SAMUEL F.B. MORSE The artist and inventor signs this letter recommending that Congress purchase letters of General Henry Knox owned by a lady and wishing the courts would effectively put an end to the pirating of his telegraph invention. ALS: "Saml. F.B. Morse", 2p, 7¾x10. Po'keepsie, N.Y., 1849 July 23. To C.S. Daveis, Esq., Portland, Me. Daveis (1788-1865) was a prominent Maine attorney. In full: "Yours of the 17th inst I received on Saturday evening & this morning I called on Mrs Beekman and read her your letter. She feels that she has (as she undoubtedly has) a valuable deposit of papers, which ought to belong to the State or the United States Government. She is well disposed towards accommodating you with the sight and use of the letters of Gen. Knox. She says that the papers are contained in several boxes, and the search will be attended with some labor but that she will select out those of Gen. Knox and lay them by themselves. That she should be desirous of reaping pecuniary benefit from papers possessing so much value to the state, is both natural and proper, and she felt gratefully that part of your letter which promised her you did. read more...

HENRY DERINGER Rare handwritten note to his son saying "keep steady to your business and all will go right and straight" Autograph Note signed: "HD" and "H Deringer" in his hand as part of his son's name in the address, 2p, 7¼x9¾, front and verso. No place, no date, but circa 1833. Postscript written on verso of an address leaf addressed in his hand to his son: "John H Deringer Esq/Tioga Village/Tioga County/Penna". In full: "P.S. I am pleased to hear that you have commenced selling goods and that you are coming on so well, keep steady to your business and all will go right and straight." Ink note (unknown hand) on address side: "Henry Derringer [sic]/1833". Henry Deringer (1786-1868) invented the short barreled, heavy caliber pocket pistol that still bears his name. (The pistol type is spelled "Derringer"; only those of his manufacture are spelled with the single "r".) The popular weapon, easily concealable but packing a wallop, was "the weapon of choice of riverboat gamblers". John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln with an original Deringer. Deringer autographs are rare. Mailing fold at the "HD". Fragile. read more...

LOUIS CHEVROLET Extremely rare letter written as President of the Chevrolet Aircraft Corporation to an Assistant Engineer at Pitcairn Field in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Typed Letter signed: "Louis Chevrolet" as President of the Chevrolet Aircraft Corporation, 1¼p, 8½x11, separate sheets. Baltimore, Md., 1930 November 18. On company letterhead to Walter C. Clayton, Asst. Engr., Pitcairn Aircraft, Pitcairn Field, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. In part: "In regard to the first paragraph of your letter, we do not know exactly how much of a head the gasoline tank should have over the carburetor float, not having tried anything of the kind, but should judge that a minimum of six to eight inches would work satisfactorily on climbing. In level flight you probably will have plenty of gas head, and we are sending you a new blue print showing you where the float level is...As stated before, we have never contemplated using the Haywood Starter, but if it fits your scheme we will send a cylinder head to the Sky Specialties Company of Detroit and have them advise us the best place to put a boss in our cylinder head for the installation of their starter. read more...

THOMAS A. EDISON. Partly printed historic Manuscript DS: "T.A. Edison," and on a 5-cent Revenue Stamp bearing George Washington's likeness "TAE/Jan 17/1872", 1p, 8½x14. New York, 1872 January 17. The 24-year-old inventor sells the rights to his invention of an improvement in District and Alarm Telegraphs. Edison had been a telegraph operator. At the time of this document, Edison was immersed in devising inventions for the use and improvement of the telegraph. He had also been involved in the improvement of the stock ticker. With the $40,000 he gained from selling some of his stock ticker inventions he was able to establish his Newark, NJ laboratory. His years at Newark (1870-1876) were characterized by a number of telegraph patents and partnerships. The year of this document marked the start of a four-year period during which Edison conducted the manufacturing of telegraphic instruments for Western Union Telegraphic Co. and the Automatic Telegraph Co. He had several workshops in Newark. read more...

SAMUEL F.B. MORSE and SARAH E. MORSE The two sign a 3-page, handwritten 1863 letter to their son Willy, away at school Autograph letter signed: "Yr Affectionate Father/Saml F.B. Morse" and "Your loving mother/S.E. Morse", 1 page, 4½x7½. 5 West 32nd Street, 1863 November 22. To their son Willy. Samuel F. B. Morse married his second wife, Sarah Elizabeth Griswold, in 1848. In a three-page letter, Mrs. Morse writes about family affairs, about his pet "Spottie is full of mischief. He tears many things that comes in his way." She tells him she is "going to have somethings on Christmas" wanting to know if he has "enough handkerchiefs...." Beneath his wife's signature, Morse writes, in part: "I add a few lines to your dear mother's letter. She says the truth when she says she thinks of you every day. Both you & dear Arthur are constantly in our thoughts...You must do all you can to please Mrs. Charles, Mrs. Fay and the other teachers and be diligent in your Studies...." Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872) was an American painter and inventor. read more...

LOUIS PASTEUR This framed handwritten letter was signed by the microbiologist and was sent to a boy who he treated for an illness Autograph Letter Signed: "L. Pasteur". One page. 3¾x4¾. Paris, January 21, 1888. On letterhead imprinted with his initials to "My dear child". In French, translated. In full: "I beg your father to allow me the pleasure of answering his letter of 13 January by writing directly to you. How saddened I was to learn you were still suffering from the wound to your arm. Tell me when it will be completely healed with scar. Your general health is, however, good. That is most essential and I rejoice with your parents and friends and hope you count me among them. Please receive, my dear child, the assurance of many many good wishes which I send you for your good health and happiness.". Pasteur sent this letter to a boy he had treated for rabies with an experimental vaccination. Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) was a chemist and biologist who is considered one of a handful of the most important pioneers of microbiology. read more...

GATLING TELLS COLT PATENT FIRE ARMS THAT THE STATE OF NEW YORK "HAS SENT TWO GATLING GUNS HERE FOR REPAIRS"   RICHARD J. GATLING. TLS: "R.J. Gatling", 1p, 8½x11½. Hartford, Conn., 1885 April 14. As President, on stationery of The Gatling Gun Company. To Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company, Hartford. In full: "The Chief of Ordnance, State of New York, advises us that he has sent two Gatling Guns here for repairs, and that if anything is needed in the way of appendages or spare parts, that he be furnished with a list of the same, before he gives the order for them. As soon as the guns are received, please put them in good working order, and furnish us with a list of the articles required as above." Exactly 20 years before this letter was written, John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln with a Derringer pistol. Twelve days later, U.S. Cavalry Sgt. Boston Corbett shot Booth with a Colt revolver. By the 1850s, Richard J. Gatling (1818-1903) had become wealthy from agricultural inventions such as machines for sowing rice and wheat. read more...

THOMAS A. EDISON The famous inventor penned a section of answers on this questionnaire! Printed Questionnaire filled out by an assistant who has signed: "Thomas A. Edison" at the conclusion, but with 11 words in Edison's hand, 1p, 7¾x10½. J.K. Macomber, Professor of Physics at the Physical Laboratory Agricultural College in Ames, Iowa, sent Edison and other authorities in the field, a printed questionnaire, dated September 27, 1879. Macomber message, in part: "The people of the Western States have been imposed upon by lightning-rod peddlers more, perhaps, than by any other class of swindlers. Among other rods being sold in Iowa is one known as the 'Chambers' rod, widely has been patented by the 'Chambers' National Lightning Protection Company,' of Cincinnati, Ohio. Briefly, this system consists on an Iron rod running along the ridge of the building with points at each end projecting upward…Many public buildings in thus State have been furnished with these rods…I beg leave to submit the following interrogations." Macomber lists seven questions for Edison to answer. read more...

ROBERT FULTON Fulton signed this document - buying 32 lots of land in the town of Jersey, New Jersey for $1,000 - in 1809. He signed it the same year that he filed his first patent for improvements in navigation by steam and one year after marrying his wife Harriet Livingston. Pieces by Fulton are rare in any form, and legal documents, like this, are doubly so. Accompanied by an unsigned engraving of Fulton based on an Alonzo Chappel portrait. Manuscript document signed "Robert Fulton". 3 pages plus docket, 7½x12¼, 2 sheets front and verso, with embossed Jersey Company seal and 1-inch square paper seal on page 3 by signatures. Nov. 3, 1809. This document was signed between Fulton and the president of the Jersey Company. Fulton agreed to buy a block of land containing 32 lots in the town of Jersey in Bergen County, New Jersey for $1,000. Fulton signed this document one year after marrying Harriet Livingston, his partner's niece, and the same year that he filed his first patent for improvements in navigation by steam. Fulton is scarce in any form and this is a fine example suitable for framing and display. Lightly toned, stained, soiled and creased. Random ink stains. Edges are torn. Pinholes in both sheets. read more...