History's Best Selling Products of 1807

Hats off to 1807! Few items commanded as much fanfare and nationwide excitement as Hydrogen Automobile. Alongside sensationally popular hits like Steamboat and The Columbiad, consumers eagerly embraced the swell Yankee ingenuity and home-front craftsmanship. Pioneering outfits from industry leaders like François Isaac de Rivaz and Robert Fulton set the standard for quality, producing celebrated items that swept main street from coast to coast as genuine top-flight hits. Browse our definitive retrospective below to rediscover the genuine articles of the era.

1. Hydrogen Automobile

   Released in 1807 by François Isaac de Rivaz

   On January 30, 1807, Swiss inventor François Isaac de Rivaz was granted imperial patent number 731 in Paris for a truly revolutionary concept: a vehicle propelled by an internal combustion engine. This date doesn't mark a product launch, but the official birth of an idea that would change the world. In an era dominated by steam power and horse-drawn carriages, de Rivaz's patent for a machine using a hydrogen and oxygen gas mixture was an extraordinary leap of imagination. It was the first time in history that the principle of harnessing a controlled explosion within a cylinder to create mechanical motion for a vehicle was formally recognized, establishing a conceptual cornerstone for all subsequent automotive development.

2. Steamboat (Clermont)

   Released in 1807 by Robert Fulton

   On August 17, 1807, a crowd of skeptics gathered at the docks of New York City to witness what many dubbed 'Fulton's Folly'. They expected failure, but what they saw was the dawn of a new era. The North River Steamboat, later famously known as the Clermont, belched smoke and, with its paddlewheels churning, began a steady journey up the Hudson River. This was not a mere demonstration; it was its maiden commercial voyage to Albany. The vessel completed the 150-mile trip in a stunning 32 hours, proving definitively that steam power could conquer the river's current and make water travel reliable, scheduled, and profitable. This date marks the pivotal moment when steamboat technology transitioned from experimental curiosity to a commercially viable force that would reshape American commerce and expansion.

3. The Columbiad

   Released in 1807 by Joel Barlow, C. and A. Conrad and Company

   Joel Barlow's 'The Columbiad,' released in 1807, holds a unique place in American literary history as a grand, ambitious effort to define the nascent nation's identity through epic poetry. Published during a period when the United States was still forging its cultural and political character, the poem sought to establish an indigenous literary tradition comparable to European classics, articulating a distinct American vision of liberty, progress, and global moral leadership. Its significance in 1807 lay in its embodiment of post-Revolutionary nationalist aspirations and its detailed, albeit sometimes didactic, exploration of America's destiny. It represented a bold statement about the intellectual and artistic maturity of the young republic, aiming to inspire a sense of shared purpose and pride among its citizens and to project an image of American exceptionalism to the world.