Vol 3 Section 0190

¹⁴⁶                                                                        1898

titled In Purgatory, by Ernst Gettke and Alexander Engel. Again Sam pushed for Rogers to visit Vienna

[MTHHR 333].

March 23 Wednesday – In Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to H.H. Rogers

There is a very pleasant American named Wood nibbling at my option [for the Szczepanik loom invention]. Of course he does not know the length of the option nor the price, & he does not expect to get hold of those details at present; all he wants now is a promise that if my New York friends decline to buy my option, the American carpet man whom he represents shall have the next chance to make me a bid. I am to think about it till day after tomorrow & then let him know [MTHHR 334]. Note: see Mar. 18 notebook entry about William M. Wood. The rest of the letter details the interaction with Wood and developments on the Raster machine.

Sam’s Mar. 24 to Rogers relates that Ludwig Kleinberg arrived at Sam’s hotel suite at 8:30 p.m. with an English-speaking secretary. Sam asked questions about the “auxiliary invention,” the improved version of the Raster he called “No. 2”:

It is a machine. It automatically punches the holes in the Jacquard cards, & does it with mathematical accuracy. It will do for $1 what now costs $3. So it has value, but “No. 1” is the great thing—(the designing-invention) It saves $9 out of $10, and the Jacquard looms must have it. …

So then we talked—talked till pretty late. Would Germany & England join the combination? I said the Company would know how to persuade them.

Then I asked for a Supplementary Option, to cover the world, and we parted [MTP; MTHHR 339].

March 24 Thursday – In Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to H.H. Rogers, detailing the visit of Ludwig Kleinberg of the previous night. Sam closed with:

You & Mrs. Rogers need not hurry. If you reach here by the 1st of May it wil do. The country will be lovely, then.

I am taking all precautions to keep my name out of print in connection with this matter. And we will now keep the invention itself out of print as well as we can. Descriptions of it have been granted to the “Dry Goods Economist” (New York) & to a syndicate of American papers. I have asked Mr. Kleinberg to suppress these, & he feels pretty sure he can do it. With love / SLC [MTHHR 339].

March 25 Friday – In Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote a short note to Frank Bliss suggesting he begin the Uniform Edition with IA, and then

Harper” [MTP].

On Mar. 18 in his meeting with William M. Wood about the raster machine, Sam offered to make an appointment for the two of them for Mar. 25 at Jan Szcepanik’s laboratory [Dolmetsch 201]. Note: it is

assumed they kept the appointment.

“Captain” Charles C. Duncan, leader of the 1867 Quaker City excursion died in Northfield, Mass. [NY Times Mar. 31, 1898, p. 12 “Charles C. Duncan’s Death”].

March 26 Saturday

March 27 Sunday

March 28 Monday – Sam’s notebook covers this day and a midnight reading at a home for English Governesses:

SLC used mourning border for most letters from Susy’s death on, then from Livy’s death on.