Inventor Name
Bigelow, Erastus B. (Erastus Bingham)
Repository
Massachusetts Historical Society
1154 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02215-3695
617-536-1608
http://www.masshist.org/library_collections/
Physical Description
4 boxes, 6 vols., and 6 oversize containers.
Summary
Papers of Erastus B. Bigelow, Massachusetts inventor and economist, who was responsible for substantial improvements in power looms for carpet and other cloth manufacturing. The papers contain letterbooks, notes, correspondence, legal agreements, patents, plans, and specifications for Bigelow's inventions and improvements to power looms, and his dealings with various mills and carpet manufacturing companies, including his own Bigelow Carpet Company, the Clinton Company, and the Lowell Manufacturing Company. There is also considerable material concerning the tariff and protectionist policy in United States trade. Papers include "Extracts from the private journal of Alexander Wright" which concerns Bigelow's power loom inventions; and a scrapbook of clippings covering Bigelow's life, the carpet industry, and protectionism. Oversize material consists of patents and drawings for Bigelow's inventions.