Inventor Name
Read, John Brahan
Repository
Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219-8000
804-692-3888
http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwehave/
Physical Description
42 leaves
Summary
Papers, 1856-1862, of John B. Read relate to the development of the Read shell used by the Confederate military. Papers include correspondence, drawings, and the original patent, 1856 (No. 15,999). Also includes letters from John B. Read to the patent office, and with the Confederate States War Department regarding compensation for his invention. of note are several letters between Judah P. Benjamin, Josiah Gorgas, Stephen R. Mallory, George Minor, George W. Randolph, and Edward Sparrow reagrding patent infringement claims by Read. There is a letter of March 25, 1862 from John Read to George W. Randolph detailing Read’s account of his invention and including sketches of the Read shell. There is a resolution by the Confederate States of America to compnesate Read for his invention. The papers include several ink drawinmgs of the shell.
