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The year Eli Whitney was born creative mechanics were playing with machines that would prepare the world for a great age of invention. They were playing literally. In Sweden, France, Switzerland, and Japan, inventors were bringing models and dolls to life. They were mastering an alphabet of mechanical movements in small scale that would inspire Whitney’s generation to mechanize the world in the Industrial Revolution.
Master the movements of the Swede, Johan Polhelm’s Mechanical Alphabet: make clothespins dance or march or tumble to each letter. Construct a simplified version of a famous Mechanical Duck From France, a musician from Switzerland, and a faithful servant from Japan. Then build a hand-cranked automaton of your own design. All these projects begin with Polhelm’s Alphabet of movements. You will spell out poetry of your own invention.
Whitney at 250: To observe the 250th anniversary of Whitney’s birth, we are exploring his world and time. This Workshop samples inventive genius in the year of his birth.