Founded in 1824 in Philadelphia, the Franklin Institute was one of the first American organizations to encourage innovations in technology and science. The institute's Committee on Science and the Arts (CSA) was charged with promoting advances in "manufactures and the mechanic arts by assessing the quality of new inventions." Independent of the U.S. Patent Office, the CSA became a major clearinghouse for new developments in nineteenth-century technology. This collection includes complete files on each proposal: diagrams, illustrations, correspondence with inventors, and the CSA's evaluation.
Number of roll: 28