William S. Auchincloss scrapbook

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).

Section 1 – Personal Life

Auchincloss saved a number of items from his personal life, including artwork from his children and boat plans from his own childhood and several drawings. His 1862 graduation announcement from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, as well as newspaper clippings of the event, are included. Other news clippings announce his marriage to Martha T. Kent of Philadelphia on May 3 (year not mentioned), and describe a later carriage accident involving both Martha Auchincloss and their young child. Auchincloss received letters of recommendation from the Novelty Iron Works in New York, as well as a letter from Troy & Greenbush Rail Road. He kept a number of advertisements for machine shops and businesses with which he was associated. Auchincloss also received numerous invitations, tickets, and memberships in a variety of clubs and professional societies including the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Meteorological Society, the American Association of the Advancement of Science, the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

Sections 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.

Section 3 – Auchincloss’s Interest Rule, 1891-1892

Auchincloss developed pocket-sized cards demonstrating his rules for calculating interest on accounts and saved several sample cards in the scrapbook, as well as a letter from J. Hay & Sons Wholesale Dry Goods & Notions about the benefits of the cards.

Section 4 – Yearly Tides (paper), 1892

Auchincloss included a copy of Yearly Tides, a paper read before the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia in 1892, as well as a letter from the Wisconsin Weather Service, and a newspaper clipping about the paper he read to the club.

Section 5 – Treenail machine, 1878

This small section includes a photo and description of the treenail machine, along with several newspaper clippings about Auchincloss in the 1870s.

Section 6 – Link and Valve Motions, 1869-1870

Auchincloss kept announcements of a new edition and book reviews and articles about his book, Link and Valve Motions (New York: Van Nostrand, 1869- 1870), as well as several news clippings reporting the death of his father, John Auchincloss, in 1876. He also preserved correspondence he received from the Erie Railway, Rogers Locomotive and Machine Co., U. S. Naval Academy, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Lehigh University, Sheffield Scientific School of Yale College, and the Southmark Foundry.

Section 7 – National Narrow-Gauge Railway Convention

Found in this section are newspaper clippings about narrow gauge railways and the Centennial Awards from the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, 1876. Jackson & Sharp Co. received an award in the “railway plant, rolling stock, engines” category for its passenger, boudoir, and library cars. Auchincloss also kept a letter from São Paulo, Brazil, and several business cards and advertisements for Jackson & Sharp Company.

Section 8 - Travel

This section contains a map of North America, Europe, and the Mediterranean marked to show the progress of Auchincloss’s 1867 trip abroad. He also collected ticket stubs from Egypt, Jerusalem, Germany, and France; a Custom House Certificate from Jerusalem; notes and correspondence from Egypt and France; a letter of credit dated 1867; and a membership card from the Wilmington Young Men’s Christian Association. Also present are correspondence with the Young Men’s Christian Association and news clippings about public lectures on travels to the Holy Land that Auchincloss delivered in Wilmington in 1877.

Section 9 – Universal Exhibition, Paris, 1867

Following his election as an honorary member of the United States Commissioners to the Exposition Universelle de 1867 à Paris, Auchincloss saved many of the notes, articles, and correspondence related to the Exposition, including three letters from the Department of State. Auchincloss contributed a report on Railway and Marine engines in the official reports of the Commissioners.

Section 10 – Navy Department

Found in this section are photos of various patents, photographs of Admiral C. H. Davis and Professor A. D. Bache, a ticket stub to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and correspondence from the Navy Department and the U. S. Coast Survey Office.

Section 11 – South America

Contained within this section is correspondence with Dom Pedro Segundo, Emperor of Brazil, and other material related to his 1876 visit to Wilmington. Auchincloss also saved news articles related to the Emperor’s visit to Wilmington and the Jackson & Sharp Company, of which Auchincloss was the vicepresident in 1876.

Section 12 – Lecture on South America, 1875

Saved here are several news articles reporting on Auchincloss’s lecture to the Wilmington Board of Trade on the importance of developing commercial relations with South America. The lecture was delivered on April 13, 1875.

Section 13 – Ninety Days in the Tropics, 1874-1879

Between January and April 1874, Auchincloss traveled to Brazil, and upon his return he authored a book, Ninety Days in the Tropics. This section primarily includes correspondence related to the trip or the book, which was widely distributed to friends and colleagues. Two maps are also included in the section: one of the West Indies and a second of South America; together they are marked with the progress of an 1874 trip to Rio de Janeiro. The section includes notification of Auchincloss being made a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and a correspondent member of the Instituto Polytechnico Braziliero. Prominent Delawareans acknowledged Auchincloss’s book, including Thomas F. Bayard, Samuel Harrington, Henry du Pont, and William W. Lobdell. Correspondents include the Minister of Public Works of the Empire of Brazil; Professor Joseph Henry, Smithsonian Institution; Baldwin Locomotive Works; the Delaware Fire Insurance Company; Harlan & Hollingsworth Company; O Nuvo Mundo and La America Ilustrada; the University of Virginia; W. R. Grace & Co.; Henry C. Patterson & Co.; Consulate of the United States; Wilmington Board of Trade; James, Kent, Santee & Co.; The American Dredging Company; Henry du Pont; Lehigh Valley Rail Road Co.; the University of Pennsylvania; Railway and Car Builders’ General Supplies; Yale College; Botanical Garden Rail Road Company (Rio de Janeiro); Empreza da Estrada de Ferro (S. Paulo e Rio de Janeiro); Western R. R. Co.; J. & P. Coats; Star Rail Line; Jacksonville, Pensacola & Mobile Rail Road; W. P. Clyde & Co.; James E. Mills, Geologist and Metallurgist; C. Ludmann & Co.; The Trustees of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge; Keokuk & Des Moines Railway Co.; and the Louisville Bridge and Iron Company.