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Charles Richardson Pratt Papers

National Museum of American History

Object Details

Creator
Pratt, Charles Richardson, 1860-1935
Collector
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry
Names
Sprague, Frank J.
Place
Montclair (N.J.)
Topic
Mechanical engineering and engineers
Inventors
Elevators
Machine-tools
Patents -- 1890-1900
Power transmission
Provenance
This collection was purchased from Charles R. Pratt's daughter, Gertrude Pratt Vance, in 1973.
Creator
Pratt, Charles Richardson, 1860-1935
See more items in
Charles Richardson Pratt Papers
Summary
The papers document the professional career of mechanical engineer, Charles Richardson Pratt. The papers include correspondence, patents, patent application materials, agreements, photographs, publications, and blueprints for many of Pratt's inventions, especially his work on elevators.
Biographical / Historical
Charles Richardson Pratt (1860-1935), was born in Massachusetts to John C. and Mary Anne Richardson. He graduated from the Hopkins School of Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1879. Pratt worked at Whittier Machine Company of Boston (1882-1890) where he designed and built the first electric elevator in 1888. The elevator was installed in the Tremont House, Boston. Pratt also worked as an agent and later as a consulting engineer for the Otis Elevator Company, the inventors of the hydraulic elevator. Pratt was best known for his development of the first electrically powered elevator. In 1892, inventor Frank Sprague (1857-1934) founded the Sprague Electric Elevator Company, and with Charles R. Pratt developed the Sprague-Pratt Electric Elevator. They demonstrated that electrically powered elevators were capable of competing with hydraulic elevators. Pratt held several engineering positions and worked for the Marine Engine Company of Newark, New Jersey (1902-1905) developing elevator systems; consulting engineer to the Universal Speed Control Company of New York City (1906-1919); consultant to the American Engineering Company of Philadelphia (1912); mechanical superintendent at the Crocker Wheel Company of Ampere, New Jersey (1919); engineer for the E. Horton and Sons Company of Connecticut (1920-1923); the General Tractors Corporation (1924-1927); and was associated with the Watson Elevator Company of New York City (1928-1930). Pratt patented many of his ideas, earning over thirty-five patents related mostly to elevators, Pratt was a member of the Masons, the Sons of the American Revolution, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the MIT Club of New Jersey, and the Motor Club of London. He married Mary Byron Ladd and they had two children, Gertrude Ladd Pratt and Donald Richardson Pratt.
Extent
6 Cubic feet (13 boxes, 8 oversize folders)
Date
1860-1935
bulk 1910-1924
Custodial History
Transferred to the Archives Center in 2007 by the Division of Work and Industry, formerly called the Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering.
Archival Repository
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier
NMAH.AC.0958
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Diaries
Drawings
Trade catalogs
Photographs
Notebooks
Letterpress books
Patents
Citation
Charles Richardson Pratt Papers, 1860-1935, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into eight series. Series 1: Personal Materials, 1875-1935 Series 2: Diaries, 1894, 1928-1931 Series 3: Correspondence, 1872-1920 Series 4: Notebooks, 1880, 1889, 1900 Series 5: Inventions, 1860-1927 Series 6: Photographs, 1890-1902 Series 7: Publications, 1895-1929 Series 8: Drawings, 1878-1929
Processing Information
Processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, 2016.
Rights
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Genre/Form
Diaries
Drawings
Trade catalogs
Photographs -- 19th century
Notebooks
Letterpress books
Patents -- 1870-1880
Scope and Contents
These papers contain personal materials of Charles R. Pratt; letterpress copybooks; engineering notebooks; diaries; material relating to the development of the heavy-duty, high-rise electric elevator; material concerning elevator cable equalizers and safety devices, Morton-Jacobsen and other lathe chucks, lathe drives and the Pratt Driver, the hydraulic transmission of power in trucks, and ship steering gear; and studies reports, drawings, photographs, catalogs, and trade literature concerning mechanical engineering.
Restrictions
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at [email protected] or 202-633-3270.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1503511628816-1503511628828-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep82afc1e29-876b-4494-9c92-64a14390613e

In the Collection

Pages

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  • C.R. Pratt (Sprague Elevator Company, New York City)

  • #33, Interior shop floor view of Marine Engine and Machine Company?

  • US 846,613 (elevator safety device)

  • Universal Speed Control Company (lists of patents)

  • Braces and tubes for horizontal boiler

  • American Engineering Company, electro-hydraulic steering motor control

  • Diaries

Pages

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  • ‹ previous
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Charles R. Pratt (Boston and Sprague Electric Elevator Company, New York City and Bloomfield, New Jersey)
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