[ [93] Thomas Fenwick, Essays on Practical Mechanics, ed. 3, Durham, England, 1822.
[ [94] Appleton's Dictionary of Machines, Mechanics, Engine-Work, and Engineering, 2 vols., New York, 1851 ("Motion").
In the Dictionary of Engineering[95] (London, 1873), the figures were redrawn and dozens of mechanisms were added to the repertory of mechanical motions; the result was a fair catalog of sound ideas. The ferryboat still tugged at its anchor cable, however.[[96] Knight's American Mechanical Dictionary,[97] a classic of detailed pictorial information compiled by a U.S. patent examiner, contained well over 10,000 finely detailed figures of various kinds of mechanical contrivances. Knight did not have a separate section on mechanisms, but there was little need for one of the Hachette variety, because his whole dictionary was a huge and fascinating compendium of ideas to be filed away in the synthetic mind. One reason for the popularity and usefulness of the various pictorial works was the peculiar ability of a wood or steel engraving to convey precise mechanical information, an advantage not possessed by modern halftone processes.
[ [95] E. F. and N. Spon, Dictionary of Engineering, London 1873, pp. 2421-2452.
[ [96] Ibid., p. 2447.
[ [97] Edward H. Knight, Knight's American Mechanical Dictionary, 3 vols., New York 1874-1876.
Figure 36.—Typical mechanisms from E. F. and N. Spon, Dictionary of Engineering (London, 1873, pp. 2426, 2478).
Many patent journals and other mechanical periodicals concerned with mechanics were available in English from the beginning of the 19th century, but few of them found their way into the hands of American mechanicians until after 1820. Oliver Evans (1755-1819) had much to say about "the difficulties inventive mechanics labored under for want of published records of what had preceded them, and for works of reference to help the beginner."[98] In 1817 the North American Review also remarked upon the scarcity of engineering books in America.[99]
[ [98] George Escol Sellers in American Machinist, July 12, 1884, vol. 7, p. 3.