| Description | Letters from the American steam boat pioneer Robert Fulton, from 1794, 1803 to 1805, 1810 and 1812; also two letters from Charles Augustus Dale from 1817. Fulton ordered two engines from Boulton Watt & Co. The first was ordered in 1804 and powered a boat which carried passengers between New York and Albany on the Hudson River; the second one was ordered in 1810, but Fulton died before it was delivered to him. His will appointed his wife as his executrix. She re-married and in 1817 her new husband Charles Augustus Dale came to England and enquired about the engine and any outstanding accounts.
The first letter from 1794, enquiring about a 3 or 4 horse engine for a boat, appears to have been removed from John Southern’s series of incoming letters from 1788 to 1798. It is not clear when it was added to the bundle.
For drawings of Fulton’s engines and boats and copies of his patents see Portfolios 5/1244a—c. |