(SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING) Papers of inventor James Macomber

Sale 2391 - Lot 315

Price Realized: $ 375

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 400 - $ 600

(SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING.) Papers of inventor James Macomber. 22 pages, about 12 x 8 inches, on 9 sheets; moderate wear. (MRS) Greenwich, NY, 1812-15

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James Macomber (1773-1853) was a farmer and teacher in Washington County, NY; in his spare time he was an inventor of perpetual motion devices and other curiosities. One drawing is titled "Perhaps a perpetual motion," and its long description begins "Invented to a state of probability on the evening of the 2nd of March 1812, after going to bed, and after going on the same evening after some milk and butter to Mr. William Martindale and coming home without obtaining any of either." The collection includes 4 other drawings, at least some of them apparently along the same lines, as well as retained drafts of Macomber's correspondence, and a one-page attendance log from his school.
If these papers truly contain the secret of perpetual motion, the purchaser will stand to gain unimaginable wealth and world domination. We make no guarantees, however.