James Sharp, inventor, engineer and manufacturer of iron goods

James Sharp was an inventor, engineer and manufacturer of iron goods. He lived in Leadenhall Street in the city of London, and had an iron foundry in Tooley Street, south London. The image shows a brochure for James' foundry [D3549 12/2/1].

Letter to Granville Sharp from Mr Wilcocks, mentioning a conversation with James Sharp, 1768 [D3549 13/1/W22]

This letter to Granville Sharp mentions a conversation with his brother James about the need to invent a labour saving device which could be used on plantations instead of slaves.

"May your pamphlet come to the hands of some person, concerned in the American plantations and who may be moved by it to soften the yoke of his slaves. Even so, it may do considerable good. But it is to be feared that no strength of argument will be sufficient to prevail against the slave trade in general. Happy would it be, if it could be eradicated by other means.

"An evening or two ago some conversation passed on this subject with your worthy good brother James Sharp in which he expressed his wishes that some mechanical instrument could be invented for the culture of rice, tobacco and sugar, analogous to the plow for corn - something like the instrument for hoing bean in Kent. What honour, what infinite happiness would the inventor of such an instrument enjoy? ... For if the invention of such an instrument was brought to perfection and introduced properly into America, the planters would soon, though gradually, fall into the use of it . As the great object of it would be to save human labour perhaps one negro slave might by its assistance do with ease more work than ten at present can achieve in misery and toil. Consequently the expense of the purchase of slaves would proportionally cease: that is, nine parts in ten of the natives of Africa which are now annually exported to the hard work of American slavery, would remain at home; and those that were brought to America would have much lighter burdens on them than before."

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