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Hotchkiss' Premium Vertical Waterwheel and Appendages broadside

 Collection
Identifier: MSS-3731

Scope and Contents

The collection contains a broadside with wood-engraved and letterpress elements, addressed in ms. on verso to Elijah Fuller, Esq. of Fayetteville, Georgia. The broadside illustrates Hotchkiss' water wheel, touting its features and performance, and reprints a dozen testimonial letters from Alabamans, including former Governor Benjamin Fitzpatrick. A variety of type sizes and styles are used, including a large display type for the heading. The appearance of the whole broadside is enhanced by an unusual geometric border.

Dates

  • 1846 February 20

Creator

Physical Description

Some mild offset, separation at one fold extending 1.5" into image, a few tiny areas of loss (affecting three letters)m, and old address inscription showing through from verso.

Biographical / Historical

Gideon Hotchkiss was born on 23 Aug 1797 in Windsor, Broome Co, NY, the son of Amraphel Hotchkiss and Appelina Hotchkiss (1st Cousins). He married Miss Ann Everts circa 1819 in Windsor, Broome County, New York; the couple had six children – (1) Jane, (2) Ellen, (3) Edgar Fitzgerald, (4) Theodore B., (5) Emily S., and (6) Leroy E.

Hotchkiss was a millwright, a civil engineer and a patented inventor, but from 1826 through 1829, he also served as Windsor’s Postmaster. In the 1830s he received patents for a threshing machine, a "method of propelling boats," a grist mill, and in 1837, a "reacting water wheel" for use in sawmills. The Premium Vertical Waterwheel apparently underwhelmed the reviewers in the Journal of the Franklin Institute (vol. XX, pp. 328-329). This criticism is completely offset by the enthusiastic testimonials printed on the broadside itself. Other patents he held were for the Yoke for Horse or Oxen (1837), Noodle-Iron for Sawmills (1850), Hanging Steps of Mill-Spindles (1852), Railroad-Car Brake (1856), Mode of Securing and Adjusting the Steps of Mill Spindles (1858) and Machine for Working Butter, which was granted after his death (1860).

He also served as a member of the New York State Legislature in 1841 and was instrumental in securing a charter for the Windsor Academy.

In July 1851, Hotchkiss was on a passenger train on the New York and Erie Road when a rail broke and the last car was thrown down a 20 foot embankment into the Delaware River. One account said that the car turned completely over, making an entire revolution before it landed in the Delaware. Since the car descended diagonally, it ended up in only two to three feet of water. Although no lives were lost, several of the fifteen to twenty passengers were seriously injured, including Hotchkiss. He suffered a broken rib and other injuries.

According to the Mortality Schedule of the 1860 Federal Census, Hotchkiss died on 11 February 1860 in Windsor, Broome County, New York, of inflamed lungs; but, according to his gravestone "he died suddenly on 11 Feb 1860 while away from home on business in Goldsboro, Luzerne Co, PA." It also states that his last words were "All is well. All is well."

Sources: Aiello, John. "Gideon Hotchkiss (1797 - 1860)”, Find A Grave Index, 1660-2012, Find A Grave Memorial #31603042.

"Power to the People", Boston Rare Maps advertisement for "Hotchkiss' Premium Vertical Waterwheel and Appendages Broadside"

Extent

2.75 Linear Feet (broadside published in Montgomery, Alabama, 20 February 1846)

Language of Materials

English

Overview

Broadside with wood-engraved and letterpress elements, addressed in ms. on verso to Elijah Fuller, Esq. of Fayetteville, Georgia.

Provenance

purchased from Boston Rare Maps, 2013

Physical Description

Some mild offset, separation at one fold extending 1.5" into image, a few tiny areas of loss (affecting three letters)m, and old address inscription showing through from verso.

Processed by

Martha Bace, 2013
Title
Guide to the Hotchkiss' Premium Vertical Waterwheel and Appendages broadside
Status
Completed
Date
July 2013
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Box 870266
Tuscaloosa AL 35487-0266
205.348.0513