The southern enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1854-1870, 1869-07-14
"Reminiscences of q r emarkabls
-s,, Man.

Joseph Dixon, who died in Jersey
City on Monday aged u, was a
mos remarkable, not to say extra.
ordinary, man. fTc made mn.
chine TO cut files before lie attain
cd bis majority, learned the print.
er's trade, afterwards that of wood
engraving, then lithography, and
afterwards studied medicine, and
in that copnections became interest.
ed in chemistry, becoming finally
one of the most accomplished and
comprehensive chemists in the
country. He was thorough op-
..tician, and lad no equal in his
knowledge of photography. He
took up the experiments of Da-
gnerre In 1889, and was probably
the first person to take a portrait
by the camera. He showed Pref
Mofse how to, take portraits by
means of a reflector, so that the
subjectsshouh not appear reversed.
Morse tried 70 get the plan pat.
'entcd in Europe. Mr.. Dixon bn 1t
the first locomotive, with wooden
wheels, but with titeBame -double
crank now used; it CAUSED a sneer
at tile time, bat when it became
demonstrated that a steam 'engine
could run on wheels and perform
the services OF beasts of burden,
his double crank was adopted. lie
originated the process of transfer.
ring on stone, now used the world
oyer by photographers. He origl-
mated the process Of photolithogra.
ply, and published it years before
it was believed to be useful. BY
his process Of transferring, the old
bank notes werc easily counterfeit.
ed, and it wasto guard against the
abuse of his own process that he
brought out the system Of printing
in colors on tire bills, and had tile
method patented, but never re,
ceived any benefit from the patent,
all the banks having used il withs
out, pay. Many Of our read rrs
viii remember the original "red
dog" money and the present pro.
cess used by the Government, tor
printing in colors, for which a
large amount is paid to patentees,
is the old process of. Mr. Dixon,
for which hie patent had expired
lohg, before, and the present pat.
ents are, therefore, untenable. He
perfected the system of making
collodion Tor the. photographers,
and assisted Mr.. Harrison in get
ting a true system for grinding the
lenses for camera tubes He orig
mated the antifriction metal, that
has been for great many years
known as " Babbit metal" and he
is the father of the steel melting
business 10 this country lie orig.
mated q vast number Of machines
and processes that do not occur to
us at this moment, but lie is most
widely known among lnannfactur.
ers as the originatorsof the plum.
bago crucible as now made. He
started the business in 1897, in Sa-
lem, Mass, and brought tito Jer-
.scy City in lS47. Ills name had
become known in all civilized
countries as crncible maker, and
his establishment in Jersey City is
the largest OF the kind in the world
He was singnlarly selfreliant, nev,
er failed la bic mechanical under.
takingsa even III. tile last, that OF
thegreat orchestrion, that occupied
his time for nearly eleven years,
but which stood before him per,
feet at last, and eth stands--a
monument Of Ills great skill, pa.
tispce aad perseverance,. lie was
sseltcducated. - -, -. y, '.as, p.ls
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