In the 1780s, Delaware mechanic Oliver Evans developed a system for the fully-automated manufacture of flour. He received patent protection for his technology from state- and national-level government, and defended its originality in the courts of law and public opinion. Evans’ inventions and patent controversies hold a significant place in the historiography of American technology. Scholars have shown less interest, however, in the network of agents Evans deployed to transfer his innovations to new markets. My paper addresses this gap in the literature by examining the composition and activities of Evans’ network of agents. The paper will illustrate the role of business networks in transferring technical innovations during early American industrialization, and the economic and environmental context in which such transfers took place.
For Evans, automation meant more than profit; it heralded the dawning of a new epoch in human affairs. No prophet crying alone in the wilderness, Evans deployed a network of agents to attempt the systematic transfer and elaboration of his innovations. These agents, all men, took subscriptions for, and sold copies of, Evans’ books; sold licenses for the use of Evans’ patented technology; traveled to instruct millers and millwrights on the use of the Evans system; installed and maintained automation systems in the mills of paying customers; and testified in court to bear witness to the originality of Evans’ genius. One agent spent twelve years riding the circuit, preaching the gospel of automation. Another sold a gross (144) of Evans’ magnum opus, The Young Miller & Mill-wright’s Guide, to eager converts. These activities demonstrate the physical and social work involved in the transfer of production techniques during American industrialization. My paper situates the process in the context of local environmental and global economic conditions.