Polygraph (duplicating device)

For other uses, see Polygraph (disambiguation).

Reproduction of Jefferson's polygraph at the Smithsonian Institution
One of the polygraphs used by Thomas Jefferson, a portable version

A Polygraph is a duplicating device that produces a copy of a piece of writing simultaneously with the creation of the original, using pens and ink.

Patented by John Isaac Hawkins on May 17, 1803, it was most famously used by the third U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson, who acquired his first polygraph in 1804 and later suggested improvements to Charles Willson Peale, owner of the American rights.[1] Because Jefferson was a prolific letter writer, the preservation of his copies have offered historians extensive insights into Jefferson's viewpoints and actions.[2] Jefferson called the polygraph "the finest invention of the present age".[3][4] A description of Jefferson's office routine in his own words may be read online.[5]

Another American, Benjamin Henry Latrobe was the first customer of Peale's and not only introduced the device to Jefferson but was also instrumental in its improvement.[6]

Mechanisms of this type are more generally known as pantographs, which include simple devices for making copies at various enlargements or reductions by tracing over a drawing.

  1. ^ Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia. "Historical Notes". Polygraph. Charlottesville, Virginia: Th: Jefferson's Monticello. Retrieved May 10, 2020. Marked "Hawkins & Peale's Patent Polygraph No. 57," this machine was used by Jefferson from 1806 until his death. Jefferson first acquired the letter-copying device he called "the finest invention of the present age" in March of 1804. .... Before he returned to England in 1803, Hawkins assigned his American patent rights to Charles Willson Peale, who developed and marketed the invention. Jefferson was one of his most eager clients, purchasing one for the President's House and one for Monticello. He soon exchanged these machines for new ones, as Peale continued to perfect the design — often according to Jefferson's suggestions. By 1809 Jefferson wrote that "the use of the polygraph has spoiled me for the old copying press the copies of which are hardly ever legible . . . . I could not, now therefore, live without the Polygraph." Archived July 27, 2019, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ The Works of Thomas Jefferson, 12 vols. At The Online Library of Liberty (website of Liberty Fund, Inc.)
  3. ^ Some information and quotation from curator's card, Smithsonian Museum of American History
  4. ^ Letter: Thomas Jefferson to James Bowdoin, July 10, 1806, Washington – Writings of Jefferson 6:7 The full line is "I think it the finest invention of the present age and so much superior to the copying machine that the latter will never be continued a day by any one who tries the polygraph". The "copying machine" refers the copying press, which enabled a copy to be made by writing the original using special transferable inks and damp papers to receive the copies. (quoted and described in Bedini, p. 147.)
  5. ^ "A Day in the Life of Thomas Jefferson - Thomas Jefferson's Monticello". www.monticello.org.
  6. ^ Bedini, Silvio A. (1984). Thomas Jefferson and His Copying Machines. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia. ISBN 978-0-8139-1025-3, p. 53 et al.