2020-07 2 sessions
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/24/2020
ADAMS, John Quincy (1767-1848) As a brilliant secretary of state under President Monroe (1817--25), Adams negotiated with Spain the treaty for the acquisition of Florida and wrote a good deal of the "Monroe Doctrine' (1823). In 1824 he won the presidential election over Andrew Jackson, but only after a close vote in the House of Representatives. In 1831 he entered the US House of Representatives where for the rest of his life he was a champion of the antislavery faction. In 1841 he successfully defended the African mutineers of the slave ship Amistad. Document Signed, "Q.Q. Adams" on Patent Certification, October 5, 1823, 1pp., seal intact, a little rough at edges. In part, "I certify that Barnabas Langdon took out a patent on the 5th day of June 1819 for his improvement of the Horse Boat; but owing to some defects in the specification, another patent was granted to him for the same object, bearing a date on the 1st day of May 1821, the specification being corrected to his wishes." ... plus, Letters of Patent document, May 1, 1821 for the same application, "Boats to be moved by animal power ...", 1pp., fold some separations, secretarily signed James Monroe and John Q. Adams. ... plus, Six page Autograph Letter Signed by "Barnabas Langdon" describing the Horse Boat application in considerable detail, VG. Barnabas Langdon was a prolific early inventor, with patents for a water pump, tin ware manufacture, steam-powered boats, horse-powered boats, grist mills, flax and hemp processing, etc. Langdon's turntable design permitted the horses to walk straight ahead instead of in circles. "Langdon placed a rotating turntable slightly below the level of the boat's deck; horses stood atop the turntable through large slots in the deck and drove the wheel backward by walking in place. This design eased the burden on the horses, freed up valuable deck space, and allowed the ferry to be built atop one hull." One description of a turntable type team boat using six horses says, "The treadmills, on either side, were each trod by three horses always facing in the same direction. To reverse the paddlewheels it was only necessary to stop the horses a minute, and withdraw a drop pin that would reverse the gearing."
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