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John Ericsson collection

Call Number

MS 439.16

Date

1831-1893 (bulk 1862-1888), inclusive

Creator

Church, William Conant, 1836-1917
Ericsson, John, 1803-1889

Extent

9 Linear feet (21 boxes, 2 volumes)

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are in English

Abstract

The collection includes correspondence and other materials detailing Ericsson's design and testing of iron-clad and torpedo-armed ships for the US and other navies, including Monitor and Destroyer, as well as his writings on other areas of interest. The materials in this collection have been digitized and are available online to on-site researchers and to users affiliated with subscribing institutions via EBSCOhost.

Biographical Note

Born in Sweden in 1803, Ericsson emigrated first to England (1826) and then to the United States (1839). Having shown early promise as an engineer, and holding numerous patents for steam-powered engines, he designed the first screw-driven steamship to cross the Atlantic (Robert F. Stockton, 1839) and the first propeller-driven steam warship for the US Navy (USS Princeton, 1842). In 1861 he contracted with the Navy to build in 100 days an ironclad warship, Monitor, which successfully fought the Confederate ironclad Virginia (originally Merrimack) at Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, before sinking off Cape Hatteras later that year. After the Civil War, he pursued his interests in torpedo-armed vessels, and in a variety of scientific and engineering subjects, including solar energy. He died in New York in 1889 and was interred in Sweden in 1890.

Scope and Content Note

The collection includes original correspondence to and copies from John Ericsson (the latter predominantly in the hand of his secretary, Samuel W. Taylor, and a few autograph) as well as telegrams, invoices, receipts, writings, clippings, articles, an account book, and a volume listing his articles on torpedo warfare. The materials were a gift in 1912 to the Naval History Society from Ericsson's biographer William Conant Church, and the correspondence is annotated and underlined throughout in various colors, perhaps by him as part of his research for "The Life of John Ericsson" (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1890). Undated materials appear to have been from Church's research and papers, and include separated and unidentified documents. The materials are mostly in English, with some in Swedish and German. The collection has been digitized and is available online to on-site researchers and to users affiliated with subscribing institutions via EBSCOhost.

The collection documents many aspects of Ericsson's engineering interests and projects: the building and testing of ironclad warships to his specifications for the United States (USS Monitor, 1862) and other governments (Peru: May 1862; Greece: January 1869; Spain: May 1869; China: October 1880, spring 1883); the costs of construction through his extensive contact with Delamater and other ironworks and foundries as well as negotiations with Congress (1864-1865); applications and renewals of patents (1830s, 1840s, December 1864, July 1866); experiments with solar energy (1868, July 1872); design and testing of torpedo warships, including detailed expenses for Destroyer (January 1873, September 1874, April 1875, 1878-1882, January 1889) and reports on its trials (October 1883); as well as various complete lists of ironclads built to Ericsson's specifications (May 1866, December 1867, July 1877).

Highlights of the collection include copies of Ericsson's January 20, 1862, letter to Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Vasa Fox (see Series 17), proposing the name Monitor for his ironclad vessel; and his January 30, 1873, letter to President Ulysses S. Grant explaining that the torpedo systems currently in use are inadequate for the country's defense.

The Ericsson Collection forms Series 16 of the Naval History Society Collection, comprising 53 individual collections named for famous naval figures and ships, as well as the records of the Naval History Society itself, and donated to the New-York Historical Society by the Naval History Society in 1925.

An extensive collection of Ericsson's papers is housed at the Library of Congress.

Access Restrictions

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Use Restrictions

Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.

Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.

Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as NHSC-Ericsson (MS 439.16), New-York Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated to the New-York Historical Society by the Naval History Society in 1925.

Custodial History

The collection was originally donated to the Naval History Society (NHS) in 1912 by John Ericsson's biographer, William Conant Church. It formed Series 16 of NHS's collection and was donated to New-York Historical Society in 1925 along with all of NHS's collections at that time.

Related Material at The New-York Historical Society

A chronological inventory of the papers of John Ericsson (from 1831 to July 1865 only) in the Naval History Society's collection was prepared in 1984 and is available in the repository.

The John Ericsson papers owned by the American Swedish Historical Foundation are available on microfilm.

The New-York Historical Society's Miscellaneous Manuscripts collection includes three autograph letters of John Ericsson's.

Collection processed by

Processed by Celia Hartmann

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:46:43 -0400.
Language: Finding aid is written in English

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024