The First Presidential Autopen
Long before Chester Carlson applied for and was awarded U.S. patent 2,297,691 on October 6, 1942, for a process he called xerography, presidents and businessmen searched for ways to inexpensively duplicate important documents and correspondence.
In the late 1790s and early 1800s, paper was still made from rags or linen and was expensive. U.S. Presidents, in particular, needed copies of documents they either wrote, e.g., letters and executive orders, or signed, e.g., laws passed by Congress, administration policy papers, etc. Because most, if not all, of our Founding Fathers were prolific letter writers, there was also a need for an efficient method to make copies of their official correspondence.
At the time, the only way to do make copies was for the individual to write the letter and either he/she wrote a second copy on another sheet of paper or a secretary would write it for the individual to sign. This was both cumbersome, labor-intensive, and expensive.
Enter British-born John Isaac Hawkins, who emigrated to the U.S. in 1790 and studied medicine and chemistry at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). Right after the turn of the century, Hawkins invented a machine that followed the writer’s hand as he/she wrote and made an exact copy on a separate sheet of paper.
The only action the writer needed to do as he/she wrote was to keep the pens filled with ink. The linkages were sensitive enough that they not only followed the movement of the writer’s hand, but also the pressure he/she put on the pen as it moved along the paper. This feature preserved the individual’s unique penmanship.
Hawkins called his invention the polygraph and was issued a U.S. Patent on May 17th, 1803. Not liking life in these United States, Hawkins sold the rights to his patent to his business partner, Charles Wilson Peale of Philadelphia, and returned to England in 1804.
Peale’s first customer was the architect Benjamin Latrobe, who is known for designing the U.S. Capitol Building. Latrobe wanted the device to make copies of drawings for workers and artisans building the Capitol and other projects.
Like many of our Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson kept secretaries busy copying his correspondence. He became aware of the patent and had Peale bring one to the White House. Jefferson ordered one immediately after trying it.
Jefferson used Hawkins’/Peale’s invention on a daily basis for letters and for signing two copies of official documents at the same time. After several months of using the polygraph, Jefferson began suggesting improvements to the device.
Ultimately, Jefferson bought 10 polygraphs from Peale, several of which were “portable. Two of the original machines survive today. One is at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and the other is at Monticello.
Today, we would call Hawkins’ and Peale’s invention either a copy machine or an autopen. Thus, Thomas Jefferson became the first U.S. President to use an auto pen.
Photo is of one of the polygraphs owned by Thomas Jefferson