Posted by ovyyus (203.26.14.3) on May 08, 2003 at 00:17:37:
In Reply to: Re: Question for John Collins posted by John Collins on May 07, 2003 at 23:27:33:
Hi John,
You said: " ... This is because it was subsequent to the discovery and exhibition of the 2-way one at Merseberg. The first one at Gera and the second one at Weissenstein were both 1-way and the next two were 2-way wheels."
Could you please clarify your view of the sequence of exhibited wheels. I think you may have meant 'Draschwitz' when you said 'Weissenstein'.
The webpage at http://www.orffyre.com/measurements.html defines what I believe to be the attributes and sequence of exhibited wheels.
The reason I created the orffyre.com measurements page was to clearly outline Bessler's various wheel's in their proper chronological sequence. I would welcome any corrections.
Regards, ovyyus
: : Hi Mr Tim,
: Good Question. I had always assumed that it was the 1-way wheel that was shown to Karl, but thinking about it and going by the date of his arrival it might seem more logical to assume that it was the 2-way one. This is because it was subsequent to the discovery and exhibition of the 2-way one at Merseberg. The first one at Gera and the second one at Weissenstein were both 1-way and the next two were 2-way wheels.
: On the other hand he destroyed each wheel on moving to a new address and there are suggestions that lead me to believe he always kept a small wheel in a disassembled state. We don't know whether that was a 1-way or a 2-way version but I suspect that it was probably a 1-way for simplicity. He might have shown that one to Karl and when you take into account Karl's own description that it was very simple, I would go for Karl having seen a 1-way wheel.
: Also Bessler had to visit Karl from some distance and had to prove that his wheel was genuine before he was accepted as a bona fide employee. Logically therefore, it seems to me that a small portable wheel would have been shown - and portable means fewer weights, so 1-way I think. Possibly Karl was shown the inside of the later Kassel wheel after it was finished but there is no documentary evidence to back this supposition.
: John Collins
: Hi!
: : Is there anything in your sources which point to which wheel Bessler showed Karl the insides of? The 1-way, 2-way, or both?
: : Thanks!