HUDSON MAXIM - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 02/06/1923 - HFSID 266552

HUDSON MAXIM
Hudson Maxim sends a typed letter of regret that he will not be able to attend a meeting.
Typed Letter Signed: "Hudson Maxim." 1p, 8½x11. Maxim Park, Landing P.O., New Jersey, 1923 February 6. On his personal imprinted letterhead to Edmund C. Hill, Esq., Trenton, New Jersey. In full: "Your letter of the fourth instant is received, and I thank you very much for your kind invitation to attend the meeting of the Trenton Chamber of Commerce, on February 20th, but I expect to be in Atlanta, Georgia, on that date. I am leaving for Atlanta on Sunday, the 18th instant, to attend a convention of the National Campaign for Boll Weevil Control on the 20th and 21st instant, to discuss ways and means for combating the boll weevil. Some other time I will try to run down to Trenton and talk to the folks. I thank you very much for the picture of your very beautiful residence. Failthfully yours," Hudson Maxim (1853-1927) began his career in armaments and explosives in his brother Hiram's gun factory in New England. In 1888, he began developing new explosives and by 1890. Maxin invented a new smokeless powder. He helped his brother found a dynamite and powder factory in New Jersey that year: the following year, they parted company. In 1892, he began his own munitions factory in New Jersey, the heart of the United States' manufacturing at that time, where he developed a smokeless cannon powder. Maxim sold his company to E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company in 1897: however, he remained as a consulting engineer. Later accomplishments include shock resistant torpedoes, delayed-action fuses and a propulsion substance fro torpedoes. These inventions greatly aided the Allied effort in World War I. Machine guns manufactured by his brother changed the weaponry of warfare for all time. Lightly creased with folds, vertical fold touches the "M" in Maxim. Upper and lower blank corners chipped away. Pencil note (unknown hand) at upper right margin. Overall, fine condition.