July 14th, 2011
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/14/2011
ERICSSON, John (1803-1889) was a Swedish-American inventor and mechanical engineer. On September 26, 1854 Ericsson presented Napoleon III of France with drawings of iron-clad armored battle ships with a dome-shaped gun tower, and even though the French emperor praised this invention, he did nothing to bring it to practical application. Shortly after the American Civil War broke out in 1861, the Confederacy began developing an ironclad based on the hull of the USS Merrimack which had been burned by Federal troops before the naval base at Norfolk — Gosport Navy Yard — had been captured by the recently seceded Commonwealth of Virginia. The United States Congress addressed this issue in August 1861 and recommended that armored ships be built for the Union Navy. Ericsson still had a dislike of the U.S. Navy but he was convinced by Cornelius Scranton Bushnell to work on an ironclad for them. Ericsson presented drawings of the USS Monitor, a novel design of armored ship, which after much controversy was eventually built and finished on March 6, 1862. The ship went from plans to launch in approximately 100 days, an amazing achievement. On March 8, the Southern ironclad CSS Virginia was wreaking havoc on the Union Blockading Squadron in Virginia. Then, with the appearance of the Monitor, a battle on March 9, 1862 at Hampton Roads, Virginia, ended in a stalemate between the two iron warships, and saved the Northern fleet from defeat. After this, numerous monitors were built, and are believed to have considerably influenced the victory of the Northern states. Although primitive by modern standards, many basic design elements of the Monitor were copied in future warships by other designers. Later, Ericsson worked with torpedo inventions, in particular the Destroyer, a torpedo boat that could fire a cannon from an underwater port. He also provided some technical support for John Philip Holland in his early submarine experiments. In the book Contributions to the Centennial Exhibition (1877) he presented his "sun engines", which collected solar heat for a hot air engine. One of these designs earned Ericsson additional sums after being converted to work as a methane gas engine. Although none of his inventions created any large industries, he is regarded as one of the most influential mechanical engineers ever. Autograph Letter Signed “J. Ericsson” 1-1/2pp. quarto, October 18, 1858, and reads in part: “...I went to Strang’s on Saturday and in less than 1 1/2 hour had the heater out and in a cart destined for [Cornelius] DeLameter’s. By 8 o’clock the new heater was at Strang’s door, but through misunderstanding and superlative stupidity the door was closed, and the heater had to be placed in an adjoining grey shop. I can find no words to express my annoyance as I had determined not to go to bed on Saturday night until Strang’s engine was in perfect working order....I saw the new heater fitted to its place...By 10 oclock the presses I trust will be in full blast....The application of the vacuum cylinder for the back stroke Tyler thinks remains the last objective. Put our friend down as one who will make the patent valuable. As soon as Mr. T returns from the south he will knock at the door of the patenter for a license...” More. Very good condition.
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