DESCRIPTION: You will likely never see another one of these. From the Roaring Twenties- a cyanotype (blueprint) Heath Robinson style contraption- a goat-powered torpedo. The satirical proposed device shows advanced knowledge of torpedo design and function. (e.g. bulkheads).
Early Newport, RI colonists used Goat Island as a goat pasture. In 1925 the U.S. Navy operated a torpedo manufacturing, development and testing station on Goat Island.
The anonymous author explained:
"The torpedo is made in three sections, the head, the midship section and after body. The drawing shows the mechanism at rest. The operation is as follows: When the torpedo is fired from the tube the trigger comes in contact with a lug which causes the trigger arm to displace the cobble with falls on the Bermuda onion and crushes it. The onion gases thus released cause the goat to weep copiously. The tears are caught in the funnel on the top of the sal-ammoniac pin. These tears dissolve the sal-ammoniac pin. Thereby releasing the spring rod and prodder. This unit moves smartly forward, engaging the port quarter of the goat, thereupon the goat steps out and operates the asbestos tread mill, which is connected to the gear train that operates the propellers. A gaff and boom rig operated by the gear train, operates a spur gear which revolves rapidly on the goats back guaranteeing the continuance of the motion started by the goat prodder, the derby on the goat prevents him from catching cold while the torpedo is in the tube. It is obvious that if he should catch cold he would be rendered useless as an onion weeper. The hat also serves as a cut-off in the following manner; after a certain speed has been attained the goat has a desire to take off his hat and be comfortable, so he therefore tosses it to the rear where it falls in the gear train and jams it. Any torpedo expert will explain this to you if the above elucidation is not perfectly clear.
The illustration and quotation on this trade card were not unique to John Cosgrove but rather part of a stock design widely used by 19th-century printers who specialized in producing humorous or sentimental advertising cards. Lithographers commonly kept catalogs of ready-made comic scenes—like this seaside mother-and-child vignette with the line “It’s a wise child that knows its own mother at the sea side”—which merchants could customize by adding their own business imprint below. In this case, the printer simply inserted Cosgrove’s name, trade description, and Poydras Market address into the blank advertising panel at the bottom, allowing a small New Orleans fish dealer to benefit from professionally printed imagery at a fraction of the cost of commissioning original artwork.
PUBLICATION DATE: 1925
GEOGRAPHIC AREA: United States
BODY OF WATER: N/A
CONDITION: Good.
Pinholes in corners suggest a long life on a wall or cork board. Grubby but solid and all present. Old closed tear from verso above the "gear train". Reinforcement at the fold from verso.
COLORING: Cyan
ENGRAVER:
SIZE: 7
" x
10 "
ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 62
PRICE: $650
ADD TO CART
|