Excerpt from Annals of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York: From 1785 to 1880 Waen tne association was estaolis/zed, New York was compara lively a small city, out it was still a city of great nopes and of magnificent prospects. Fortunately situated oetween two rivers; loon ing out upon a oeautiful bay; near tue Atlantic, wnile protected from M dangersoof tne sea its naroor admiraole; its commercial facilities unsurpassed; its people enterprising, intelligent, and law abiding, new-york was tnen evidently predestined to become one of tne important cities of tne world, great not merely in population and wealtn, in mercantile enterprise and toe mec/ianic arts, out in tuose enaracteristics w/iicn commend tnemselves specially to t/ze p/zilantnro pist and tue Cnrz'stian, tne friend of social progress and of popular elevation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The skilled craftsmen of New York founded The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen in 1785, and the organization's history is aligned with the city's physical and cultural development. In 1820, The Society founded its library. It began a lecture series in 1837 and opened the Mechanics Institute in 1858 to provide free education in the trades. Prominent New York members included Andrew Carnegie, Peter Cooper, Abram S. Hewitt and Duncan Phyfe. The Society's educational programs continue to improve the lives of New Yorkers while fostering an innovative and inventive spirit. Historian Polly Guerin presents the distinguished history of this essential New York institution.