About this collection

Inventor and manufacturer Eli Emery Hendrick (1832-​1909) was born at Plymouth, Michigan, on May 9 1832. He began the manufacture of punched screens and grantings at Carbondale, Pa., in 1876 and organized the Hendrick Manufacturing Company in 1885.

The Letterpress copybook of E. E. Hendrick, 1899-1903 (Accession 2528) contain tissue copies of E. E. Hendrick's outgoing correspondence from 1899 to 1903. Although nominally dealing with his actions as president of the Hendrick Manufacturing Company, most of the letters concern personal business.

Most importantly, they reveal Hendicks' interest in early automobiles, with correspondence with dealers and suppliers. Hendrick tried both electric and steam automobiles, and many of the letters are in the nature of complaints.The letters reveal the enthusiasms and frustrations of an early motorist, who, although wealthy and mechanically gifted, was not a millionaire sportsman or race driver. The letterbook has not been digitized in its entirety. The online collection comprises only the correspondence relating to automobiles.

Image: E. E. Hendrick to American Electric Vehicle Company, 1900-08-01. Click here to view in the collection.