PREFACE.
The present Cyclopaedia is not a revision of the well-known " Dictionary of
Mechanics," issued by its publishers more than a quarter of a century ago, but is an entirely
new work. The amount of matter retained from the Dictionary " bears but an insignificant
proportion to the present contents. The plan of the work has been materially changed ; not
merely so as greatly to increase the number of subjects treated and to group them more
logically, but to give a connected view of the chief types of each class of invention, to
exhibit clearly their relations to each other and the principles of construction involved in
them, and in most cases to present result, of their actual working from well-authenticated
records. Special efforts have also been directed toward rendering the information given of
such practical utility that the work may serve as a trustworthy guide to the engineer and
mechanical student in their every-day avocations. To this end, simplified rules have been
introduced, with plain examples of their application ; graphic methods have been preferred
to those involving mechanical demonstration and facts generally have been combined
wherever possible in condensed tabular form. All the principal mechanical inventions and
discoveries which have contributed toward the vast progress accomplished during late years
in science and the arts-and more particularly those which have attracted the world's
attention at the great International Expositions of Vienna in 1873, Philadelphia in 1876,
and Paris in 1878-will be found described in these pages. Where the magnitude of a
subject has precluded its treatment in detail, ample bibliographical references are supplied,
which will direct the reader in the path of closer investigation.
The editor gratefully acknowledges his indebtedness to his contributors for the
preparation of many important original articles, and for valued counsel. While care has
been taken to accord proper recognition to all authorities quoted, special credit is due to
the "American Cyclopaedia" for illustrations and some few selections from the text of the
mechanical and scientific articles.
Your Comments Welcomed! Copyright © 1995 Roger Corrie