The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Cambridge, in partnership with the Harvard Square Business Association, is pleased to announce the restoration of the lighting at the Art Deco building at 23 Church Street.
At 5:30pm on November 7th, witness the restored architectural lights return to their original glory as they originally appeared in 1936. Missing for decades, they have been faithfully reconstructed with modern lighting technology.
Built in 1936 for the Cambridge Gas and Electric Light Company by architect William Lawrence Galvin (1902 – 1983), 23 Church Street is now home to Rodney’s Bookstore and the Christian Science Reading Room.
In 2015, Charles Sullivan, executive director of the Cambridge Historical Commission, revealed that lights previously adorned the façade of 23 Church Street. In 2022, the commission awarded the church a grant to restore the outside of the building, including the installation of new lights. Through the expertise of Poyant, an award-winning signage design and fabrication firm, lighting was installed that is identical in appearance to the original, while utilizing modern technology.
In addition to The Cambridge Historical Commission, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Cambridge, thanks Marcos Almada of Almada Restoration, Rodrigo Almeida of RB Farina Roofing, Jason Fredette and the skilled designers and craftspeople at Poyant Lighting, and Tom Kuik at Kuik Electrical, the master electrician who designed and installed the circuitry that powers the lights.
Join the Cambridge Black History Project as they celebrate their oral history narrators. Gather for an afternoon of refreshments and conversation as we pay tribute to our rich storytelling tradition. Connect with your community during an afternoon of conversation and refreshments!
Cost per person: Free Date: November 8, 2025 Time: 1:00pm – 3:30pm
We hope to see you on this special occasion celebrating Cambridge oral histories. Lift Every Voice is a great opportunity to connect with the Cambridge Black History Project and the community. Please RSVP here: https://cambridgepl.libcal.com/event/15516112.
Today we’re featuring an otherworldly item from our archival collections: the business card of Dr. Stella E. Johnson.
This card lists Stella as a medium specializing in “Medical, Business and Developing.” For $1, patrons could arrange for a private sitting with Dr. Johnson between the hours of 10 to 12 or 2 to 9 in her quarters at the Hotel Bigelow, 17 Brookline St.
This building, later addressed as 35 Brookline St when street numbers were changed, was constructed in 1889 as designed by mechanical engineer Walter E. Lombard for owner Simeon Snow. An image of the building in 1933 can be seen in the second slide. Snow was a resident of Bigelow Street, a Boston-based leather merchant, and active in Cambridge politics of the day while Lombard was the husband of Snow’s adopted daughter, Nellie. Simeon Snow’s late-Italianate style apartment-hotel stood four-stories and contained accommodations for sixteen families. After WWII, like many wood-frame residences, the Hotel Bigelow was renovated and covered with aluminum siding and much of the detailing was removed to cut costs for owners. While today the building is unadorned, there may be some original fabric underneath the siding.
View of Brookline and Franklin Streets, 1933
Dr. Johnson was born Estella E. Temple in Watertown on June 9, 1850. She married George W. Johnson on December 15, 1868. In the 1900 US census, George and Stella’s marital statuses were listed as divorced, with George living in Walpole and Stella with her brothers Joseph and Alfred in Cambridge. George died in 1903 and beginning in 1910, directories list Stella as widowed. Stella’s first appearance in the Cambridge directories appears in the 1892 edition when she is living at 17 Brookline St. This allows us to date her business card to around 1891. For the next few years, she is listed as a physician living at 353 Harvard St (now demolished) and from around 1896 until her death in 1913, she lived at 9 Meacham Road in North Cambridge.
In her obituary, published in The Cambridge Chronicle on 18 January 1913, she was praised as “skilled in the use [of] herbs and treatment of the sick, and it was her especial delight to afford relief to the sick and those in distress.”
Cambridge book alert! Check out the recently published memoir My Ride Through Life: A Cambridge Kid Finds Identity in Dirt Lots, City Schools, and Reggae Beats by Cambridge kid and Historical Commission volunteer Anthony Beckwith.
My Ride Through Life traces the author’s family roots and follows the winding path of his early life, transporting the reader back to the world of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the 1960s and ‘70s, and navigating the neighborhoods of Boston in the 1980s and ‘90s. Along the way, he raises important and universal questions: How do our families and communities influence our views on race and rights, class and culture? In what ways do our curiosities and insecurities affect the direction we take in life? What aspects of our identities are essential to who we are?
In this fun, honest, and thought-provoking memoir, Anthony Beckwith uses lively anecdotes and a conversational style to share his story and invite readers to reflect on the sources of their own identities. Insightful, warm, and full of unexpected turns, My Ride Through Life will resonate with readers of all ages and backgrounds.
This book is available at our local outlets Harvard Bookstore, The Book Rack in Arlington, and Porter Square Books. Print and audio editions can be found at online retailers. Click here for more information: https://sites.google.com/view/myridethroughlife/home.
A long-lost box of photographs has inspired a powerful new exhibition at The Mayor’s Gallery at Cambridge City Hall, celebrating the stories and spirit of working-class communities in Cambridge.
“The Diner Project – Remembering a Time Past But Not Forgotten,” features black-and-white photographs taken between 1974–1977 by then-student and aspiring photographer Andrew Mark Satter. Over three years, Satter documented life inside Russ’s Kitchenette Diner, a 1930s railcar-style diner and beloved East Cambridge institution that served city workers for over 40 years before closing in 1978.
Join us tonight for an opening reception including artist talk, Q&A, and book signing from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM on the 2nd floor of Cambridge City Hall. The exhibition will be on view through November 14, 2025, during City Hall hours.
The opening event is free & open to all! Light refreshments will be served.
65 Langdon St photographed by Christopher Hail on March 9, 1985
The Colonial Revival apartment building at 65 Langdon Street was constructed in 1907 as designed by Boston-based architectural firm Newhall & Blevins for owners Stearns & Moore. Lawyer Harry N. Stearns was active in Cambridge politics and a member of the Massachusetts militia. He and his wife Edith Baker Winslow had three children, one of whom was Elizabeth Winslow Stearns. Elizabeth went on to become a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army and co-founded Cambridge Camera and Marine in Harvard Square with her partner, Lois M. Bowen. Bowen was a Cambridge photographer and entrepreneur and in 2002 her photograph collection was donated to the Cambridge Historical Commission.
65 Langdon St photographed by Christopher Hail on September 11, 1983
Newhall & Blevins, a partnership of architects Louis C. Newhall (1869–1925) and Albert H. Blevins (1874–1946), designed many notable buildings such as the Inman Square Fire Station (1912) and Cambridge Savings Bank Building (1923) but were only active for four years before they took on the Langdon St project. The apartment building was of wood frame construction and finished in stucco with many interesting features that can still be seen today. The brick chimneys are topped with intricate brick design and terracotta tiles. The entrance is recessed behind a projecting three-sided porch with wooden arches. The second story has applied “balconies” with 1/2 balusters. The door itself is oak with leaded glass, and a wrought iron lantern hangs above.
Detail of entryway at 65 Langdon St photographed by CHC staff
While the building was under construction, it was advertised as containing 12 suites, each with three or four rooms and a bath. Many modern amenities, such as steam heat, fireplace, electric lights, and janitor services, were to be included, with rents at $30-40 per month.
We’re going waaay back for today’s Torn Down Tuesday feature, the Cooke-Holyoke House.
Cooke-Winthrop house, 30 Holyoke Street (Courtesy of Historic New England, F1151. Halliday Historic Photograph Company photo)
George and Joseph Cooke arrived from England in 1635 and bought several lots southeast of the village from settlers who were leaving for Connecticut. George served as speaker of the General Court and captain of Cambridge’s first militia company, but he returned to England in 1645 and became a colonel in Cromwell’s army. Joseph held local offices and raised a family in America before he went back in 1658. Their homestead—bounded today by Mt. Auburn, Plympton, Mill, and Holyoke streets—included “the hill by his house which have been hitherto reserved for a place to build a fort upon for defense with all the lane leading thereto provided that if the town shall ever make use of it for that end he shall yield it again” (Town Records, Jan. 2, 1636, 25). In 1665 Joseph Cooke Jr. received the five-acre homestead from his father as a wedding gift, and the next year the town granted him “liberty for timber on the Common to build him a dwelling house” (ibid. 162). Three generations of Cookes made little further impression on the town, and in 1761 President Edward Holyoke, anticipating retirement, purchased the property. It passed through Holyoke’s estate in 1769 and was acquired by William Winthrop in 1803.
Cooke estate and its environs in 1897, as seen from the chimney of the Boston Elevated Railway power station at the corner of Kennedy Street and Memorial Drive. Mill Street is in the lower right corner; Holyoke Street runs from lower right to upper left, toward Harvard Square. Although some of these houses were moved, most were razed between 1900 and 1935. (Image courtesy Harvard University Archives, HUV 15)
In 1803 Winthrop “removed the old cills and roof … raised the house and put in new cills; added the third story and put on the present roof instead of the old gambril roof” (William T. Harris, DAR Guide, 74). Winthrop lived there until 1811. In 1832 Sidney Willard, Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Languages, sold it to Charles Folsom, the former Harvard librarian, who purchased the University Press from Eliab Metcalf a year later. In 1836 Folsom laid out Holyoke Place and subdivided the two-acre property into eight lots. The house passed through many hands until the heirs of the last owner occupant sold it to the trustees of the Phi Delta Psi Club in 1901. It was probably Cambridge’s oldest house when the club demolished it in 1905.
Following a multi-year effort, The Cambridge Historical Commission has made its extensive architectural survey records available to the public digitally through the Cambridge Digital Architectural Survey and History (CDASH) project!
In its original paper form the Cambridge Historical Commission’s Architectural Survey fills 10 filing cabinets of physical materials detailing the history of the city’s built environment. The collection documents nearly every building in the city, demolished or extant, through newspaper clippings, articles, photographs, atlas details, ephemera, correspondence, and more. Now available online, users can browse over 131,000 pages of information covering nearly 15,000 distinct places in the city. Explore this resource at cdash.cambridgema.gov.
Examples of resources that can be found in CDASH
The user interface and the administrative back end for CDASH have been created with the popular open-source repository and discovery platform Omeka-S. Customizations to Omeka-S showcase the versatility of geographic referencing as a means of linking data from diverse sources. In its current form, CDASH is best accessed with a computer. In the coming year, we hope to bring CDASH to small screens and in the field as a GPS-enabled mobile app.
John Albert Moore Mustache-holder Patent No. 278,999. 1883.
Has it ever occurred to you that nearly every mechanical object, tool or gadget we use in daily life was, at some point, a new invention?
“Indeed, it is difficult to recall a single feature of our national progress along materiallines that has not been vitalized by the touch of the inventor’s genius.”
– Henry E. Baker
Henry E. Baker, Jr. (1857–1928). Baker was the third African American admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy. After experiencing racial discrimination, Baker left the Academy and went on to get a Law Degree from Howard University in 1881. While at Howard, he began a job as a copyist at the U.S. Patent Office and later became an assistant patent examiner. He was interested in the history of African American inventors, and published books on the subject. Image: Portrait of Henry Edwin Baker, ca. 1902.
In 1788 the newly created Constitution set the stage for patents by including this clause about intellectual property rights: “[The Congress shall have Power…] to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, be securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” Two years later, the Patent Act of 1790 was passed, and the first patent issued on July 31, 1790 to inventor Samuel Hopkins (1743-1818) of Philadelphia. The patent was for his invention for improving the production of pot ash and pearl ash. The patent was authorized by George Washington, and a panel consisting of The Secretary of State, Secretary of War and Attorney General. However, the U. S. Patent Office was not officially established until 1802. The practice of numbering patents did not begin until 1836. As of that date, approximately 9,957 patents had already been issued. Today, approximately 13.5 million patents have been granted in the U.S.
The Cambridge Chronicle December 1, 1855. Headline announcing establishment of new barrel and cask manufactory of I. Lincoln Bangs.
Following is a somewhat arbitrary mélange of some lesser-known nineteenth-century Cambridge patent holders, gleaned mostly from announcements in the Cambridge newspapers since 1848 (the first year of available digitized papers). Unless otherwise noted, the images below were obtained from Google Patents. Apart from one or two well-known inventors, most of these individuals are virtually unknown.
Looking at these patents it is interesting to see how they illustrate the qualities of their inventor’s minds. Some were everyday laborers, some more educated experts. Their perceived rank in society did not inhibit their creativity and often their invention had nothing to do with their day job. The inventor of the “Moustache holder,” pictured above and detailed below, was a piano action maker; the inventor of “Elastic Stairs” a bookbinder; and the inventor of a “Reversible” Broiler a watchmaker. These inventors seemed to have been keen observers with creative minds, an aptitude for figuring out how things work, and an impulse to make things better. They were problem solvers.
Three of these men were at one point employed as “piano action” makers. Two worked for the Riverside Press. Two were apothecaries, two interested in spring beds, and two were interested in coffee. Two served in the Civil War. One became Mayor of Cambridge. Even on a small scale these examples convey something of the spirit of the American power of invention.
(Note: All quotations in italics are from the U. S. Government Patent Records, as are the electrotyped illustrations, which are included mostly because they are so exquisitely drawn.)
John Albert Moore (1849–1916) Moustache-Holder. Patent No. 278,999. 1883.
In 1883 John Albert Moore was a “piano action maker,” living at 4 Elm St when he came up with an idea to get one’s mustache out of the way while eating.
Detail: John Albert Moore Mustache holder Patent No. 278,999. 1883.
His description of this delightful gizmo stated that it was “formed of a comb, to one side of which a spring frame, having curved arms, is attached, which is raised, and then the comb is passed through the mustache and the spring-frame released, so that the mustache will be held between the comb and the spring-frame, whereby the moustache will be held raised, so that it cannot come in contact with the food being passed into the mouth.”
Joseph F. Townsend (1835 –1893)Suspender-buckle Patent. No. 324,897. 1885.
The 1880 Census lists Joseph F. Townsend as a piano forte maker – an occupation he had held since the age of 22. the year of his patent, he lived on Central Place.
“Be it known that I, Joseph Franklin Townsend, of Cambridgeport, …, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Suspender Buckles; and I do hereby declare the same to be described in the following specification and represented in the-accompanying drawings of my improved buckle as applied to a suspender band or strap.”
“Stooping over to pick up a fair lady’s handkerchief loses its joy when it sacrifices a suspender button.” (The Cambridge Chronicle May 9, 1885)
Henry Allen Miner (1857-1934) Improvement in Clasps. Patent No. 214,577. 1879.
The 1879 Directory lists Henry Miner’s, occupation as clerk at 161 Cambridge St. By 1882, the Directory listed him as an apothecary at the same address, living at 80 Thorndike St.
“My present invention relates to that class of clasps employed in holding up socks, drawers,… and for shortening and supporting sleeves, dresses and other garments…When the clasp is to be used for supporting or holding up a sock, Fig. 2, one pair of jaws is caught over the top or edge of the sock and the other pair over a fold of the leg of the drawers, which, as they pass down inside the sock, prevent the plate A from coming into contact with and chafing the limb of the wearer.”
Miner was a savvy businessman. In 1883 he was one of only 175 subscribers to the new telephone system. His phone number was 7143. It is unknown how successful his clasps for holding up drawers were. But he seemed to have a knack for advertising:
The Cambridge Chronicle June 24, 1882
Charles Robinson (1810-1888) Elastic Loop for Suspending Bedstead-Slats. Patent No. 17,695. 1857.
The Directory of 1855 lists Charles Robinson as a bookbinder and in 1857 as a “spring bed manufacturer” living on River St near Mt. Auburn. By 1880, the Census lists Robinson as “inventor of patents” living at 47 Hamilton St.
The Cambridge Chronicle June 27, 1858
Next in the elastic department comes Robinson’s patent for Elastic Stairs Patent No. 17,234. 1857:
“…the nature of my invention consists in supporting the steps of stairs by springs situated beneath them, substantially as herein described, for the purpose of rending the ascent and descent thereon light, soft and easy…The advantages of elastic stairs, as above described, are obvious. Not only is the tread soft and nearly noiseless, but persons are enabled to ascent and descend the stairs with such ease, as to render the improvement of great value to invalids….”
The Cambridge Chronicle June 20, 1857
Robinson’s obituary refers to him as “Capt.,” an honorific he earned as a young man as commander of the Exeter (NH) Artillery Co. where he was living at the time. His obituary noted that “…the deceased had a large share of inventive genius and produced many ingenious devices of utility and usefulness…Of late years he was employed at his trade as a practical workman, at the Riverside Bindery.” (Cambridge Tribune January 28, 1888)
“That class of flour-sitters now in use, where the flour is rubbed over a sieve by means of a revolving shaft… are objectionable on account of the central rubbing-shaft not being made easily removable, thereby rendering it difficult to clean it or the sieve beneath. My invention has for its object to overcome this difficulty, and consists in making the rubbing-shaft removable and providing it at one end with a disk or head to prevent the escape of the flour, by which arrangement the operation of cleaning the sifter is greatly facilitated.”
Foye was one of those inventors creating items outside his day job. In addition to inventing improvements in flour sifters, Foye was a cabinet maker, and co-owner of “Foye and Conant,” manufacturers of sashes and blinds as well:
The Cambridge Chronicle January 13, 1866
Mayor Frank Augustus Allen(1835 ME-1916 MA) Improvement in Coffee Steamers. Patent 261,575. 1882.
Allen was a successful businessman and politician. In 1874 he was elected to the Common Council (Cambridge’s governing body) from Ward 4, running on a platform of opposition to fraud. In 1876 he was elected President of the Council. He ran for and served as Mayor in 1877 and 1878. In 1882 Allen was living at 263 Harvard St and working at The Oriental Co., importers of tea and coffee in Boston, so it is not surprising he came up with this invention:
Portrait of Frank A. Allen as published in The Cambridge Chronicle, 2 December 1876
“The objects of my invention are to provide an apparatus or utensils for steeping ground coffee, in the process of extracting the beverage, by percolation of very hot water without boiling…so as to obtain all of the fine aroma and flavor without extracting the vegetable flavor, which is objectionable, or other objectionable substances, or dispelling the essential oil and other delicious properties which are carried off by the escape of steam. My invention is more particularly designed for making coffee in large quantities, as required in hotels, saloons, and similar places, but is equally adapted to common household use…”
Elam Rakestraw (1828-1906?) Machine for cleaning and grading coffee. Patent No. 269,461. 1882
A few months after Frank Allen’s invention for domestic coffee making, Rakestraw received a patent for commercial use for cleaning and grading coffee. The 1881 Directory listed him as an engineer working at 1 Hamilton St, Boston, the location of Dwinell, Hayward Co. coffee and spice mill operations. He was boarding at 37 Winsor St, Cambridge.
“Be it known that I, Elam Rakestraw, of Cambridgeport,…have invented a new and Improved Coffee-Grader, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. The object of my invention is to facilitate separating the flat coffee beans or berries from the round beans or berries.”
His mechanism is gorgeously complicated. Flat vs. round berries? Who knew?
Antique Dwinell, Hayward & Co. advertising cream of tartar spice box, ca. 1884-99. Image via eBay
In 1880 Burt Eldon was a watchmaker in business at 475 Main St., living on School Street. He also advertised himself as an optician:
Advertisement for B.E. Shattuck in the 1883 Cambridge Directory
Now what would cause a jeweler and optician to invent a better meat broiler??
“Be it known that I, Burt E. Shattuck…. have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Reversible Broilers…the object of my invention is to provide means whereby the relative position of the handles to the clamp-frames for holding the food to be broiled may be reversed, so as to permit all portions of the same to be cooked alike or without over-cooking any part thereof.”
Elias Howe, Jr. (1819-1867) Improvement in Sewing-Machines Patent No. 4,730. 1846.
Elias Howe. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; gift of I. N. Phelps Stokes, Edward S. Hawes, Alice Mary Hawes, and Marion Augusta Hawes, 1937 (accession no. 37.14.26); http://www.metmuseum.org
US stamp honoring Elias Howe, 1940. Image via Wikimedia Commons
Perhaps the most well-known of Cambridge’s 19th century inventors is Elias Howe, Jr. The 1848 Directory listed him as machinist, living on Washington St. Having a hard time launching his new improvement for sewing machines in the U. S., he decamped to England to try his luck. There he had only a brief success. Upon returning to the U.S., he found that Isaac Singer had been manufacturing a replica of his sewing machine. It took five years for Howe to win a court case against Singer, after which he received a royalty on every sewing machine that infringed on his patent, making him a wealthy man.
Sewing Machine Patent Model. Patent No. 4,750, issued September 10, 1846. Elias Howe Jr. of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Image courtesy Smithsonian Museum of American History.
Howe went on to establish the Howe Machine Co. in Bridgeport, CT. In 1862 Howe volunteered with Company D in the Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. Because he had poor health, he did not serve active duty but did contribute financially to buy equipment for the company – later known as “Howe’s Rifles.” He became the Regimental Postmaster, carrying war news to and from Baltimore. He won a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition in 1867, and in 1873 the French Legion d’honneur.
Gordon McKay (1821-1903)Tension Mechanism for Sewing Machine Patent No. 229,049. 1880.
McKay, who was in the shoe business, devised an improvement for sewing soles onto shoe uppers. In 1879 he was living on Mt. Auburn St, in the old “Governor Winthrop Mansion” (approximately where the Harvard dorm by the same name is located today).
“This invention relates to tension devices for sewing machines, and is especially adapted for use on the McKay sole-sewing machine, and to operate in connection with the horn and tension device thereon, as shown and described in U. S. Patent No. 224,063 to J. L. Wilkinson.”
His leather sewing machine, called the “McKay” machine, was for lease only – not for sale. During the Civil War he cranked out 25,000 pairs of shoes for soldiers. The Gordon McKay Lab at Harvard (9 Oxford St) is named after McKay.
Tyler Howe (1800-1880) Elliptic Spring Bed. Patent No. 100,408. 1855. Improved and reissued in 1882.
Tyler Howe was Elias Howe’s uncle. It was after a miserable voyage from California on a hard straw mattress (and a failed attempt at gold mining) that Howe decided to invent a better bed.
Portrait of Tyler Howe as published in New New England Manufacturers and Manufactories: Three Hundred and Fifty of the Leading Manufacturers of New England. Vol. 1. Boston: Van Slyck Comany, page 364.
“The invention has reference to that class of bed-foundations in which each of the slats is supported upon springs arranged near its two ends; and it consists in so forming and applying the springs to their supporting-bars and the slats as not only to form a strong and durable connection, but produce an easy, elastic, and yielding foundation for a mattress…”
It was a huge success. Howe opened a salesroom in New York City and became a wealthy man.
Advertisement for Howe’s bed in the 1859 Cambridge city directory
A lot of people were improving on spring beds in 1858. Google Patents lists eight patents for improvements made that year around the country. One of those was invented by Charles Robinson (above). Another was invented by Rufus Leavitt.
Daniel Chapman Stillson(1826-1899) Improvement in wrench Patent No. 95,744. 1869.
Daniel C. Stillson was a mechanic at the Walworth Company in Cambridge. The company manufactured steam and gas fittings. (It was in the Walworth Manufacturing Co. building that, in 1876, Thomas Watson receive Alexander Bell’s first telephone call.) Stillson’s Pipe Wrench is still ln world-wide use today. There have been slight modifications to its original design, but it remains virtually unchanged.
“The object of my invention is to provide a cheap, simple, strong, and durable wrench of this character, one which will operate with equal effect upon a cylindrical or a rectangular, or polygonal shaped body…”
Henry W. Matthes (1819-1897)Compressed Air Engines Patent No. 214,050. 1879.
In 1861 Matthes enlisted as a private in the Union Army in Concord, Mass. He served 4 months with the Sharp Shooter regiment before being mustered out in March of 1862 due to disability. The 1878 Directory lists his occupation watchmaker at 42 Pine St. The Census of 1880 lists him still living on Pine Street, occupation “works brass.”
“Be it known that I… have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Air Compressor and Reservoir…My invention consists in a combination of an air-pump, an air-condenser, and two or more tanks or reservoirs, and such suitable connections that air may be conveniently compressed to that degree and in such quantities as may be desired for driving light machinery.”
Alvan Clark (1804-1887)Improvement in Telescopes. Patent No. 8,509. 1851. (Improvement in eyepieces)
Clark was a polymath. Born in Ashfield, MA, he began as an engraver and portrait painter. He arrived in Boston in 1836 and was painting portraits in his studio there while living in Cambridge. The 1852 Directory listed him as an “artist, 15 Tremont Row, h. Prospect n. Austin.” During the Civil War he manufactured field-glasses for the Union Army.
Alvan Clark (1804-1887). Harvard University Portrait Collection, Gift of Mrs. Alvan Clark to the Harvard College Observatory, 1899
Clark’s interest in telescopes was piqued by one of his son’s student assignments with a telescope.
“In my improved eye-piece I have not only sought to … make a simple and substantial eye-piece and one wherein ready access may be easily had to the glasses or lenses in order either to cleanse or repair them, as the case may require”
Portrait of Alvan Clark by Metcalf & Welldon, 1887. Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Since 1846 Clark’s firm, Alvan Clark & Sons had been renowned world-wide for their refracting telescopes. Appleton’s Cyclopedia of American Biography lists his occupation as “optician.”
Israel P. Nelson (1811- ?) Respirator. Patent No. 16,863. 1857.
In the year of his patent Nelson was a machinist living at 60 Market St. In 1861 Nelson enlisted in the 38th Infantry of Massachusetts. He served in Louisiana where he was mustered out 1863 due to disability.
I, Israel P. Nelson, of Cambridge, …, have invented a new and Improved Fireman’s Mask and Respirator, …The attempts which have been made to protect firemen from the injurious effects of smoke and heated air upon the lungs, by causing the air which they breathe to pass through moist Sponge for the purpose of filtering and cooling it, have been but partially successful. My present improvement has for its object the accomplishment of the same end and is based upon the fact that in apartments filled with Smoke to an extent that would render it impossible to breathe at the height of a man’s head above the floor, there is nearly in every instance a draft of cool pure air immediately upon the floor, and a few inches above it. To take advantage of this circumstance, I have adapted a tight-fitting mask to the face of the person, from which depend the air tubes through which he breathes, the extremities of the tubes reaching to within an inch or two of the floor…”
John McTammany, Jr. (1845-1915) Mechanical musical instrument. Patent No. 242,786. 1881.
Born in Scotland, McTammany began his life in the U. S. in Ohio. There, in 1864 he enlisted in the 115th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was wounded in Nashville, resulting in a very long recovery. After the Civil War he returned to Ohio where he took up music and taught organ. This led to his invention of a device including perforated paper that would enable an organ to play automatically. (It became known as a “player piano,” but that was not a term used by him.) McTammany later moved to Boston and began making an automatic organ called an “organette” in Cambridgeport.
“The first to invent, exhibit, manufacture and offer to the world an instrument operated with perforated paper. Investor of the Automatic Organ and the Organette, and other valuable inventions in connection with the music and musical instruments. This is no toy or plaything, but a good- sized organ for ten dollars, that possesses twelve points of excellence over any other organette in the market, and will plan an unlimited number of compositions. Any person can play it. For further particulars call at the Factory, 511 Main St., Cambridgeport, or Louis P. Goullaud, 165 Tremont St., Boston” (The Cambridge Chronicle August 15, 1879)
The Cambridge Chronicle August 16, 1879
Portrait of John McTammany. Image via New England Historical Society
As was the case with inventor Elias Howe of sewing machine fame, others capitalized on his invention. McTammany filed a patent, which, in 1881, stated that he was the “original and prior” inventor of the player piano, but this did not discourage others – including Mason and Hamlin of Cambridge – from continuing to market his invention. There ensued a series of lawsuits. Ultimately, he turned to other inventions, which included perforated paper voting machines.
Edward Kendall (1821-1915) Apparatus for Heating Air Condensing Steam. Patent No. 272,866. 1883.
The Cambridge Chronicle February 11, 1893
We are all familiar with the name. Edward Kendall began in the steam boiler manufacturing business in 1860, in partnership with George B. Roberts. He bought out Roberts in 1887 and included his sons – George F. and James H. -in the business.
“My invention relates to an apparatus which may be termed an “air surface-condenser” or an “air-heater,” and has for its object the utilization of exhaust-steam for heating air to be used in warming buildings, or for supplying pure water by condensation of the steam for feeding steam-boilers…”
Edward Kendall & Sons were in business until Edward Kendall retired in 1905. Kendall was a Prohibition Party candidate, including being the Party’s candidate for governor. He was referred to as “Deacon” in recognition of his years of service in the Pilgram Congregational Church. Kendall Square is named after Edward Kendall.
Osman S. Armstrong (1857-1933)Electric Gas Lighting Apparatus. Patent No. 241,115. 1881.
The year Osman received his patent he was listed in the Directory as a bookbinder at the Riverside Press, living at 56 Trowbridge St. He became quite the sailor. On June 7, 1890, The Cambridge Tribune commented “Mr. Osman S. Armstrong of Putnam Avenue is the owner of one of the staunchest little crafts afloat in the bay at South Boston.” Later articles referred to his taking first prize in championship race of the Bay View Yacht Club, and his 1889 cruise from Boston to Newcastle, NH. In 1906 a newspaper identified him as an Assistant Superintendent at the Riverside Press.
Be it known that I, Osmon S. Armstrong of Cambridge…, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Electric Gas-Lighting Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of the specification.
John P. Jamison (1822-?) Wood Ornamentation. Patent No. 299,984. 1884.
In 1877 Jamison was listed in the Directory as an organ stop maker, living at Florence St. In the 1880 Census he lists himself as “engineer.” In 1884, the date he received this patent, he was 62 years old, and still at 8 Florence St with his occupation listed as machine carving.
“My invention relates to a machine for ornamenting wood in imitation of carving by compression; and it consists in the combination of two die-rolls arranged to revolve in unison and act upon the material in succession, one die being constructed to outline the surfaces to be depressed by cutting…and the other die being constructed…to operate to depress the portions so outlined and complete the design.”
Almond Franklin Cooper (1819-1914) Screw Cap for Metal Cans Patent No. 314,227. 1885.
A descendant of James Fenimore Cooper, Almond F. Cooper lived on Ellery St in Cambridge from about 1872 -1885. Starting off as an agent for the Boston Car Co., by the time of his patent Cooper was president and treasurer of the Boston Standard Car Wheel Co. at 21 Hampshire St. His obituary noted that he had “crossed the continent fifteen times and had twice encircled the globe…he formerly lived in California and was one of the first to look for gold in 1849.” [The Times Union (NY) September 2, 1914]
“My invention relates to an improvement in screw-caps for metal cans and other vessels, and has for its object to enable the cap to be more readily and quickly loosened and unscrewed, or turned down firmly onto it seat or bearing. These caps have hitherto been turned either by the application of the thumb and finger directly to the side thereof, or by means of a removable wrench applied thereto; but these methods are objectionable, as it is not always possible to start or unloosen the cap with the fingers along, while the wrench is liable to be mislaid and not be at hand when wanted. My invention has for its object to overcome these objections…”
Andrew Geyer (1837-1890) Two inventions: 1) Nursing Bottle Patent No. 18,420. 1888 and 2) “Safety Device for Druggists’ Bottles” Patent No. 392,861. 1888.
Geyer was a pharmacist who migrated to Cambridge from Essex, Mass and in 1876 opened up his “Apothecary Store” at the corner of Cambridge and Third Streets in East Cambridge. He was active in Republican politics and was a director of the Cambridge Co-Operative Bank. Geyer died of pneumonia at the age of 53. He was the recipient of two patents for bottle design in 1888. The first was his nursing bottle:
“the leading feature of my design is a bottle of circular shape having one flat side, a flat end, and an inclined or curved neck,….”
His second invention: “Safety Device for Druggists’ Bottles” Patent No. 392,861.1888.
“This invention relates to a… device for securing bottles in place on the shelves on which they are located, so as to prevent the bottle from being removed from the shelf until-the neck-holding device has been first released and expanded.
“In drug stores it is customary to place bottles containing poisons side by side on the same shelf with harmless and non-poisonous medicines. In dispensing medicines fatal and serious accidents have occurred, and are liable to occur, by the carelessness of the dispenser mistaking the poison-containing bottle for another; and to avoid such accidents is the object of my invention…” Or, as The Cambridge Chronicle described it:
The Cambridge Chronicle November 24, 1888
Charles William Rugg (1839-1918) Steam Heating Apparatus Patent No. 348,932. 1886.
During the Civil War, (May of 1864-February 1865) Rugg served as an assistant engineer in the Navy. He was discharged due to a heart ailment. In 1886 Rugg was listed in the Directory as an engineer at 162 Broadway (the factory of Mason & Hamlin Organ and Piano Company), living at 100 Putnam Avenue. He was Commander of Post 30, Grand Army of the Republic.
The Cambridge Chronicle May 2, 1891
Louis Alexandre Touchet, Jr. (1853-1913) Passenger Register Patent No. 286,349. 1883.
In the 1883 Directory Louis Alexandre Touchet, Jr. was listed as an Organ Finisher living at 44 Clark Street. As described in The Cambridge Chronicle (June 23, 1883),
“Louis A. Touchet, an intelligent resident of this city, has invented a fare register….which he believes will reduce stealing to a minimum, and also provide for an income to the companies using it. The invention consists of a box carried with a strap over the neck of the conductor, into which all tickets …are put through an aperture in the top…The apparatus receives tickets, registers fares, and serves as an advertiser on a large scale…”(excerpt)
“My invention relates to that class of fare registers which are designed for use with horse-cars, omnibuses, and similar vehicles; and it consists in a novel construction and arrangement of the parts… by which a more effective device of this character is produced than is now in ordinary use. “
Charles Franklin Davenport (1812-1903) and Albert Bridges (1812-1881) Manner of Constructing Railroad Carriages so as to ease the Lateral Motion of the Bodies Thereof Patent No. 2,027. 1841. Reissued 1850 Patent No. 183
Portrait of Charles Davenport (1812–1903) from Massachusetts of To-Day: A Memorial of the State, Historical and Biographical, Issued for the World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago, 1892, page 305
Since 1828, Davenport had been involved in the car manufacturing business. Directory 1848: Davenport listed as a car manufacturer (Davenport & Bridges) living on Harvard St near Cross St. Bridges is listed with the same firm, and his home was on Norfolk St. Davenport was a Director of the Hancock Free Bridge Corp., a railroad entrepreneur, and champion of improving the Cambridge side of the Charles River Embankment.
Cambridge City Directory, 1848
“…Charles Davenport and Albert Bridges both of Cambridgeport…have invented a new and useful improvement in railroad carriages by which the inconvenience to passengers arising from the sudden lateral motion of the wheels on the rails is obviated…Most persons, who travel by railroad, experience a continual repetition of sudden jars or shocks, arising from the side way movement of the flanches of the wheels of the car, against the rails of the track, and so extensive are the evils of their frequent shocks, that besides being greatly to the discomfort of the passengers, preventing them almost entirely from reading while traveling in this manner it is highly injurious to the carriages causing the joints and other parts to become loose and soon deranged. The object of our improvements is to obviate the effects of the above lateral motion….”
Today’s post was written by Kathleen M. Fox
SOURCES
“Alvan Clark (1804-1887), George Bassett Clark (1827-1891) and Alvan Graham Clark (1832-1897), American Makers of Telescope Optics” by Pedro Ré. http://astrosurf.com/re/alvan_clark.pdf.
Join filmmaker Federico Muchnik for a special premiere screening of his new documentary, Massachusetts Avenue: Life Along Cambridge’s Main Artery, showing at The Brattle Theatre on Saturday October 18th starting at 12pm.
“A high-flying whirlwind grand tour of Mass. Ave. featuring stunning aerial cinematography, revealing interviews with small business owners, controversial news-making stories (the MIT and Harvard encampments), a look at the city’s political life and the Ave’s history, Central Square’s dance party as seen from above, more dance (!), our local music scene and, of course, the turkeys.”
