,the ,colored ,inventor  ,a ,,record    
,,of ,,fifty ,,years  ,by ,,henry ,e4   
,,baker4 ,assistant ,examiner ,united   
,states ,patent ,office   ,illustration3
 ,,henry ,e4 ,,baker4     ,the year     
#aiac marks the close of the first fifty
 years since ,abraham ,lincoln issued   
that famous edict known as the          
emancipation proclamation1 by which     
physical freedom was vouchsafed to the  
slaves and the descendants of slaves in 
this country4 ,and it would seem        
entirely fit and proper that those who  
were either directly or indirectly      
benefited by that proclamation should   
pause long enough at this period in     
their national life to review the past1 
recount the progress made1 and see1 if  
possible1 what of the future is         
disclosed in the past4  ,that the       
colored people in the ,united ,states   
have made substantial progress in the   
general spread of intelligence among    
them1 and in elevating the tone of their
 moral life2 in the acquisition of      

property2 in the development and support
 of business enterprises1 and in the    
professional activities1 is a matter of 
quite common assent by those who have   
been at all observant on the subject4   
,this fact is amply shown to be true by 
the many universities1 colleges and     
schools organized1 supported and manned 
by the race1 by their attractive homes  
and cultured home life1 found now in all
 parts of our country2 by the increasing
 numbers of those of the race who are   
successfully engaging in professional   
life1 and by the gradual advance the    
race is making toward business          
efficiency in many varied lines of      
business activity4  ,it is not so       
apparent1 however1 to the general public
 that along the line of inventions also 
the colored race has made surprising and
 substantial progress2 and that it has  
followed1 even if afar off1 the         
footsteps of the more favored race4 ,and
 it is highly important1 therefore1 that
 we should make note of what the race   

has achieved along this line to the end 
that proper credit may be accorded it as
 having made some contribution to our   
national progress4  ,standing foremost  
in the list of things that have actually
 done most to promote our national      
progress in all material ways is the    
item of inventions4 ,without inventions 
we should have had no agricultural      
implements with which to till the       
fertile fields of our vast continent2 no
 mining machinery for recovering the    
rich treasure that for centuries lay    
hidden beneath our surface2 no steamcar 
or steamboat for transporting the       
products of field and mine2 no machinery
 for converting those products into     
other forms of commercial needs2 no     
telegraph or telephone for the speedy   
transmission of messages1 no means for  
discovering and controlling the various 
utilitarian applications of electricity2
 no one of those delicate instruments   
which enable the skilful surgeon of     
to-day to transform and renew the human 

body1 and often to make life itself     
stand erect1 as it were1 in the very    
presence of death4 ,without inventions  
we could have none of those numerous    
instruments which to-day in the hands of
 the scientist enable him accurately to 
forecast the weather1 to anticipate and 
provide against storms on land and at   
sea1 to detect seismic disturbances and 
warn against the dangers incident to    
their repetition2 and no wireless       
telegraphy with its manifold blessings  
to humanity4  ,all these great          
achievements have come to us from the   
hand of the inventor4 ,he it is who has 
enabled us to inhabit the air above us1 
to tunnel the earth beneath1 explore the
 mysteries of the sea1 and in a thousand
 ways1 unknown to our forefathers1      
multiply human comforts and minimize    
human misery4 ,indeed1 it is difficult  
to recall a single feature of our       
national progress along material lines  
that has not been vitalized by the touch
 of the inventor's genius4  ,into this  

vast yet specific field of scientific   
industry the colored man has1 contrary  
to the belief of many1 made his entry1  
and has brought to his work in it that  
same degree of patient inquisitiveness1 
plodding industry and painstaking       
experiment that has so richly rewarded  
others in the same line of endeavor1    
namely1 the endeavor both to create new 
things and to effect such new           
combinations of old things as will adapt
 them to new uses4 ,we know that the    
colored man has accomplished            
something--indeed1 a very great deal--in
 the field of invention1 but it would be
 of the first importance to us now to   
know exactly what he has done1 and the  
commercial value of his productions4    
,unfortunately for us1 however1 this can
 never be known in all its completeness4
  ,a very recent experiment in the      
matter of collecting information on this
 subject has disclosed some remarkably  
striking facts1 not the least           
interesting of which is the very        

widespread belief among those who ought 
to know better that the colored man has 
done absolutely nothing of value in the 
line of invention4 ,this is but a reflex
 of the opinions variously expressed by 
others at different times on the subject
 of the capacity of the colored man for 
mental work of a high order4 ,thomas    
,jefferson's remark that no colored man 
could probably be found who was capable 
of taking in and comprehending ,euclid1 
and that none had made any contribution 
to the civilization of the world through
 his art1 would perhaps appear somewhat 
excusable when viewed in the light of   
the prevailing conditions in his day1   
and on which1 of course1 his judgment   
was based2 but even at that time        
,jefferson knew something of the        
superior quality of ,benjamin           
,banneker's mental equipment1 for it is 
on record that they exchanged letters on
 that subject4  ,coming down to a later 
day1 when our race as a whole had       
shared1 to some extent at least1 in the 

progress of learning1 so well informed  
an exponent of popular thought as ,henry
 ,ward ,beecher is said to have declared
 that the whole ,african race in its    
native land could be obliterated from   
the face of the earth without loss to   
civilization1 and yet ,beecher knew1 or 
should have known1 of the scholarly ,dr4
 ,blyden1 of ,liberia1 who was at one   
time president of the college of        
,liberia at ,monrovia1 and minister from
 his country to the ,court of ,st4      
,james1 and whose contributions to the  
leading magazines of ,europe and        
,america were eagerly accepted and      
widely read on both continents4  ,less  
than ten years ago1 in a hotly contested
 campaign in the ,state of ,maryland1 a 
popular candidate for ,congress         
remarked1 in one of his speeches1 that  
the colored race should be denied the   
right to vote because none of them had  
ever evinced sufficient capacity to     
justify such a privilege1 and that no   
one of the race had ever yet reached the

 dignity of an inventor4 ,yet1 at that  
very moment1 there was in the ,library  
of ,congress in ,washington a book of   
nearly #ejj pages containing a list of  
nearly #djj patents representing the    
inventions of colored people4  ,only a  
few years later a leading newspaper in  
the city of ,richmond1 ,va41 made the   
bold statement that of the many         
thousands of patents annually granted by
 our government to the inventors of our 
country1 not a single patent had ever   
been granted to a colored man4 ,of      
course this statement was untrue1 but   
what of that8 ,it told its tale1 and    
made its impression--far and wide2 and  
it is incumbent upon our race now to    
outrun that story1 to correct that      
impression1 and to let the world know   
the truth4  ,in a recent correspondence 
that has reached nearly two-thirds of   
the more than #ab1jjj registered patent 
attorneys in this country1 who are      
licensed to prosecute applications for  
patents before the ,patent ,office at   

,washington1 it is astonishing to have  
nearly #b1ejj of them reply that they   
never heard of a colored inventor1 and  
not a few of them add that they never   
expect to hear of one4 ,one practising  
attorney1 writing from a small town in  
,tennessee1 said that he not only has   
never heard of a colored man inventing  
anything1 but that he and the other     
lawyers to whom he passed the inquiry in
 that locality were inclined to regard  
the whole subject as a joke4 ,and this1 
remember1 comes from practising lawyers1
 presumably men of affairs1 and of      
judgment1 and who keep somewhat ahead of
 the average citizen in their close     
observation of the trend of things4     
,now there ought not to be anything     
strange or unbelievable in the fact that
 in any given group of more than        
#aj1jjj1jjj human beings1 of whatever   
race1 living in our age1 in our country1
 and developing under our laws1 one can 
find multiplied examples of every mental
 bent1 of every stage of mental         

development1 and of every evidence of   
mental perception that could be found in
 any other similar group of human beings
 of any other race2 and yet1 so set has 
become the traditional attitude of one  
class in our country toward the other   
class that the one class continually    
holds up before its eyes an imaginary   
boundary line in all things mental1     
beyond which it seems unwilling to admit
 that it is possible for the other class
 to go4  ,under this condition of the   
general class thought in our country it 
has become the fixed conviction that no 
colored man has any well-defined power  
of initiative1 that the colored man has 
no originality of thought1 that in his  
mental operations he is everlastingly   
content to pursue the beaten paths of   
imitation1 that therefore he has made no
 contribution to the inventive genius of
 our country1 and so has gained no place
 for himself in the ranks of those who  
have made this nation the foremost      
nation of the world in the number and   

character of its inventions4  ,that this
 conclusion with reference to the       
colored man's inventive faculty is      
wholly untrue ,i will endeavor now to   
show4  ,in the world of invention the   
colored man has pursued the same line of
 activity that other men have followed2 
he has been spurred by the same         
necessity that has confronted other men1
 namely1 the need for some device by    
which to minimize the exactions of his  
daily toil1 to save his time1 conserve  
his strength and multiply the results of
 his labor4 ,like other men1 the colored
 man sought first to invent the thing   
that was related to his earlier         
occupations1 and as his industrial      
pursuits became more varied his         
inventive genius widened                
correspondingly4 ,thus we find that the 
first recorded instances of patents     
having been granted to a colored        
man--and the only ones specifically so  
designated--are the two patents on corn 
harvesters which were granted in #ahcd  

and #ahcf to one ,henry ,blair1 of      
,maryland1 presumably a free person of  
color1 as the law was so construed at   
that time as to bar the issuance of a   
patent to a slave4  ,with the exception 
of these two instances the public       
records of the ,patent ,office give     
absolutely no hint as to whether any one
 of the more than #a1jjj1jjj patents    
granted by this government to           
meritorious inventors from all parts of 
the world has been granted to a colored 
inventor4 ,the records make clear enough
 distinctions as to nationality1 but    
absolutely none as to race4 ,this policy
 of having the public records           
distinguish between inventors of        
different nationalities only is a       
distinct disadvantage to the colored    
race in this country4  ,if the inventors
 of ,england or ,france or ,germany or  
,italy1 or any other country1 desire to 
ascertain the number and character of   
the inventions patented to the citizens 
of their respective countries1 it would 

require but a few hours of work to get  
exact statistics on the subject1 but not
 so with the colored inventor4 ,here1 as
 elsewhere1 he has a hard road to       
travel4  ,in fact1 it seems absolutely  
impossible to get even an approximately 
correct answer to that question for our 
race4 ,whatever of statistics one is    
able to get on this subject must be     
obtained almost wholly in a haphazard   
sort of way from persons not employed in
 the ,patent ,office1 and who must1 in  
the great majority of cases1 rely on    
their memory to some extent for the     
facts they give4 ,under such            
circumstances as these it is easy to see
 the large amount of labor involved in  
getting up such statistics as may be    
relied upon as being true4  ,there have 
been two systematic efforts made by the 
,patent ,office itself to get this      
information1 one of them being in       
operation at the present time4 ,the     
effort is made through a circular letter
 addressed to the thousands of patent   

attorneys throughout the country1 who   
come in contact often with inventors as 
their clients1 to popular and           
influential newspapers1 to conspicuous  
citizens of both races1 and to the      
owners of large manufacturing industries
 where skilled mechanics of both races  
are employed1 all of whom are asked to  
report what they happen to know on the  
subject under inquiry4  ,the answers to 
this inquiry cover a wide range of      
guesswork1 many mere rumors and a large 
number of definite facts4 ,these are all
 put through the test of comparison with
 the official records of the ,patent    
,office1 and this sifting process has   
evolved such facts as form the basis of 
the showing presented here4  ,there is  
just one other source of information    
which1 though its yield of facts is     
small1 yet makes up in reliability what 
it lacks in numerousness2 and that is   
where the inventor himself comes to the 
,patent ,office to look after his       
invention4 ,this does not often happen1 

but it rarely leaves anything to the    
imagination when it does happen4        
,sometimes it has been difficult to get 
this information by correspondence even 
from colored inventors themselves4 ,many
 of them refuse to acknowledge that     
their inventions are in any way         
identified with the colored race1 on the
 ground1 presumably1 that the           
publication of that fact might adversely
 affect the commercial value of their   
invention2 and in view of the prevailing
 sentiment in many sections of our      
country1 it cannot be denied that much  
reason lies at the bottom of such       
conclusion4  ,notwithstanding the       
difficulties above mentioned as standing
 in the way of getting at the whole     
truth1 something over #a1bjj instances  
have been gathered as representing      
patents granted to colored inventors1   
but so far only about #hjj of these have
 been verified as definitely belonging  
to that class4  ,these #hjj patents tell
 a wonderful story of the progress of   

the race in the mastery of the science  
of mechanics4 ,they cover inventions of 
more or less importance in all the      
branches of mechanics1 in chemical      
compounds1 in surgical instruments1 in  
electrical utilities1 and in the fine   
arts as well4  ,from the numerous       
statements made by various attorneys to 
the effect that they have had several   
colored clients whose names they could  
not recall1 and whose inventions they   
could not identify on their books1 it is
 practically certain that the nearly    
#hjj verified patents do not represent  
more than one-half of those that have   
been actually granted to colored        
inventors1 and that the credit for these
 must perhaps forever lie hidden in the 
unbreakable silence of official records4
  ,but before directing attention       
specifically to some of the very        
interesting details disclosed by this   
latest investigation into the subject1  
let us consider for a brief moment a few
 of the inventions which colored men    

have made1 but for which no patents     
appear to be of record4  ,i should place
 foremost among these that wonderful    
clock constructed by our first          
astronomer1 ,benjamin ,banneker1 of     
,maryland4 ,banneker's span of earthly  
existence covered the #ge years from    
#agca to #ahjf4 ,his parentage was of   
,african and ,english origin1 and his   
mental equipment was far above the      
average of his day and locality in      
either race4 ,aside from his            
agricultural pursuits1 on which he      
relied for a livelihood1 he devoted his 
time mainly to scientific and mechanical
 studies1 producing two things by which 
he will be long remembered3 ,an almanac 
and a clock4 ,the latter he constructed 
with crude tools1 and with no knowledge 
of any other timepiece except a watch   
and a sundial2 yet the clock he made was
 so perfect in every detail of its      
mechanical construction1 so accurate in 
the mathematical calculations involved1 
that it struck the hours with faultless 

precision for twenty years1 and was the 
mechanical wonder of his day and        
locality4  ,another instance is that of 
,mr4 ,james ,forten1 of ,philadelphia1  
who is credited with the invention of an
 apparatus for managing sails4 ,he lived
 from #agff to #ahdb1 and his biographer
 says he amassed a competence from his  
invention and lived in leisurely comfort
 as a consequence4  ,still another      
instance is that of ,robert ,benjamin   
,lewis1 who was born in ,gardiner1 ,me41
 in #ahjb4 ,he invented a machine for   
picking oakum1 which machine is said to 
be in use to-day in all the essential   
particulars of its original form by the 
shipbuilding interests of ,maine1       
especially at ,bath4  ,it is of common  
knowledge that in the ,south1 prior to  
the ,war of the ,rebellion1 the burden  
of her industries1 mechanical as well as
 agricultural1 fell upon the colored    
population4 ,they formed the great      
majority of her mechanics and skilled   
artisans as well as of her ordinary     

laborers1 and from this class of workmen
 came a great variety of the ordinary   
mechanical appliances1 the invention of 
which grew directly out of the problems 
presented by their daily employment4    
,there has been a somewhat persistent   
rumor that a slave either invented the  
cotton gin or gave to ,eli ,whitney1 who
 obtained a patent for it1 valuable     
suggestions to aid in the completion of 
that invention4 ,i have not been able to
 find any substantial proof to sustain  
that rumor4 ,mr4 ,daniel ,murray1 of the
 ,library of ,congress1 contributed a   
very informing article on that subject  
to the ,voice of the ,negro1 in #aije1  
but ,mr4 ,murray did not reach          
conclusions favorable to the contention 
on behalf of the colored man4  ,it is   
said that the zigzag fence1 so commonly 
used by farmers and others1 was         
originally introduced into this country 
by ,african slaves4  ,we come now to    
consider the list of more modern        
inventions1 those inventions from which 

the element of uncertainty is wholly    
eliminated1 and which are represented in
 the patent records of our government4  
,in this verified list of nearly #hjj   
patents granted by our government to the
 inventors of our race we find that they
 have applied their inventive talent to 
the whole range of inventive subjects2  
that in agricultural implements1 in wood
 and metal-working machines1 in land    
conveyances on road and track1 in       
seagoing vessels1 in chemical compounds1
 in electricity through all its wide    
range of uses1 in aeronautics1 in new   
designs of house furniture and          
bric--brac1 in mechanical toys and      
amusement devices1 the colored inventor 
has achieved such success as should     
present to the race a distinctly        
hope-inspiring spectacle4  ,of course it
 is not possible1 in this particular    
presentation of the subject1 to dwell   
much at length upon the merits of any   
considerable number of individual cases4
 ,this feature will be brought out more 

fully in the larger publication on this 
subject which the writer now has in     
course of preparation4 ,but there are   
several conspicuous examples of success 
in this line of endeavor that should be 
fully emphasized in any treatment of    
this subject4 ,i like to tell of what   
has been done by ,granville ,t4 ,woods  
and his brother ,lyates1 of ,new ,york2 
by ,elijah ,mc,coy1 of ,detroit2 by     
,joseph ,hunter ,dickinson1 of ,new     
,jersey2 by ,william ,b4 ,purvis1 of    
,philadelphia2 ,ferrell and ,creamer1 of
 ,new ,york2 by ,douglass1 of ,ohio2    
,murray1 of ,south ,carolina2           
,matzeliger1 of ,lynn2 ,beard1 of       
,alabama2 ,richey1 of the ,district of  
,columbia2 and a host of others that ,i 
could mention4  ,foremost among these   
men in the number and variety of his    
inventions1 as well as in the commercial
 value involved1 stands the name of     
,granville ,t4 ,woods4 ,six years ago   
,mr4 ,woods sent me a list of his       
inventions patented up to that time1 and

 there were then about thirty of them1  
since which time he has added nearly as 
many more1 including those which he     
perfected jointly with his brother      
,lyates4 ,his inventions relate         
principally to electrical subjects1 such
 as telegraphic and telephonic          
instruments1 electric railways and      
general systems of electrical control1  
and include several patents on means for
 transmitting telegraphic messages      
between moving trains4  ,the records of 
the ,patent ,office show that for       
valuable consideration several of ,mr4  
,woods' patents have been assigned to   
the foremost electrical corporations of 
the world1 such as the ,general         
,electric ,company1 of ,new ,york1 and  
the ,american ,bell ,telephone ,company1
 of ,boston4 ,these records also show   
that he followed other lines of thought 
in the exercise of his inventive        
faculty1 one of his other inventions    
being an incubator1 another a           
complicated and ingenious amusement     

device1 another a steam-boiler furnace1 
and also a mechanical brake4  ,mr4      
,woods is1 perhaps1 the best known of   
all the inventors whose achievements    
redound to the credit of our race2 and  
in his passing away he has left us the  
rich legacy of a life successfully      
devoted to the cause of progress4       
,illustration3 ,,elijah ,mc,c,o,y4  ,in 
the prolific yield of his inventive     
genius1 ,elijah ,mc,coy1 of ,detroit1   
stands next to ,granville ,t4 ,woods4   
,so far as is ascertainable from the    
office records ,mr4 ,mc,coy obtained his
 first patent in ,july1 #ahgb1 and the  
last patent was granted to him in ,july1
 #aiab4 ,during the intervening forty   
years he continued to invent one thing  
after another1 completing a record of   
nearly forty patents on as many separate
 and distinct inventions4 ,his          
inventions1 like those of ,woods'1 cover
 a wide range of subjects1 but relate   
particularly to the scheme of           
lubricating machinery4 ,he is regarded  

as the pioneer in the art of steadily   
supplying oil to machinery in           
intermittent drops from a cup so as to  
avoid the necessity for stopping the    
machine to oil it4 ,his lubricating cup 
was in use for years on stationary and  
locomotive machinery in the ,west1      
including the great railway locomotives1
 the boiler engines of the steamers on  
the ,great ,lakes1 on transatlantic     
steamships1 and in many of our leading  
factories4 ,mc,coy's lubricating cups   
were famous thirty years ago as a       
necessary equipment in all up-to-date   
machinery1 and it would be rather       
interesting to know how many of the     
thousands of machinists who used them   
daily had any idea then that they were  
the invention of a colored man4         
,another inventor whose patents occupy a
 conspicuous place in the records of the
 ,patent ,office1 and whose achievements
 in that line stand recorded as a credit
 to the colored man1 is ,mr4 ,william   
,b4 ,purvis1 of ,philadelphia4 ,his     

inventions also cover a variety of      
subjects1 but are directed mainly along 
a single line of experiment and         
improvement4 ,he began1 in #ahhb1 the   
invention of machines for making paper  
bags1 and his improvements in this line 
of machinery are covered by a dozen     
patents2 and a half dozen other patents 
granted ,mr4 ,purvis include three      
patents on electric railways1 one on a  
fountain pen1 another on a magnetic     
car-balancing device1 and still another 
for a cutter for roll holders4  ,another
 very interesting instance of an        
inventor whose genius for creating new  
things is constantly active1 producing  
results that express themselves in terms
 of dollars for himself and others1 is  
that of ,mr4 ,joseph ,hunter ,dickinson1
 of ,new ,jersey4 ,mr4 ,dickinson's     
specialty is in the line of musical     
instruments1 particularly the piano4 ,he
 began more than fifteen years ago to   
invent devices for automatically playing
 the piano1 and is at present in the    

employ of a large piano factory1 where  
his various inventions in piano-player  
mechanism are eagerly adopted in the    
construction of some of the finest      
player pianos on the market4 ,he has    
more than a dozen patents to his credit 
already1 and is still devoting his      
energies to that line of invention4     
,the company with which he is identified
 is one of the very largest corporations
 of its kind in the world1 and it is no 
little distinction to have one of our   
race occupy so significant a relation to
 it1 and to hold it by the sheer force  
of a trained and active intellect4  ,mr4
 ,frank ,j4 ,ferrell1 of ,new ,york1 has
 obtained about a dozen patents for his 
inventions1 the larger portion of them  
being for improvements in valves for    
steam engines4  ,mr4 ,benjamin ,f4      
,jackson1 of ,massachusetts1 is the     
inventor of a dozen different           
improvements in heating and lighting    
devices1 including a controller for a   
trolley wheel4  ,mr4 ,charles ,v4       

,richey1 of ,washington1 has obtained   
about a dozen patents on his inventions1
 the last of which was a most ingenious 
device for registering the calls on a   
telephone and detecting the unauthorized
 use of that instrument4 ,this          
particular patent was only recently     
taken out by ,mr4 ,richey1 and he has   
organized a company for placing the     
invention on the market1 with fine      
prospects of success4  ,hon4 ,george ,w4
 ,murray1 of ,south ,carolina1 former   
member of ,congress from that ,state1   
has received eight patents for his      
inventions in agricultural implements1  
including mostly such different         
attachments as readily adapt a single   
implement to a variety of uses4  ,henry 
,creamer1 of ,new ,york1 has made seven 
different inventions in steam traps1    
covered by as many patents1 and ,andrew 
,j4 ,beard1 of ,alabama1 has about the  
same number to his credit for inventions
 in car-coupling devices4  ,mr4 ,william
 ,douglass1 of ,kansas1 was granted     

about a half dozen patents for various  
inventions in harvesting machines4 ,one 
of his patents1 that one numbered       
#ghi1jaj1 and dated ,may #b1 #aije1 for 
a self-binding harvester1 is conspicuous
 in the records of the ,patent ,office  
for the complicated and intricate       
character of the machine1 for the       
extensive drawings required to          
illustrate it and the lengthy           
specifications required to explain      
it--there being thirty-seven large      
sheets of mechanical drawings and       
thirty-two printed pages of descriptive 
matter1 including the #aff claims drawn 
to cover the novel points presented4    
,this particular patent is1 in these    
respects1 quite unique in the class here
 considered4  ,mr4 ,james ,doyle1 of    
,pittsburgh1 has obtained several       
patents for his inventions1 one of them 
being for an automatic serving system4  
,this latter device is a scheme for     
dispensing with the use of waiters in   
dining rooms1 restaurants and at        

railroad lunch counters4 ,it was        
recently exhibited with the             
,pennsylvania ,exposition ,society's    
exhibits at ,pittsburgh1 where it       
attracted widespread attention from the 
press and the public4 ,the model used on
 that occasion is said to have cost     
nearly #b1jjj4  ,in the civil service at
 ,washington there are several colored  
men who have made inventions of more or 
less importance which were suggested by 
the mechanical problems arising in their
 daily occupations4  ,mr4 ,shelby ,j4   
,davidson1 of ,kentucky1 a clerk in the 
office of the ,auditor for the ,post    
,office ,department1 operated a machine 
for tabulating and totalizing the       
quarterly accounts which were regularly 
submitted by the postmasters of the     
country4 ,mr4 ,davidson's attention was 
first directed to the loss in time      
through the necessity for periodically  
stopping to manually dispose of the     
paper coming from the machine4 ,he      
invented a rewind device which served as

 an attachment for automatically taking 
up the paper as it issued from the      
machine1 and adapted it for use again on
 the reverse side1 thus effecting a very
 considerable economy of time and       
material4 ,his main invention1 however1 
was a novel attachment for adding       
machines which was designed to          
automatically include the government    
fee1 as well as the amount sent1 when   
totalizing the money orders in the      
reports submitted by postmasters4 ,this 
was a distinct improvement in the       
efficiency and value of the machine he  
was operating and the government granted
 him patents on both inventions4 ,his   
talents were recognized not only by the 
office in which he was employed by      
promotion in rank and pay1 but also in a
 very significant way by the large      
factory which turned out the adding     
machines the government was using4 ,mr4 
,davidson has since resigned his        
position and is now engaged in the      
practice of the law in ,washington1     

,d4,c4  ,illustration3 ,,robert ,a4     
,,pelham4  ,mr4 ,robert ,pelham1 of     
,detroit1 is similarly employed in the  
,census ,bureau1 where his duties       
include the compilation of groups of    
statistics on sheets from data sent into
 the office from the thousands of       
manufacturers of the country4 ,unlike   
most of the other men in the            
departmental service1 ,mr4 ,pelham      
seemed anxious to get through with his  
job quickly1 for he devised a machine   
used as an adjunct in tabulating the    
statistics from the manufacturers'      
schedules in a way that displaced a     
dozen men in a given quantity of work1  
doing the work economically1 speedily   
and with faultless precision1 when      
operated under ,mr4 ,pelham's skilful   
direction4 ,mr4 ,pelham has also been   
granted a patent for his invention1 and 
the proved efficiency of his devices    
induced the ,united ,states government  
to lease them from him1 paying him a    
royalty for their use1 in addition to   

his salary for operating them4  ,mr4    
,pelham's mechanical genius is evidently
 running in the family1 for his oldest  
son1 now a high-school youth1 has       
distinguished himself by his experiments
 in wireless telegraphy1 and is one of  
the very few colored boys in ,washington
 holding a regular license for operating
 the wireless4  ,mr4 ,w4 ,a4 ,lavalette1
 of the ,government ,printing ,office1  
the largest printing establishment in   
the world1 began his career as a printer
 there years before the development of  
that art called into use the wonderful  
machines employed in it to-day2 and one 
of his first efforts was to devise a    
printing machine superior to the pioneer
 type used at that time4 ,this was in   
#ahgi1 and he succeeded that year in    
inventing and patenting a printing      
machine that was a notable novelty in   
its day1 though it has1 of course1 long 
ago been superseded by others4  ,i have 
reserved for the last the name and work 
of ,jan ,matzeliger1 of ,massachusetts4 

,although there are barely half a dozen 
patents standing in his name on the     
records of the office1 and his name is  
little known to the general public1     
there are1 ,i think1 some points in his 
career that easily make him conspicuous 
above all the rest1 and ,i have found   
the story really inspiring4  ,as a very 
young man ,matzeliger worked in a shoe  
shop in ,lynn1 ,mass41 serving his      
apprenticeship at that trade4 ,seeking1 
in the true spirit of the inventor1 to  
make two blades of grass grow where only
 one grew before1 he devised the first  
complete machine ever invented for      
performing automatically all the        
operations involved in attaching soles  
to shoes4 ,other machines had previously
 been made for performing a part of     
these operations1 but ,matzeliger's     
machine was the only one then known to  
the mechanical world that could         
simultaneously hold the last in place to
 receive the leather1 move it forward   
step by step so that other co-acting    

parts might draw the leather over the   
heel1 properly punch and grip the upper 
and draw it down over the last1 plait   
the leather properly at the heel and    
toe1 feed the nails to the driving      
point1 hold them in position while being
 driven1 and then discharge the         
completely soled shoe from the machine1 
everything being done automatically1 and
 requiring less than a minute to        
complete a single shoe4  ,this wonderful
 achievement marked the beginning of a  
distinct revolution in the art of making
 shoes by machinery4 ,matzeliger        
realized this1 and attempted to         
capitalize it by organizing a stock     
company to market his invention2 but his
 plans were frustrated through failing  
health and lack of business experience1 
and shortly thereafter1 at the age of   
#cf1 he passed away4  ,he had done his  
work1 however1 under the keen eye of the
 shrewd ,yankees1 and these were quick  
to see the immense commercial importance
 of the step he had accomplished4 ,one  

of these bought the patent and all of   
the stock that he could find of the     
company organized by ,matzeliger4 ,this 
fortunate purchase laid the foundation  
for the organization of the ,united     
,shoe ,machinery ,company1 the largest  
and richest corporation of the kind in  
the world4 7,see1 in ,munsey's ,magazine
 of ,august1 #aiab1 on page #gbb1       
biographical sketch of ,mr4 ,sidney     
,winslow1 millionaire head of the       
,united ,shoe ,machinery ,company47     
,some idea may be had of the magnitude  
of this giant industry1 which is thus   
shown to have grown directly out of the 
inventions of a young colored man1 by   
recalling the fact that the corporation 
represents the consolidation of         
forty-one different smaller companies1  
that its factories cover twenty-one     
acres of ground1 that it gives          
employment daily to #d1bjj persons1 that
 its working capital is quoted at       
#bj1hfj1jjj1 and that it controls more  
than #cjj patents representing          

improvements in the machines it         
produces4 ,from an article published in 
the ,lynn 7,mass47 ,news1 of ,october   
#c1 #ahhi1 it appears that the ,united  
,shoe ,machinery ,company1 above        
mentioned1 established at ,lynn a       
school1 the only one of its kind in the 
world1 where boys are taught exclusively
 to operate the ,matzeliger type of     
machine2 that a class of about #bjj boys
 and young men are graduated from this  
school annually and sent out to various 
parts of the world to instruct others in
 the art of handling this machine4      
,some years before his death ,matzeliger
 became a member of a white church in   
,lynn1 called the ,north ,congregational
 ,society1 and bequeathed to this church
 some of the stock of the company he had
 organized4 ,years afterward this church
 became heavily involved in debt1 and   
remembering the stock that had been left
 to it by this colored member1 found1   
upon inquiry1 that it had become very   
valuable through the importance of the  

patent under the management of the large
 company then controlling it4 ,the      
church sold the stock and realized from 
the sale more than enough to pay off the
 entire debt of the church1 amounting to
 #aj1hfj4 ,with the canceled mortgage as
 one incentive1 this church held a      
special service of thanks one ,sunday   
morning1 on which occasion a life-sized 
portrait of their benefactor looked down
 from the platform on the immense       
congregation below1 while a young white 
lady1 a member of the church1 read an   
interesting eulogy of the deceased and  
the pastor1 ,rev4 ,a4 ,j4 ,covell1      
preached an eloquent sermon on the text 
found in ,romans #ac3h--,owe no man     
anything but to love one another4 ,let  
us cherish the hope that the spirit and 
the significance of that occasion sank  
deep in the hearts of those present4    
,there are those who have tried to deny 
to our race the share that is ours in   
the glory of ,matzeliger's achievements4
 ,these declare that he had no ,negro   

blood in his veins2 but the proof       
against this assertion is irrefutable4  
,through correspondence with the mayor  
of ,lynn1 a certified copy of the death 
certificate issued on the occasion of   
,matzeliger's death has been obtained1  
and this document designates him a      
mulatto4  ,others have tried the same   
thing with reference to ,granville ,t4  
,woods1 a too kind biographer1 writing  
of him in the ,cosmopolitan in ,april1  
#ahie1 stating that he had no ,negro    
blood in him4 ,but those who knew ,mr4  
,woods personally will readily acquit   
him of the charge of any such           
ethnological errancy4  ,another effort  
to detract from ,matzeliger's fame comes
 up in the criticism that his machine   
was not perfect1 requiring subsequent   
improvements to complete it and make it 
commercially valuable4 ,matzeliger was  
as truly a pioneer1 blazing the way for 
a great industrial triumph1 as was      
,whitney1 or ,howe1 or ,watt1 or        
,fulton1 or any other one of the scores 

of pioneers in the field of mechanical  
genius4 ,the cotton gin of to-day is1 of
 course1 not the cotton gin first given 
to the world by ,whitney1 but the       
essential principles of its construction
 are found clearly outlined in          
,whitney's machine4 ,the complex and    
intricate sewing machine of to-day1 with
 its various attachments to meet the    
needs of the modern seamstress1 is not  
the crude machine that came from the    
brain of ,elias ,howe2 the giant        
locomotives that now speedily cover the 
transcontinental distance between ,new  
,york and ,san ,francisco bear but      
slight resemblance to the engine that   
,stephenson first gave us4 ,in fact1 the
 first productions of all these         
pioneers1 while they disclosed the      
principles and laid the foundations upon
 which to build1 resemble the later     
developments only as mists resemble     
rain2 but these pioneers make up the    
army of capable men whose toil and      
trial1 whose brawn and brain1 whose     

infinite patience and indomitable       
courage have placed this nation of ours 
in the very front rank of the world's   
inventors2 and1 standing there among    
them1 with his name indelible1 is our   
dark-skinned brother1 the patient1      
resourceful ,matzeliger4  ,in the credit
 here accorded our race for its         
achievements in the field of invention  
our women as well as our men are        
entitled to share4 ,with an industrial  
field necessarily more circumscribed    
than that occupied by our men1 and      
therefore with fewer opportunities and  
fewer reasons1 as well1 for exercising  
the inventive faculty1 they have1       
nevertheless1 made a remarkably         
creditable showing4 ,the record shows   
that more than twenty colored women have
 been granted patents for their         
inventions1 and that these inventions   
cover also a wide range of              
subjects--artistic1 utilitarian1        
fanciful4  ,the foregoing facts are here
 presented as a part only of the record 

made by the race in the field of        
invention for the first half century of 
our national life4 ,we can never know   
the whole story4 ,but we know enough to 
feel sure that if others knew the story 
even as we ourselves know it1 it would  
present us in a somewhat different light
 to the judgment of our fellow men1 and1
 perhaps1 make for us a position of new 
importance in the industrial activities 
of our country4 ,this great             
consummation1 devoutly to be wished1 may
 form the story of the next fifty years 
of our progress along these specific    
lines1 so that some one in the distant  
future1 looking down the rugged pathway 
of the years1 may see this race of ours 
coming up1 step by step1 into the       
fullest possession of our industrial1   
economic and intellectual emancipation4 
,,note   ,the writer has in preparation1
 for early publication1 a book which    
will deal more in detail with the       
subject of this pamphlet1 presenting the
 names of all inventors1 so far as      

ascertained1 with the titles of their   
inventions and the dates and numbers of 
their patents1 together with brief      
biographical sketches of many of the    
more active inventors4    ,published by 
,,the ,,crisis ,,publishing ,,company   
,copyrighted1 #aiac1 by ,henry ,e4      
,baker