Inventor Name
Auchincloss, William S.
Repository
Special Collections
University of Delaware Library
Newark, Delaware 19717-5267
302-831-2229
http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/
Physical Description
1 vol. (.3 linear ft.)
Summary
This one-volume scrapbook, with contents spanning 1862- 1892, includes correspondence, maps, tickets, papers, photographs, newspaper clippings, documents, advertisements, and drawings; and was largely assembled from the professional activities of William S. Auchincloss. Evidence within the scrapbook points to the wide range of interests that captured the attention of Auchincloss, a civil and mechanical engineer, originally from New York who later resided in Wilmington, Delaware, and in Philadelphia. He traveled widely, participated in numerous professional societies and meetings, corresponded with a variety of individuals about an array of interests, created useful inventions and innovations, offered public lectures on topics from several areas of expertise, and wrote extensively about his travels, professional work, and biblical studies. The scrapbook appears to have been compiled in the retiring days of Auchincloss’s life, using personal ephemera and professional papers to provide an autobiographical narrative of his significant accomplishments and life events. Newspaper clippings and other printed sources document the public sphere of Auchincloss’s work and activities. Patents, documents, and business correspondence on official letterhead, much of it international, reflect Auchincloss’s engagement as an American inventor with developing business and commerce in America and around the world. For his scrapbook, Auchincloss used a “Shipman’s improved adhesive Letter and Invoice File,” patented 1871 and distributed by Asa L. Shipman & Sons, New York. The scrapbook contains roughly thirteen sections that treat different aspects of Auchincloss’s personal and professional life. Some sections were designated and labeled by Auchincloss; other sections have been suggested by the author of this finding aid. The scrapbook is one single volume; marked section dividers have been laid into the volume to facilitate access to the different sections. The thirteen sections are: 1) Personal Life, 2) Averaging Machine, 3) Auchincloss’s Interest Rule, 4) Yearly Tides (paper), 5) Treenail Machine, 6) Link and Valve Motions (book), 7) National Narrow-Gauge Railway Convention, 8) Travel, and 9) Exposition Universelle de 1867 à Paris, 1867, 10) Navy Department, 11) South America, 12) Lecture on South America, and 13) Ninety Days in the Tropics (book). Of note is Section 2 – Averaging Machine Auchincloss’s invention of an averaging machine, 1880, raised considerable interest. The machine was “specially designed for averaging the monthly purchases of Messrs. J & P. Coats Best Six-Cord Thread.” He kept pictures, advertisements, drawings, directions, correspondence, and news articles about his invention and his presentation of it to various groups. Correspondents included Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Edge Moor Iron Company, Pusey & Jones Company, Harlan & Hollingsworth Company, First National Bank of Wilmington, R. L. McDonald & Co. Dry Goods, Spencerian Business College, Thomas J. Mustin & Co., Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, and the Meteorological Observatory of New York. The averaging machine was reviewed in Bookkeeper and Mechanics.
Finding Aid
http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/findaids/auchin.htm