Benoît Fourneyron Autographed Letter Signed Hydraulic Turbine Science 1837

  

Signed autograph letter to Mr. Jérémie Risler regarding his turbines, 1837. Signed autograph letter from Benoît Fourneyron.

Dated February 27, 1837, in Paris. Written in black ink on a double sheet of bluish vellum paper, bearing two postal stamps.

A letter of major scientific interest, in which engineer Benoît Fourneyron, inventor of the hydraulic turbine, discusses the experimental design of a "turbine-counter" intended to measure the water flow feeding a boiler. He details the principles of operation and the technical parameters to be observed. Risler, I only received your letter yesterday, or rather a copy made by my brother who forgot to include your drawing. The absence of my brother and myself will explain the delay in my response...

Without having sufficiently reflected on the disadvantages that this mode may present, I have no doubt about the possibility of measuring, quite accurately for practical purposes, the water sent into a boiler using a small turbine counter, as you call it. I am pleased to find the opportunity to do something for science or in the interest of industry in general, and particularly for the Alsatian industry, and I gladly seize the one you offer me by authorizing you to construct for the experiment in question the turbine you mentioned to me.

Here, in my opinion, are the main things to observe. The turbine must be made without a valve, meaning that the outflow opening must be constant; the wheel being very mobile, it is the number of revolutions it makes in a given time that must indicate the volume of water that has passed through it...

As for the dimensions of the turbine, they are approximately indeterminate; one can choose to make it larger or smaller, depending on whether one wants it to turn more slowly or more quickly. The shape of the wheel's curves, since it is not a matter of using a force, can vary without inconvenience... With these indications, which I limit due to lack of time and other information, I am convinced that you will be able to arrange the device perfectly and that soon you will be able to give me news about it. If my assistance becomes useful, you should not doubt my eagerness to provide it.

Please, when you have the chance, send my regards to Émile. As he is interested in my projects, may I dare to ask you to tell him that my major undertaking is progressing slowly but always with a more assured step?

Essential letter documenting the genesis of the practical applications of the Fourneyron turbine and its contribution to experimental mechanics of the 19th century.

Dimensions: 20.6 x 26.2 cm. Condition: Traces of a tab on the back of the letter. See photos and description for more details. Number of pages: 2 pages. Benoît Fourneyron, born November 1, 1802, in Saint-Étienne and died July 8, 1867, in Paris, was a French inventor and industrialist known for the invention of the hydraulic turbine and the forced conduit.

John Cockerill was a Belgian-British industrialist who emigrated in 1797 to the territory of present-day Belgium with his father, William Cockerill. The latter played a crucial role in the mechanization of the European textile wool industry, which lagged behind the same industry in England. Autograph letters, old papers, rare books, photographs, engravings, stamps...

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