TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews lili and international competitors that it is almost a history of an industry. In the chapter on the European carbon-filament lamp cartel, espe cially, the author breaks new ground, showing that this cartel was not a monolithic bloc, as is often assumed. Moreover, the book traces the history of the incandescent lamp during the transitional period to a mass-produced product. The author shows his strongest side in his clarifying technical exposés. Heerding died shortly after the publication of the book. The third volume, tracing the history of Philips up to 1934, is being written by his former assistant, I. J. Blanken, and will appear in 1992. Erik Bloemen Dr. Bloemen teaches at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Papers Relating to the Administration of the U.S. Patent Office during the Superintendency of William Thornton, 1802—1828. A Guide to Accompany Federal Documentary Microfilm Edition no. 1. Com piled and edited by C. M. Harris and Daniel Preston. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1987. Pp. ii + 93; appendix, index. Paper. Microfilm and guide available from National Archives Publications, P. O. Box 100793, Atlanta, Georgia 30384. $23.00 per roll ($115.00 for five reels); no charge for guide. In the process of compiling the papers of William Thornton, editors C. M. Harris and Daniel Preston have unearthed a wealth of impressive documents relating to the Patent Office. These were found in libraries, universities, historical societies, archives, museums, and private collections and were copied onto microfilm. The microfilm set deals primarily with documents that relate to the administration of the Patent Office during the period 1802—28, but the well-ordered materials contain rich veins of unexpected treasures. Besides the history of the Patent Office and Thornton’s role, researchers will find tantalizing pieces on architecture, economics, Washington politics, technology, science, patent law, famous inven tions (the steamboat), not-so-famous inventions (the wing gudgeon), and the inventors themselves. Numerous entries exist for such notables as Thomas Jefferson, Oliver Evans, John Quincy Adams, James Monroe, Henry Clay, William Elliot, John Stevens, Robert Fulton, Richard Rush, Benjamin Henry Latrobe, James Madison, and naturally the central figure, William Thornton. As is true of many microfilmed records, some of the documents are difficult to read. For the most illegible ones, there are typed transcripts. Of the five reels in the first edition, three and a half contain various Patent Office financial and adminstrative records and correspon 1112 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE dence. Some of that correspondence is decidedly lively. Cases in point are the exchanges between Superintendent Thornton and dissatisfied inventors (dissatisfied mainly with Thornton’s attempts to derail granting them a patent). Thomas Jefferson and William Thornton’s letters reveal both men’s keen interest in invention and the practical application of new technology. Thornton expresses in his ietter to Jefferson on June 27, 1814, that “when such ingenious Men as he [Pope and his water loom and card-making machine] begin to apply their Talents to the common concerns of life we may expect great Improvements. The number of ingenious looms in my Office at this time, would, if amply described, fill a volume. The Arts have made an astonishing progress . . . yet some members of Congress think that the whole Establishment ought to be burnt.” The remaining one and a half reels are a collection of government reports and the Patent Office Letterbook, which includes correspon dence and documents between the Patent Office and the State Department until 1848. The State Department expense books (1785— 1829) contain pages of listings concerning salaries, receipts (“Received of Thomas Thompson for the stamp on his Patent for an improve ment upon Wind Mills $4.00 January 11, 1799”), and services (“repairing models in the Patent Office last month Paid George E. Ironside $41.66 Aug. 2, 1824”). Particularly useful are The Patentee’s Manual, William Elliot, 1830, and “A List of Patents Granted by the United States . . . from 1790 to 1828.” The accompanying guide to the five reels of microfilm is clearly organized. Footnotes steer researchers to basic literature for a sound start in the patent field. The guide is divided into two main sections. The...