New York Stock Brokers in Caricature: Henry Block

 

The Marine Torch Company

 

Marine Torch Co.

MAY  24  1900

An extant example of a Marine Torch

Capable of providing chemical illumination in the water, the marine torch was developed by a company in Baltimore, Maryland with the assistance of the US government and military.  The marine torch was clearly a useful technology, though the article below in a British magazine comes to conclusions about its usefulness that were a stretch in hindsight.  

A REVOLUTION IN NAVAL WARFARE

How the Torpedo can be rendered useless

By Philip Robertson

Illustrated by N. Wilkinson and George Soper 

From The Harmsworth Magazine, Volume VI, February 1901 - July 1901, pages 73-77

The invention of the torpedo, not so many years ago, completely revolutionised the method of attack in naval warfare, and has since proved itself the most formidable weapon that can be sent against a ship. 

Now, however, we have to announce a new invention which bids fair to render the torpedo useless, and which puts in the hands of an attacking vessel a weapon which will place her adversary at her mercy. 

The marine torch, as it is called, hails from America, and -- like most great inventions -- is a very simple affair. It has resulted from the discovery of acetylene gas. 

It merely consists of a plain hollow cylinder of metal, made in sizes varying from three to eight inches in diameter and from three to five feet in length, according to the purpose for which it is required. This cylinder contains a wire basket filled with calcium carbide, a substance which, on contact with water, gives off acetylene gas, the brilliant illuminating powers of which are well known. 

At the head of the cylinder are a number of burners, in close proximity to which is a small chamber containing calcium phosphide. This chemical, on contact with water, gives off phosphuretted hydrogen, which ignites spontaneously in the presence of air.  Around the sides of the cylinder are some minute holes, through which the water may enter. When not in use the whole is contained in a hermetically sealed case, so contrived that it can be instantly released without the use of tools or any special mechanical knowledge. 

When the marine torch is thrown over board from a boat the water enters through the holes and acetylene gas is given off in great quantities. On rushing through the burners it comes into contact with the already ignited phosphuretted hydrogen , and at once bursts into a brilliant flame of 2,000 candle power. The flame lasts from two to twelve hours, according to the size of the charge of carbide in the torch. It is too powerful to be extinguished either by spray or wind. It will even burn a few inches beneath the water, and, if so thoroughly submerged as to be extinguished, it automatically re-ignites on coming again to the surface. It will continue to do this any number of times. 

The torch has been deliberately run down at sea by a vessel whose propeller sent it to the bottom , but it came up in a minute and burnt as brilliantly as ever. 

The power of the light was proved by throwing a large marine torch overboard from the steamer Barbarossa, of the North German Lloyd line, when it was found to light up the ocean for a distance of twelve miles. 

The naval illuminating projectile is simply the marine torch modified in shape and strength so that it may be fired in the usual way from large guns. 

The history of this invention is an interesting one.  The idea of constructing a marine torch to generate acetylene gas as an illuminant, which, by some device, should be automatically lighted upon con tact with water, first occurred to Colonel W. J. Wilson, acetylene gas expert, of Philadelphia. 

After labouring for some months to express this idea Colonel Wilson finally made a torch comprising a light metal cylinder, weighted at one end, and with burners at the other, which he charged with carbide of calcium, devising as an ignitor a chamber adjacent to the burners containing metallic potassium, a well-known chemical which ignites spontaneously in contact with water. 

However, after further experiments several difficulties arose, and the invention was found to be impracticable. The acetylene gas would not generate with sufficient rapidity to become ignited by the potassium, which instantly igniting upon contact with water was at once consumed. 

At this time the United States Navy be came interested in the marine torch, and a brief investigation was made by Theodore Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, with the result that Admiral O'Neill, Chief of Naval Ordnance, gave an order for three-inch shells to be constructed as soon as possible, at the price of $100 (£ 20) per dozen. The Government was extremely anxious to use them during the blockade of Santiago. 

Upon making further experiments Colonel Wilson could not immediately remedy the fault with the ignitor, so he was unable to fulfil the Government's order in time for the Spanish war. However, after continuous experiments for a special period of six months Colonel Wilson finally devised a time fuse, to operate in conjunction with potassium as an ignitor. 

With the improvement of the fuse ignitor devised by Colonel Wilson the torch could sometimes be ignited, but not with the requisite degree of certainty; and furthermore, when extinguished by rough weather or by accident, it was at once rendered inoperative. In consequence a company was formed in Baltimore early in 1898 for the purpose of developing a torch which would either be non-extinguishable or would re-light as often as extinguished. 

After more time and further experiments, Messrs. Rose and Holmes, both electrical engineers, together invented the present ignitor for the torch, in which calcium phosphide is used. This was found to be the only chemical that would serve the purpose. Cheap in cost and efficient in action as a continuous ignitor, it proved entirely successful. 

A few lumps of calcium phosphide in serted in a separate chamber devised for it at the head of the torch formed the inextinguishable "pilot light" desired. The more this chemical is submerged in water the more freely it generates phosphuretted hydrogen, which spontaneously ignites in the presence of oxygen. The "pilot light" chamber is always charged with sufficient phosphide to last, even if continuously submerged, during the whole life of the torch. 

In August 1899 a patent application for this invention was filed in the United States, and in the same year a larger com pany under the name of "The Marine Torch Company" was organised by well-known business men of Baltimore, who, after thorough investigation, realised the importance of the invention and invested largely in it. Patent applications were made covering the principal countries of the world. 

The company then gave its attention to a naval projectile, to be discharged from guns to distances suitable for offensive and defensive purposes, for up to this time the torches were only constructed for marine and life-saving purposes. 

The American Navy manifested the same interest in the torch, in evidence of which they placed at the disposal of the Marine Torch Company, entirely free of cost, guns, powder, men, and conveyance to and from its proving grounds, at Indian Head, Maryland, as often as experiments were necessary, so that the company could have every facility to construct a perfect naval shell. 

The first trial was made in April 1900, when the torch was discharged at a distance of a quarter of a mile, but the company's engineers learned that a successful marine torch was not necessarily a successful naval projectile. The need for a hollow shell, strong enough to withstand the shock of cannon, and light enough to float, presented new difficulties. Early in June the company were fortunate enough to secure the services of Philip R. Alger, Professor of Ordnance at the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, to assist their engineers in designing and constructing the naval projectile, with the result that a trial in July marked further improvement. 

In all the trials referred to the torches or shells ignited the instant they entered the water, and burned perfectly, and the projectile is considered complete by the company and by the officer in charge of the Naval Proving Station. 

The company is now designing projectiles to be discharged various distances and for various purposes, and applications are being filed all over the world for patents for valuable inventions comprised in these projectiles. Some of the navies of Europe have requested demonstrations of the projectile, and the company is preparing to illustrate its importance and usefulness. 

The value of the marine torch for naval operations by night will be enormous. The torpedo boat will be completely circum vented by lack of the darkness so necessary for its manœuvres. Under present methods a ship's searchlight often fails to reveal the attacking vessel, while it often invites attack by revealing the position of the ship.     

The marine torch, in the form of a projectile, can be projected to a distance of several miles if necessary, and thus a vast ring of illuminated sea will surround the vessel, which will itself remain in darkness. 

A warship desiring to attack another by night will only need to fire one or two of these torches at her. She will then be brilliantly lit up and will form a splendid target for the attacking vessel, which will itself be shrouded in darkness. 

During a blockade, the mouth of a river or harbour can be kept constantly illuminated, rendering it impossible for any vessel to pass without detection. Similarly, in defending a port, a few torches can be occasionally projected to some distance, rendering it impossible for the hostile fleet to approach unseen.

In case of a shipwreck light is often of the utmost importance. At the wreck of the Mohegan, the great loss of life was entirely due to the absence of light. By throwing a few torches overboard the vessel at once becomes visible to passing ships or to watchers on the shore, who are thus directed in throwing life-lines and sending lifeboats. 

There are many other uses to which this ingenious invention may be applied. For lighting harbours and docks, night work water fronts, repairing bridges and groynes, erecting forts, picking up boats at sea, landing mails, and coaling at night, it is equally suitable. 

Its cost is not great, it is easily manipulated, and it can be recharged. Already it has attracted the attention of the great naval authorities of several countries. 

One of the most valuable features of the marine torch is its remarkable simplicity. It possesses no valves or moving parts, and has absolutely nothing to get out of order or to cause failure. It can be kept for an indefinite period, as it is supplied in an air tight sealed metal case, which can be instantly opened without tools by the simple device of tearing off a strip of metal, in the same way that tins of preserved food are often opened. 

It can in fact be got out of its case in thirty seconds, and in less than a minute after the need arises the torch is blazing away in the water. 

We recently had an opportunity of seeing this useful device in action. It was the work of a moment to tear off the binding strip, which released the top of the case. The torch was promptly pitched out into the water, and on rising to the surface burst into flame in a way that would have seemed mysterious enough to anyone not in on the secret. 

The flame burnt so fiercely that all at tempts to extinguish it were in vain until it was plunged deeply under the water. This was done repeatedly, and each time the torch relighted itself as soon as released. 

It cannot be too clearly understood that darkness has been mainly responsible for the terrible loss of life and damage to property sustained in cases of shipwreck. Many ships have gone down within short distances of the shore, with life savers close at hand, simply because they were enshrouded in darkness.

All this might have been avoided had some effective means of illumination existed which would not be at the mercy of wind and water. 

We are indebted to the courtesy of the European representative of the Marine Torch Company, Mr. A. F. J. Johnson, of Clevedon, Forest Hill, S.E., for much in formation about this important invention. 

Industrial Cancels: Steiner & Son

Steiner & Son made pajamas, and, apparently, machines you could buy to make more pajamas.

STEINER & SON

JUL  8  1899

ASBURY PARK, N. J.

Steiner & Son main factory, from Asbury Park, Commercial Center of the New Jersey Coast, Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce, 1915

Advertisement in the Asbury Park Daily Press, July 21, 1898

Chicago Board of Trade: The Ellsworth & Cross Company

 

THE ELLSWORTH &

CROSS CO.

DEC 11  1900

CHICAGO.

THE ELLSWORTH &

CROSS CO.

JAN  7  1901

CHICAGO.

THE ELLSWORTH & 

CROSS CO.

MAY  16 1901

CHICAGO.

Henry Ellsworth was member 5092 of the Chicago Board of Trade.

New York Stock Brokers in Caricature: Harry Content

 

Mr. Content appears to have appreciated the early automobile:

From the Stock Exchange in Caricature, 1904:

From The New York Times Obit for Mr. Content, August 14, 1941:

Cotton Brokers: Weld & Neville

WELD & NEVILLE

DEC

4

1900

HOUSTON, TEXAS

Weld & Neville was a unit of the large American cotton broker Weld & Company, with branches in Liverpool, New York, Boston, Houston and Bremen.

1909 Advert for Weld & Co., one of the largest importers of cotton into Liverpool in the late ninetweenth and early twentieth centuries. (Source of advert: Auguste Bruckert, Cotton Pamphlet

relating to the Liverpool Cotton Market, Liverpool: 1909, page 112):

Lake Washington Sanborn of Galesburg, Illinois

In 1882 Lake Sanborn organized the Mechanics Homestead and Loan Association in Galeburg, Illinios, and was elected secretary, a position he held until his death.  Sanborn also represented various insurance companies as an agent.  So he apparently ordered a circular date stamp that could function as his cancelling device no matter what hat he was wearing - lender or insurance agent.   The cancel seemed peculiar to me at first inspection, but after reading his bio, "Agent or Sec'y" made perfect sense.

In 1905, Sanborn was elected Mayor of Galesburg. 

LAKE W. SANBORN

MAR

22

1899

AGENT OR SEC'Y

Lake W. Sanborn

from Notable Men of Illinois & Their State, published in1912

New York Stock Brokers in Caricature: Robert Doremus

 

Robert Doremus from The Stock Exchange in Caricature, 1904

DeCoppet & Doremus used handstamps, initial punch, and initial perfin cancels.  The firm often dealt in odd lot trades (fractions of 100 or multiples of 100 shares), as referred to in the poem above.  As such they frequently used the battleship revenue stamps in addition to the dollar value documentary stamps.

Philadelphia Stock Brokers: Bioren & Company

 

BIOREN & CO.

From Who's Who in Philadelphia in Wartime, 1920

Cotton Brokers: J. H. Parker & Company

 

J. H. PARKER & CO.

COTTON EXCHANGE

N. Y.

James Henry Parker, from King's Notable New Yorkers

Parker was a president of the New York Cotton Exchange

and a member 6903 of The Chicago Board of Trade.  He was originally 

from North Carolina and served as a cavalry lieutenant in the

Confederate Army.

Tiffany & Company

 

TIFFANY & CO.

FEB

4

1899

NEW YORK

Louis Comfort Tiffany, c.1908

from King's Notable New Yorkers, 1899

Tiffany & Company's flagship store on Fifth Avenue

Department Stores: Lord & Taylor

America's first department store was Lord & Taylor; it has now gone virtual, and its flagship store in Manhattan has been repurposed.

Lord & Taylor.

JUN  6  1899

Lord & Taylor's former flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York

From King's Notable New Yorkers, 1899:

Klee & Company, New York City: Tailors to the Trade

 

KLEE & COMPANY,

JAN

20

1899

NEW YORK.

Klee & Company advertising postcard:

Klee & Company billhead:

Germania Half Dollar Savings Bank, Wheeling, West Virginia

GERMANIA HALF DOL SAV. BANK

MAR

21

1901

WHEELING, W. VA.

from The Wheeling Intelligencer, Tuesday, July 3, 1917:

 New Home of the Germania Half Dollar Savings Opens

FIFTEENTH AND MARKET STREETS, WHEELING, W. VA.

Public opening of our new bank this evening, July 3, 1917 from 6 to 10 P. M. 

A cordial invitation is extended to the public to attend and see our splendid new home.

Wheeling's new banking house, the home of the Germania Half Dollar Savings bank, corner of Market and Fifteenth street, city, is ready for business, and this evening the general public will be given an opportunity to call and inspect this fine new banking house, which is a credit to the Wheeling district. The bank was designed by Fred F. Faris, who has drawn the plans for many of the finest banks in the Wheeling district.

The bank is located on the southwest corner of Fifteenth and Market streets and extends back to Alley B in the rear. It occupies the site of the old Reymann brewery, which was later the Wheeling Majority building, and also the old building on the corner. It is the very latest in architecture and strictly modern in every respect.

The building is the regulation type, but one story in height, but this story of course is as high as two ordinary building stories. It is strictly fireproof throughout and is as modern as money and skill can make it. The front is of granite and terra cotta. The doors are of bronze and the entrance is very ornate.

The interior of the building is made up of one spacious room, extending from the street front to the alley in the rear. The room is finished in marble wainscoting. The ceiling is centered by a large dome skylight. The alley wall has no windows and the entire lighting of the bank will be furnished by the spacious dome in the ceiling.

In the extreme rear there is a large concrete vault, reinforced with railroad iron. It is strictly burglar and fireproof and includes scores of safety deposit vault sections. The vault is equipped with the latest type bank vault door, a massive circular affair of steel, and equipped with intricate mechanism.

Extending towards the front from this vault are the bank offices, the spaces for the cashier, tellers, president and secretary, directors' room, etc. These arc of marble walls with ornamental bronze grating. Desks and other conveniences for patrons are located throughout the main bank lobby.

The Germania Half Dollar Savings bank has an interesting history. It was founded in April 1897, by the late George Hook, George K. Stifel, the late F. C. H. Schwertfeger, the late H. F. Behrens, Sr., and Paul O. Reymann. The first board of directors was composed of George Hook, Paul O. Reymann, A. G. Hadlich, Chris Vieweg, Jr., F. C. Driehorst, L. S. Good, H. F. Jones, C. M. Oliver, Sr., K. M. Holliday, W. O. McClusky and James McCamic.

Through years of struggles the bank has risen to foremost ranks until it is considered one of the strongest financial institutions of the country, its deposits have grown with rapidity and its semi-annual dividends were received by stockholders as regularly as clockwork. The bank has been located temporarily, during the construction of its new home, in the adjoining former Quarter Savings bank room.

The present officers are: F. C. Driehorst, president; A. G. Hadlich, vice president; Val G. Gundling, cashier; John Metzger, assistant cashier; Carl Lang, teller; Thomas S. Thoner, bookkeeper, and J. W. Lashley, messenger. Some of the present directors served on the first board. The board is made up of George W. Lutz, C. F. Bachmann, John H. Clarke, William H. Pfarr, C. M. Oliver, Sr., F. C. Driehorst, A. G. Fladlich, Louis Berthschy, L. S. Good and H. F. Jones.

With the above named officers the Germania Half Dollar Savings bank is sure to grow and promises to be one of the leading banks of the state. Its depositors are the very best people in the Ohio valley and it has gained a wide reputation through honest dealings with all. It is another monument in the field of progress and advancement in the Wheeling district.

 

1898 Documentary Perfin Cancels

Front                                      Back

P & Co

+4

30

01

Perfin cancel with initials and date.  This is the most complex and interesting perfin cancel that I have seen on the 1898 revenue stamp series.

Perfins.  For the unitiated, they serve to cancel stamps by punching small holes in the stamp that encode information.  They are often used to precancel stamps.  In a few cases on the 1898 revenue series, period size holes might spell out the initials of a brokerage firm.  Perfins are somewhat scarce on the 1898 series of documentary stamps.  They became a common form of cancel from 1914 on, and entire collections can be built on those perfined stamps.  But today will highlight 1898 perfins.  This post includes 3 unidentified perfins, 7 different NYSE firms, and 2 insurance companies.

Unidentified perfins:

• P & Company (possibly Pearl & Co.)
• FB... (possibly Finley Barrell & Co. or several others)
• AN & Company

New York Stock Exhange firm perfins:

• Price, McCormick & Company
• Ladenburg, Thalmann Company
• Edward Sweet & Company
• DeCoppett & Company
• DeCoppett & Doremus
• Lazard Freres
• P. J. Goodhart & Company

Insurance company perfins:

• New York Life Insurance Company
• Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

For the purpose of this article and in general, perfins do not include punch cancel initials or large punch outs, shaped or not.    These types of cancels will be featured in a comprehensive post in the coming weeks.  This post will also not cover generic perfins like those that spell out Cancelled or Paid, include only numbers, or are shapes.

The upper left stamp and the pair on the right are perfin style generic cancels, not specific to the user.  Cancels in the same class include those that say PAID. The bottom left stamp has simple punch cancels, not perfins.

Letter punch cancel, not a perfin cancel

The first example, and the most complex type of perfin on the 1898s, is that shown at the top of this post.  The cancel remains unidentified but possibly comes from the New York Stock Exchange firm Pearl & Company.  

A similar type of cancel to that above was used by a firm with the initials FB; unfortunately this is only a fragment of the cancel and there may be additional initials we cannot see.  It is clear, however, that firm initials and a date was encoded in the perfin cancel.  

FB??

+1

16

??

Finley Barrell (with a seat on NYSE) out of Chicago is a possibility, but there are other fims that might also be possible, including F. B. Cochran & Co. of New York.

AN & CO

A final unidentified cancel.  This perfin uses an identical ampersand form as that for the firm Edward Sweet & Company below, so it might be a stock exchange firm, or a company based in New York.

The perfin using firms that follow have all been identified.  They all used a simpler form of perfin that included only the initials of the firm and no date.   

Price, McCormick & Company

Ladenburg, Thalman Company

Bill of exchange fragment.  Dollar values are perfined.

Edward Sweet & Company

The old Scott catalog number is penciled on back

DeCoppet & Company

DeCoppet & Doremus

Lazard Freres

Bill of exchange fragment.  Perfins on stamps 10 cents and up.

P. J. Goodhart & Company

The old Scott Catalog number is penciled on back.

New York Life Insurance Company

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company