FULTON, Robert (1765-1815)

[Original pen, ink and watercolour drawing of a Detonator and Muzzle for an Underwater Cannon]

[New York: circa 1807]. Pen and ink with watercolour on paper. Sheet size: 20 1/2 x 28 inches. (Expertly repaired tear visible only upon close inspection). Matted and in a gold leaf frame. Provenance: Solomon Alofsen (1808-1876, presented to); The New Jersey Historical Society (received in 1855, ink stamp on verso).

This drawing was probably executed shortly after Fulton's return to America in 1806, and shows details of flintlock detonators for submarine bombs and underwater guns.

Robert Fulton was something of a renaissance man: he studied painting under Benjamin West, launched the first successful paddle-steamer service in the world, designed and tested the first practical submarine, and significantly advanced the design of submarine torpedoes and torpedo boats. Born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Fulton moved to England in 1786 to study painting. His practical experiments with submarine torpedoes and torpedo boats began with his move to France in 1797 and culminated in the testing of the first practical submarine (The Nautilus) in 1800. In 1804 he moved back to England and continued his experiments with torpedoes in tandem with his overseeing the construction of a steam engine to power a boat that he had designed. In late 1806 he returned to the United States to supervise the construction of what was to become the North River Steamboat or Clermont. Whilst this was going on he also continued with his experiments with torpedoes and submarines: his "torpedo" bombs were tested in New York Harbour and he published a pamphlet, "Torpedo War and Submarine Explosions," in 1810. With government support, he continued his experiments and with the outbreak of the War of 1812, he concentrated on his "submarine gun," a precursor of modern torpedo techniques. This drawing is divided into two parts. The left side shows various sections and details of a flintlock mechanism designed to be watertight and used underwater. The right appears to show two alternative designs for a waterproof gun muzzle: one with a waterproof hatch lowered using a toothed cog, the second: a flap lowered using a lever system. The drawing was de-accessioned by the New Jersey Historical Society. It originally formed part of a large collection of Fulton's drawings given to the Society in 1855 by the Dutch-born engineer, ethnologist and historian Solomon Alofsen (1808-1876). He came to the United States as secretary of the Dutch legation, and settled in Jersey City. He subsequently married and worked in the railroad business (he was for a time secretary of the Illinois Central railroad). His leisure was taken up with the study of history and ethnology, and he was prominent in a number of the learned societies of New York and vicinity. After forty years residence in the United States he returned to Holland, where he died in 1876.

Cadwallader D. Colden The Life of Robert Fulton (New York: Kirk & Mercein, 1817); H.W. Dickinson Robert Fulton, Engineer and Artist: His Life and Works (London: 1913); John Morgan Robert Fulton (New York: 1977); Cynthia Owen Philip. Robert Fulton, A Biography (New York: 1985); Franklin Watts, New York, 1985; J. Franklin Reigart Life of Fulton (Philadelphia: 1856); Kirkpatrick Sale The Fire of His Genius: Robert Fulton and the American Dream (New York: 2001).

Item #19233

Price: $13,500.00