If you enjoyed Disrupting Time, you might enjoy some of the sources or related historical documents

Arriving ship’s manifest showing Jacques David’s name - the only known official record of him in America (public domain; author’s assembly)

  • This is the report that the book centers around. It is the 1876 report (actually written in 1876-1877) by the spies Jacques David and Theo Gribi. This is the english translation by Richard Watkins

  • The judges from the Centennial documented many of the details of Waltham’s exhibit. You can read their original report here.

  • Ever purchased a commemorative book at a theme park? They existed back in 1876 too! Take a look at this original guidebook from the 1876 Centennial Exhibition

  • Edouard Favre Peret’s report translated by historian Richard Watkins. Fave Peret was a judge at the 1876 Centennial

  • HBS case study on the rise of the Waltham Watch Company, written by Aaron Stark and Professor Eric Van den Steen. Available through Harvard Business Publishing

  • Waltham’s proprietary automatic screw-making machine was featured in action at the Centennial Exhibition in 1876., It is what first caught the attention of Theo Gribi, leading to all of the subsequent actions that took place. A video of the machine in operation is shown here, now owned by a collector, but still in operation. The steam-powered machine with robot-like arms could produce a tiny watch screw every 5 seconds.

  • Labor reformer John Swinton visited Waltham in 1887 and documented his visit. You can read it here.

More coming soon…as I have time to post :)