Article ID: CBB182481800

When Machines Became Gray and Drawings Black and White: William Sellers and the Rationalization of Mechanical Engineering (1999)

unapi

William Sellers & Co. ranked among the most influential machine tool builders in 19th-century America. Although much acknowledged, the firm has received little detailed study, as most of its business records do not survive. This article uses two recently discovered sources, patent extension files and a trove of Sellers' mechanical drawings, to provide a narrative history of the Sellers firm from 1848 to 1905, the period of its greatest influence. Few industrial histories have relied upon dimensioned drawings, so this account also explores the value and limitations of this particular kind of primary source. The firm's drawings and its drawing office practices provide unique insights into William Sellers' efforts to rationalize the professional knowledge and practice of mechanical engineering during the first industrial revolution. [2001 Norton Prize winner]

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Authors & Contributors
Gordon, Robert B.
Darnell, Victor C.
Louis W. Potts
Gray Fitzsimons
Eric DeLony
Richard K. Anderson
Concepts
Industrial archaeology
Design
Business enterprises
Business history
Civil engineering
Technological innovation
Time Periods
19th century
20th century
21st century
20th century, early
18th century
Places
United States
Rhode Island (U.S.)
Seattle (Washington, U.S.)
England
Michigan (U.S.)
Germany
Institutions
West Point Foundry
Pennsylvania Railroad
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company
U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record
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