WILLIAM SELLERS. 861 



community- which has become famous. His later years were spent 

 entirely here, and here on the third of August, 1907 he died after a 

 long and painful illness. 



This notice of a master-sculptor cannot close better than with the 

 characterization of him by President Eliot upon giving to Saint 

 Gaudens the Degree of LL.D. at Harvard in 1905: — "Augustus 

 Saint Gaudens, — a sculptor whose art follows but enobles nature, 

 confers fame and lasting remembrance and does not count the mortal 

 years it takes to mold immortal forms." 



Daniel Chester French. 



WILLIAM SELLERS (1824-1905) 



Fellow in Class I, Section 4, 1875. 



Mr. William Sellers was a representative of the school of Engineers, 

 Manufacturers, Producers and Works Managers, which the modern 

 trend of industry has caused very largely to disappear. He grew up 

 with his establishment from small beginnings previous to the Civil 

 War and was able to carry the burdens of personal supervision of its 

 increasing work through the years until his death. 



He was born in Upper Darby, Pa., on September 19, 1824. His 

 early education was in a private school maintained by his father and 

 his relatives for the education of their children. He served the usual 

 apprenticeship to the machinists' trade with his uncle, John Morton 

 Poole, of Wilmington, Del., and in 184.5 he took charge of a large 

 machine shop in Providence, R. I. After moving to Philadelphia 

 the firm of Bancroft and Sellers was formed in 1848, and in 1853 what 

 was then called the "new shop" at 16th Street and Pennsylvania 

 Avenue was occupied. The firm became William Sellers and Com- 

 pany on the death of Mr. Bancroft about 1856, and in 1886 the com- 

 pany' was incorporated with Mr. Sellers as President. Their specialty 

 was the manufacture of heavy machine tools and they followed largely 

 the practice set by the British designers as contrasted with the types 

 which had their origin in the shops for lighter machine work in New 

 England. For example, they adhered to the lathe bed of flat-top 

 shears and had no use for the V-top shears of the smaller builders. 



