The papers document the professional career of mechanical engineer, Charles Richardson Pratt. The papers include correspondence, patents, patent application materials, agreements, photographs, publications, and blueprints for many of Pratt's inventions, especially his work on elevators.
Scope and Contents:
These papers contain personal materials of Charles R. Pratt; letterpress copybooks; engineering notebooks; diaries; material relating to the development of the heavy-duty, high-rise electric elevator; material concerning elevator cable equalizers and safety devices, Morton-Jacobsen and other lathe chucks, lathe drives and the Pratt Driver, the hydraulic transmission of power in trucks, and ship steering gear; and studies reports, drawings, photographs, catalogs, and trade literature concerning mechanical engineering.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight series.
Series 1: Personal Materials, 1875-1935
Series 2: Diaries, 1894, 1928-1931
Series 3: Correspondence, 1872-1920
Series 4: Notebooks, 1880, 1889, 1900
Series 5: Inventions, 1860-1927
Series 6: Photographs, 1890-1902
Series 7: Publications, 1895-1929
Series 8: Drawings, 1878-1929
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Richardson Pratt (1860-1935), was born in Massachusetts to John C. and Mary Anne Richardson. He graduated from the Hopkins School of Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1879. Pratt worked at Whittier Machine Company of Boston (1882-1890) where he designed and built the first electric elevator in 1888. The elevator was installed in the Tremont House, Boston. Pratt also worked as an agent and later as a consulting engineer for the Otis Elevator Company, the inventors of the hydraulic elevator.
Pratt was best known for his development of the first electrically powered elevator. In 1892, inventor Frank Sprague (1857-1934) founded the Sprague Electric Elevator Company, and with Charles R. Pratt developed the Sprague-Pratt Electric Elevator. They demonstrated that electrically powered elevators were capable of competing with hydraulic elevators. Pratt held several engineering positions and worked for the Marine Engine Company of Newark, New Jersey (1902-1905) developing elevator systems; consulting engineer to the Universal Speed Control Company of New York City (1906-1919); consultant to the American Engineering Company of Philadelphia (1912); mechanical superintendent at the Crocker Wheel Company of Ampere, New Jersey (1919); engineer for the E. Horton and Sons Company of Connecticut (1920-1923); the General Tractors Corporation (1924-1927); and was associated with the Watson Elevator Company of New York City (1928-1930). Pratt patented many of his ideas, earning over thirty-five patents related mostly to elevators,
Pratt was a member of the Masons, the Sons of the American Revolution, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the MIT Club of New Jersey, and the Motor Club of London. He married Mary Byron Ladd and they had two children, Gertrude Ladd Pratt and Donald Richardson Pratt.
Provenance:
This collection was purchased from Charles R. Pratt's daughter, Gertrude Pratt Vance, in 1973.
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.
Papers document the life of Elmer Gates (1859-1923), an independent American inventor and psychologist. Gates developed ideas related to experimental psychology and inventions in fields such as metallurgy, electricity, microscopy, X-rays, and pedagogy. Papers include correspondence, photographs, patents, articles and clippings, writings, and estate documents.
Scope and Contents:
The Elmer Gates Papers contain documents about Gates's scientific pursuits and his personal life. Included are six series: Personal Papers (1879, 1922, 1981-1988), Correspondence (1894-1924, 1970s), Photographs (1890s-1910), Patents (1896-1928), Articles and Clippings (1894-1910, 1923, undated), and Writings, 1893-1916, 1971, undated. The majority of papers date from Elmer Gates's most active period, 1894-1910. The papers are arranged into six series.
Arrangement:
This collection is divided into six series.
Series 1, Personal Papers, 1879, 1922, 1981-1988
Series 2, Correspondence, 1894-1924, 1970s
Series 3, Photographs, 1890s-1910
Series 4, Patents, 1896-1928
Subseries 1, United States Patents (issued), 1896-1928
Subseries 2, United States Patent Applications, 1896
Subseries 3, British Patent, 1901
Series 5, Articles and Clippings, 1894-1910, 1923, undated
Series 6, Writings, 1893-1916, 1971, undated
Subseries 1, Articles by Elmer Gates, 1895-1906, undated
Subseries 2, Notes, 1911
Subseries 3, Diary, 1911
Subseries 4, The Concept of Omnicosm (notes), 1893
Subseries 5, "Originality and Invention Applied to Livelihood and Business," 1981
Subseries 6, Periodicals, 1896, 1903
Subseries 7, Books, 1905-1916, 1971, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Elmer Gates (1859-1923) was an experimental psychologist and inventor active at the turn of the twentieth century. Having worked independently from a personal laboratory, Gates remains a largely obscure figure in the history of science. In his day, however, Gates was known for his original ideas linked to experimental psychology, as well as his numerous and eclectic inventions for which he received more than forty patents. A sampling of Gates's inventions and innovations include a foam fire-extinguisher, an improved electric iron, methods for magnetic separation, and educational toys. In the field of psychology, Gates promoted a concept that he termed psychurgy, or the "art of more efficiently using the mind."1
Elmer Gates was born near Dayton, Ohio, in 1859, to Jacob and Phebe Gates. At an early age, Elmer displayed a marked curiosity for the sciences. While in school, he was also taught by private tutors and his parents (his father was a teacher). By the late 1870s, Elmer had begun to develop ideas about experimental psychology. He believed that scientific experiments should be applied to the processes of the mind. The purpose of "psychurgy" would be to use the mind more effectively and efficiently. By training the mind through intense introspection and concentration and by attempting to observe corresponding physiological phenomena in the brain, Gates sought to demonstrate that the mind is in effect the body, and vice-versa. The ultimate aim—philosophical and moral—was to harness the mind's potential in order to advance new ideas and to improve emotional well-being and personal character.
1 Gates, Elmer. "Can Will Power Be Trained?" Success (March 1900): 93.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Mary P. Gardner and C. Lee Humphries in 2008.
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.
The collection is open for research use.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
A diary kept by Paul R. Strain during his visit to the Exposition, October 1893. It describes various buildings he toured and the exhibits that caught his attention, and records his personal impressions of the Exposition. The diary takes the form of hand-written notes.
Biographical / Historical:
Paul R. Strain of Colliers, West Virginia, attended the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, October 1893, with his father, Thomas H. Strain, who received the Blue Ribbon for Spanish Merino Wool at the Exposition. Paul Strain was fourteen at the time and this was his first long-distance trip.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Paula M. Strain, 1989, April 14.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
Illustrated with a drawing of the plant building and the plant floor plan. done by Barlows Insurance Surveys
Arrangement:
Series No. 3, Box No. 4, Folder No. 10 .
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use. Researchers must use positive microfilm copy of diary. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
Collection Rights:
Copyright held by the Smithsonian Institution. Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use.
Clipping, Kentucky Women's Board of Commissioners for the Atlanta Exposition
Collection Creator:
Kurtz, Charles M. (Charles McMeen), 1855-1909 Search this
Container:
Reel 4814, Frame 969
Box 21
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
circa Nov. 1895
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Collection Rights:
Glasgow painting diary, Microfilm reel 4912: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Yale Center for British Art. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Charles M. Kurtz papers, 1843-1990 (bulk 1884-1909). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Color illustration shows Uncle Sam and an international array of faces and costumes. The Keystone image to which Uncle Sam points contains a black-and-white picture of a "'Keystone' / hayloader / at work." See also cat. no. AC0060.248726.
Local Numbers:
AC0060-0000070 (AC Scan No.)
Series Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Business Advertising -- Manufacturing -- Agriculture Search this
Genre/Form:
Trade cards -- 19th century
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Agriculture, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
National Museum of Natural History (U.S.). Department of Anthropology Search this
Smithsonian Institution. Department of Anthropology Search this
Smithsonian Institution. United States National Museum. Department of Anthropology Search this
Extent:
(1 of 2)
Container:
Box 41
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1890s-1900s
Scope and Contents:
Includes letters of Kucaic school girls during the 1890s and early 1900s donated by Katharine Marvin; a photograph of native teacher; postcards; bible verses in Gilbertese; diary of Katherine Marvin, with notes on Micronesians; and printed material.
Collection Restrictions:
Some materials are restricted.
Access to the Department of Anthropology records requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Department of Anthropology Records, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.) Search this
Extent:
0.1 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Diaries
Typescripts
Date:
1893.
Scope and Contents note:
Typescript diary of a young woman's visit to the 1893 World's Fair (World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago). 51 pages.
Arrangement:
1 series (1 item).
Biographical/Historical note:
The author addressed and dedicated the diary to her aunt.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Jane Tusch Mayer, 1998, June 30.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
