William Sawyer manuscript history of the Corliss steam-engine
name: label: Collector
content: Vogel, Robert M.
label: Author
content: Sawyer, William D.
label: Creator
content: Corliss, George H. (George Henry), 1817-1888
topic: label: Topic
content: Steam-engines
label: Topic
content: Corliss steam-engine
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated to the Archives Center by Robert Vogel, former curator in the Division of Engineering and Industry (now the Division of Work and Industry) in 2014. William Sawyer had given the materials to Vogel in 1988.
creator: label: Collector
content: Vogel, Robert M.
label: Author
content: Sawyer, William D.
setName: label: See more items in
content: William Sawyer manuscript history of the Corliss steam-engine
abstract: label: Summary
content: This collection contains a manuscript history of the Corliss Engine written by William Sawyer. The documents include text with written edits and illustrations.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: William Sawyer, the author of Corliss, man and engine, is an independent scholar of the history of the stationary steam engine. Sawyer's research was supported by materials from Brown University, the Smithsonian Institution, and other libraries and archives with holdings related to the topic.

The text was considered for publication by Lindsay Publications, Inc., a well-known publisher in the history of technology field, but was not published for "various reasons." The first twenty-one pages of this manuscript are in the typeset format used by Brown, with the rest unformatted. This particular copy dates to 1988, after it was typeset by Brown and before its eventual publication in Stationary Power, the Journal of the International Stationary Steam Engine Society in 1999.

This manuscript was donated to the Archives Center by Robert M. Vogel, Curator Emeritus of Mechanical and Civil Engineering at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution in 2014. He had been given a copy by the author for copy and content editing, but was unable to finish before his retirement. The hand-written edits on the manuscript belong to Vogel. Vogel also provided the illustrations credited to the Smithsonian Institution and the author.

According to Sawyer, a Corliss engine is a type of "stationary reciprocating steam engine, bolted down to a foundation, and used to provide power for factories and other users in which the machine(s) driven are fixed in one place" (Chapter 1, Corliss—Man and  Engine). George Corliss received US Patent 6162 for his valve gear on March 10, 1849, a type of steam engine which ran more efficiently on less fuel. The patent covered the use of a wrist-plate to convey the valve motion from a single eccentric to the four valves of the engine, as well as the use of trip valves with variable cutoffs under governor control that were associated with Corliss Engines.

Sources

Donor Foreword, Corliss Steam Engine Reference Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Corliss—Man and Engine, Corliss Steam Engine Reface Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.3 Cubic feet (2 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1988
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1329
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Manuscripts
label: Type
content: Photocopies
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Xerographic copies
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into one series.

Series 1: William Sawyer, History of the Corliss Engine Manuscript, 1988
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Holly Nelson, intern, 2016.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Manuscripts -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Photocopies
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings -- 1980-1990
label: Genre/Form
content: Xerographic copies
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection consists of  a manuscript about George Corliss by William Sawyer, 1988, Corliss--Man and Engine with photocopies of drawings and illustrations.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials in the Archives Center

Chuse Engine and Manufacturing Company Records (AC1088)

Evolution of the Corliss Steam Engine Album (AC1016)