1m): 7/8 × 5/8 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 1.6 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1n): 7/8 × 1/4 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.6 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1o): 7/8 × 1/4 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.6 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1p): 7/8 × 3/16 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.5 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1q): 7/8 × 1/4 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.6 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1r): 7/8 × 1/4 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.7 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1s): 7/8 × 5/16 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.8 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1t): 7/8 × 5/16 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.8 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1u): 7/8 × 3/8 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.9 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1v): 7/8 × 1/4 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.6 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1w): 7/8 × 9/16 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 1.5 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1x): 7/8 × 5/16 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.8 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1y): 7/8 × 1/8 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 0.3 × 1.3 cm)

H x W x D (2023.77.1z): 7/8 × 3/8 × 1/2 in. (2.3 × 1 × 1.3 cm)

Type:

typefaces

fonts (type composition equipment)

type

Place made:

Northfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America

Place purchased:

Amherst, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America

Date:

2022

Topic:

African American  Search this

Craftsmanship  Search this

Design  Search this

Graphic design  Search this

Hair  Search this

Identity  Search this

Typography  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number:

2023.77.1a-z

Restrictions & Rights:

© Sonya Clark

Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design

Tools and Equipment-Crafting-Artistic-Image-making

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5e380bc62-c208-4efa-a9ff-acd5a06c804f

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2023.77.1a-z

Designed by:

Sonya Clark, American  Search this

Manufactured by:

Amy Borezo, American  Search this

Subject of:

Rita Dove, American, born 1952  Search this

Medium:

cloth on cardboard

Dimensions:

H x W x D (Closed): 1 5/8 × 4 5/16 × 4 1/2 in. (4.1 × 11 × 11.5 cm)

H x W x D (Open): 1 9/16 × 10 1/4 × 4 1/2 in. (3.9 × 26 × 11.5 cm)

Type:

typefaces

fonts (type composition equipment)

type

boxes (containers)

Place made:

Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America

Place purchased:

Amherst, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America

Date:

2022

Topic:

African American  Search this

Craftsmanship  Search this

Design  Search this

Graphic design  Search this

Hair  Search this

Identity  Search this

Typography  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number:

2023.77.2

Restrictions & Rights:

© Sonya Clark

Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design

Tools and Equipment-Crafting-Artistic-Image-making

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd51a5a9f26-8171-4b4d-9690-e98a66e6a0fb

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2023.77.2

Maker:

Willard, Aaron  Search this

Physical Description:

wood (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 40 1/2 in x 10 1/2 in x 4 in; 102.87 cm x 26.67 cm x 10.16 cm

overall: 40 1/4 in x 10 1/2 in x 4 in; 102.235 cm x 26.67 cm x 10.16 cm

weight: 7 in x 2 1/2 in x 1 3/4 in; 17.78 cm x 6.35 cm x 4.445 cm

Object Name:

clock, banjo, A. Willard

Place made:

United States: Massachusetts, Boston

Date made:

ca 1830

Date made:

before 1822

Credit Line:

Gift of James Arthur Collection, New York University

ID Number:

1984.0416.009

Catalog number:

1984.0416.009

Accession number:

1984.0416

See more items in:

Work and Industry: Mechanisms

Domestic Furnishings

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-7536-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1203266