Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Greville Bathe Papers

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0970
Creators:
Bathe, Greville
Dates:
bulk 1933-1944
1893-1985
Languages:
Collection is in
English
. Some materials in
French
and
German
.
Physical Description:
5 Cubic feet
12 boxes
Repository:

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
Papers contain archival materials comprising Bathe's research on Oliver Evans (1755-1819), an American engineer engaged in the development of steam engines. The collection includes copies of letters, design drawings, pamphlets and a book written by Evans, patents, a scrapbook, articles, genealogical information, Evans's will, and writings by Bathe on Evans, including his book about him. Correspondence with libraries and other scholars is included, as are papers relating to the book such as reviews, notebooks, and papers relating to the printing and publishing. There is also research material on American engineer Jacob Perkins, for Bathe's books Citizen Genet (1946), Horizontal Windmills (1948), and Ship of Destiny...Merrimac (1951), and assorted trade catalogs and materials pertaining to Bathe's manufacturing companies in London and Philadelphia. A photograph album compiled by Bathe containing photographs and sketches of models built by Bathe is also included.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged into six series.
Series 1: Correspdondence, 1893-1960
Series 2: Photographs, 1897-1954
Series 3: Writings, 1933-1960
Series 4: Catalogs/Trade Literature, 1905-1985
Series 5: Research about Oliver Evans (1955-1819), 1933-1962
Series 6: Research about Jacob Perkins (1766-1849), 1937-1944
Series 7: Miscellaneous, 1919-1980

Biographical

Biographical
Greville I. Bathe (1883-1964) was born in Cambridge, England. He attended the London Polytechnic Institute, earning a degree in mechanical engineering. Bathe worked in England as a model maker and in 1919 came to the United States to establish a model making business in Philadelphia which he ran until 1936. Bathe retired to Florida in 1948.
Bathe built and collected working scale models of steam engines, a hobby that dates to his childhood in England. During his lifetime he amassed a significant library of books (1,500) on the history of technology before and after the Industrial Revolution. Bathe wrote extensively about steam engines and was the author of many articles and books which included Jacob Perkins: His Inventions, His Times, and His Contemporaries (1943), Horizontal windmills, draft mills and similar air-flow engines (1948), The rise and decline of the paddle-wheel (1962), The St. John's Railroad, 1858 to 1895: a contemporary history of a pioneer railroad (1958), and his definitive biography of Oliver Evans (1935).

Administration

Author
Alison Oswald
Ownership and Custodial History
The collection was transferred from Division of Work and Industry to the Archives Center in 2007.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Originally a bequest to the National Museum of American History from Greville I. Bathe.
Separated Materials
The Division of Work and Industry, National Museum of American History holds artifacts related to Greville I. Bathe, specifically scale models built by Bathe.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Alison Oswald, 2018.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
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.
Preferred Citation
Archives Center, Greville I. Bathe Papers, 1933-1967, National Museum of American History.
Conditions Governing Access
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 archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Related Materials
Swarthmore College Libraries
Bathe Collection in the History of Technology
The Bathe Collection is comprised of some 1,500 volumes on the history of technology before and after the Industrial Revolution. The collection was willed to Swarthmore by Greville Bathe, author of several books on the history of technology, and contains primary source material from the 16th through 18th centuries as well as contemporary bibliographies, biographies, histories, and secondary materials. The collection's range of subject matter extends from steam engines and their inventors to post-Newtonian mechanics, early aeronautics, and the Atlantic cable. In addition, it includes Greville Bathe's books, galley proofs, and manuscripts.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Photograph albums Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Patents Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wills Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Windmills Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Notebooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Genealogies Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Engineering -- History Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Letters Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pamphlets -- 19th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Steam-engines Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Articles Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Writings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Design drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Catalogs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Evans, Oliver, 1766-1819 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Perkins, Jacob, 1766-1849 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu