Important American inventor (1765-1825) remembered for developing the cotton gin, revolutionizing agriculture in the American South. Autograph manuscript signed several times within the text, "Eli Whitney," "Mr. Whitney," and "E. Whitney," three pages on two adjoining sheets, 7.25 x 9.75, no date but circa 1800. A handwritten series of questions and answers from a deposition in a patent suit over the cotton gin, headed: "Interrogatories to be put to Mr. Ebenezer Chittendon of New Haven, Connecticut." In full: "Quest. What has been your occupation & what opportunities of acquiring a knowledge of Metronism & the Mechanic Arts—? Ans. The Deponent was bnd to the Silver Smith & Clock maker's business & has been a practical Mechanic for more than fifty years for the last thirty of which much of his time has been devoted to constructing and making various kinds of machines & executing a great variety of mechanical business.
Quest. Have you ever examined the Specification and Drawings of a Machine invented by the Plf. Eli Whitney for cleaning Cotton?—if so—Is said invention there described in such full clear and exact terms that by the assertions of the Specification & Drawings alone you could make a Machine which would clean Cotton. Ans. The Deponent has examined an authenticated copy of the Specification & Drawings (filed in the Sec'y of State's office, by the plf. Eli Whitney), of a machine for cleaning cotton & has no hesitation in saying that the Machine & mode of making it is there very fully described and is quite sufficient to enable any ingenious Mechanic to make an effective Machine by the assistance of the Specification only.
Quest. Have you ever known any machine used for any purpose whatever previous to the Invention of the Plf. Ans. The Deponent has never heard of any machine constructed on similar principles with the Low Gin previous to Mr. Whitney's discovery of the invention.
Quest. Are you acquainted with the Plf. E. Whitney—the history & progress of his Discovery—is he considered as a person of knowledge, skill & respectability as a mechanic—Note, the above named Mr. Chittendon is a very venerable old gentleman & eminently distinguished for his talents as a Mechanishion & ingenious Mechanic—& whose moral character is without a blemish." In fine condition.
Eli Whitney designed the innovative cotton gin in a mere ten days, completing a prototype in April 1793. He patented the invention in 1794, and subsequently struggled to stop southern farmers from copying his design and illegally reproducing the machine to use without payment. He would spend years defending his patent from imitators. This remarkable handwritten document reveals both the ease with which the gin could be copied, and the vigorous defense that Whitney mounted to protect his intellectual property.
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