Frank J. Sprague papers 1874-1939

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Frank J. Sprague papers 1874-1939

http://archives.nypl.org/mss/2850

Papers document Sprague's career as an inventor and engineer in the field of rail transportation from his days as a U.S. Naval Academy cadet until his death in 1934. Papers consist chiefly of his correspondence and business records of his companies, the Sprague Electric Railway and Motor Company, Sprague Electric Company, Sprague Electric Elevator Company, Société Française Sprague, and Sprague Safety Control and Signal Corporation. Company records, 1884-1933, include correspondence, memoranda, technical reports, blueprints, diagrams, photographs, patent applications, patent interference case files, and laboratory and shop records. His work as a consulting engineer and his participation in several professional organizations are also documented, particularly his work for the Electric Traction Commission of the New York Central Railroad, 1902-1906, and for the U.S. Naval Consulting Board, 1915-1923. Papers also include copies of his speeches and writings, personal notebooks, numerous scrapbooks of clippings and printed material about his inventions and rail transportation in general, and a small series of personal papers, including personal and household correspondence, portraits, genealogical material on the Sprague family, ephemera, tributes, and awards.

100 linear feet (110 boxes, 164 v., 68 packages)

New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6312861

New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division

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