2. Jacob Perkins 

 in Philadelphia 



Even a casual inspection of a list of his patents — 

 21 in the United States, 19 in England, with only 

 a few common to both countries — will convince 

 a reader that Jacob Perkins's head fairly rattled 

 with ideas. 26 Many of the ideas were good ones, 

 but because he was forever developing new ideas 

 and improvements on old ones, he never quite 

 got around to demonstrating, in his impecunious 

 lifetime, that some of them were economically 

 sound. 



When he came to Philadelphia to live, in 181 5, 

 Jacob Perkins was already in his 50th year. His 

 inventions at this time ranged from nail cutting 

 and heading machines to plunger pumps for 

 freeing ships of water, and included a series on 

 the engraving of banknotes so as to prevent 

 forgery. There were two inventions for fire 

 engines. Still in the future lay his abortive high 

 pressure steam boilers, his fearsome steam gun, 



and his entirely sound vapor-compression re- 

 frigeration cycle; and still in the future lay his 

 passage to London and his development there of 

 the lively mechanical sideshows of his Adelaide 

 Gallery. 



As Sellers relates in this chapter, Perkins took 

 as first partner in his fire engine venture Coleman 

 Sellers, George Escol's father. The partnership 

 was dissolved before the end of June 181 8 when 

 Perkins and Jones " commenced advertising their 

 fire engines at prices ranging from $250 to 

 $i,ooo. 28 This partnership was dissolved in turn 

 within eight months, being succeeded by the firm 

 of Perkins and Bacon. Bacon was a son-in-law 

 of Perkins. 29 



Commodore Alexander Murray (1 754-1 821), 

 Perkins's particular foil in the episodes that follow, 

 was commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard 

 from 181 3 to 182 i. 30 



26 The standard work on Perkins is by Greville Bathe and 

 Dorothy Bathe, Jacob Perkins (Philadelphia: Historical So- 

 ciety of Pennsylvania, 1943), which is a compilation of pertinent 

 data and many illustrations. The Sellers reminiscenses ap- 

 parently were unknown even to the Bathes, whose searches 

 were most diligent and far-ranging. 



27 Thomas P. Jones (1 774-1848), lecturer at Franklin Insti- 

 tute, editor of the Journal oj the Franklin Institute from its origin 

 in 1826 until his death, Commissioner of Patents, 1828-1829, 

 and one of the first patent examiners under the Patent Act of 

 1836 (Henry Butler Allen, "The Franklin Institute of the 

 State of Pennsylvania," Transactions oj the American Philosophical 

 Society, 1953, vol. 43, pt. 1, pp. 275-279; "Outline of the 

 History of the United States Patent Office," Journal oj the 

 Patent Office Society, centennial number, July 1936, vol. 18, p. 87. 



» Aurora (Philadelphia), July 4, 1818. 



29 Bathe and Bathe (cited in note 26 above), pp. 69, 75. 



3(1 In a curious error, Sellers referred throughout this chapter 

 to Commodore Barron rather than to Commodore Murray. 

 Alexander Murray was commandant in 1813-1821; James 

 Barron was commandant in 1824-1825 and again in 1831- 

 1837. Barron was not in the United States during most of 

 Perkins's time of residence in Philadelphia, which was from 

 December 1815 to May 31, 1819, and he was not on active 

 duty until 1824. See Paul Barron Watson, The Tragic 

 Career oj Commodore James Barron, U.S. Navy (1769-1851) (New 

 York: Coward-McCann, 1942), pp. 81, 84; "A Brief History 

 of the Philadelphia Navy Yard," unpublished typescript in 

 Naval Records Section of the National Archives; and Bathe 

 and Bathe (cited in note 26 above), pp. 59, 76. I have 

 changed the text to read "Murray" throughout, being con- 

 vinced that he was the man involved. Barron also was some- 

 thing of an inventor. A floating drydock of his is illustrated 

 in Journal oj the Franklin Institute (1827), vol. 3, p. 873". 



12 



