Livingston, Robert R. (1746-1813) to William Constable
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04330 Author/Creator: Livingston, Robert R. (1746-1813) Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 4 November 1798 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 32 x 19.6 cm. Order a Copy
Asking Constable to meet in London with James Watt to inquire about terms for purchasing one of Watt's 24-inch cylinder steam engines. Counsels Constable to use his "discretion" in making terms. Livingston encloses a letter [not present] to Watt, which he asks Constable to read and copy, "as it will put it in your power to negotiate with any other projector if Dr. Watt has not come up to what you may deem reasonable." Earlier that year, Livingston had been granted a monopoly on steamboat traffic in New York; he would eventually team up with Robert Fulton to start the Hudson River Steamboat Company. In 1807, Fulton would launch his first steamboat, equipped with one of Watt's engines, on the Hudson. It was named the "Clermont," after Livingston's estate.
Robert R. Livingston was serving as chancellor of New York. As a delegate to the Continental Congress, he had been a member of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence; he would eventually serve as a negotiator of the Louisiana Purchase. James Watt (1736-1819) was a Scottish inventor renowned for his improvements on the steam engine. He also coined the term "horsepower"; the unit of measurement Watt is named after him. William Constable (1752-1803) was a wealthy Wall Street merchant and a friend and client of Alexander Hamilton.
Robert Livingston was a prominent New York politician who was also very involved in early steam boat travel.
William Constable was a Wall Street merchant and a friend and client of Alexander Hamilton.
James Watt, 1736-1819, was a Scottish engineer who invented significant improvements in the steam engine. He also coined the term horsepower, and the unit of measurement Watt is named after him.
Dr Sir
Having just learned that you propose to make another trip across the Atlantic, I avail myself of this opportunity to offer you my best wishes for a prosperous voyage & a safe & happy return. [] also to trouble you with a piece of business which will be best explained by your reading, at your leisure the enclosed letter to Docr Watt, who you will probably meet with in London tho he usually resides in Birmingham. I believe that inventions I communicate to him to be very valuable & as I wish to have a number of his engines I think you may make terms with him for an [] of the invention, that may be [useful] to the [better] in this I submit to your discretion. It would be wise to keep a copy of my letter as it will put it in your power to negotiate with any other project or, if Docr Watt [] not come up to what you may deem reasonable.
Will you be so obliging as to let me know by the by the earliest opportunity the expense of a steam engine [] & by what time one could be delivered here on credit being given for 12 months. You find you can not escape the common fate of travelers, that of having the trouble of their friends business, as well as their own. I am Dr Sir
with much esteem & regard
Your most []
Robert R. Livingston
William Constable Esqr
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