Porter Bros. manual (image courtesy of Filson Historical Society)
Allen County native Eugene A. Porter (1841-1922) was a farmer and entrepreneur who, together with his three brothers, developed the “corn cob crusher,” a machine that processed corn into livestock feed. According to a manual at the Filson Historical Society, by 1891 E. A. Porter & Bros. corn crushers were manufactured and sold throughout the South and Midwest for prices ranging from $125 to $165.
Available at WKU’s Special Collections Library is a collection of correspondence dating from 1892 to 1895 documenting Porter’s manufacture, marketing and sale of the corn cob crusher. In letters to Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska and elsewhere, he relays orders to local manufacturers and shippers, licenses dealers, settles accounts and handles complaints. Porter’s correspondence is also interesting because it is preserved in two letter press books containing about 1,000 sheets each of tissue-thin, linen-fiber paper. Porter had written each original letter using special ink, which was then transferred to the moistened tissue paper by the use of a press. The absorbency and transparency of the paper allowed the script to be read from the front side, thus preserving a copy of the letter for Porter’s records.
A finding aid for the Eugene A. Porter collection can be downloaded here.
It’s interesting to hear about how even back them with limited resources, people were so inventive. These inventions often paved the way for the ones we use today. Nice to see documentation on it.
I love reading about history and seeing these like this in museums
I had been discussing this issue with my older sister the other day, now I will have one particular a lot more argument in my hand when it’ll arrive to confrontation the moment yet again….
interesting, i am bookmarking that.
Old Stuff is so cool thanks for the info. It was very ‘corn cobby’
The history of early industry is very interesting.
Ha! Who knew? I had always wondered who invented the corn cob crusher. My grandparents had one a long time ago. They had trouble getting insurance on it though. I wasn’t covered by their home insurance policy. The finally were about to insure though. About 8 years later, it was destroyed in a tornado and they filed a claim on it and got paid out. Whew!
History never continues to fascinate…corn cob crusher? Who wuddathunkit?
interesting post mate , I didin’t heard about Porter Bros before reading your article
Thanks so much for the incredibly interesting post…
Porter Bros books rock, thanks for the post
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Adding to my bookmarks thanks. Where is your contact details though?
thanks for info about this interesting book…
i want reading this book
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Corn Cob Crusher is a creative name and can easily be referred to as CCC. I would be interested to look at the sheets inside the letter pressed books.
I love 19th century literature! I have read some of Porter’s other books, but not this one. I look forward to reading it!
This book seems great.
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What a neat invention: corn cob crusher. It amazes me what a person can do when he/she applies some thought and energy to a problem. Some sit back and complain while others try to solve the problem.
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looks like a great book, thanks for the heads up. i love to read books, they are great.. especially old ones like that, gives you a feel of what life was like back in those days.
looks interesting, thank you very muchly
great, nice set of books there!
I bet the Porter brothers had become popular because of their invention. What a mind!
Hey! Thanks for the Blog post! I’m finding it very fascinating. I’m going to bookmark this psot and return. can you tell me where i can find more information on this? Keep it up!
Porter’s correspondence is also interesting because it is preserved in two letter press books containing about 1,000 sheets each of tissue-thin, linen-fiber paper. Porter had written each original letter using special ink, which was then transferred to the moistened tissue paper by the use of a press. thanks for sharing…..
So Great! I need some infos in this post for my rapport de stage. Can i have your contact please? I need your permission to quote it :D. Anyway, That’s great job. Keep going.
For back then, this was pretty clever. I never knew this even existed. Thank you for posting.
This book was really interesting, must read!
It took me time just to find this information. I am very glad to learn this coming from you. Thanks for sharing!
This is sounds like a very interesting read. I’m about to go download the collection now. Thanks.
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I can’t wait to read this…..nice sounding invention indeed
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What a coincidence! I used to be just telling my students about this. Now I can inform them to look this up.
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