Tagliabue Giuseppe was an inventor and instrument maker.
Background
He was born in Como, Italy, the son of Caesar Tagliabue, founder of the great scientific instrument business of London, and grandson of Caesar Tagliabue of Como, Italy, who was one of the first persons in the world to make thermometers in quantity. Caesar Tagliabue, the second, was well established in London when his son Giuseppe was born and the latter, after obtaining an ordinary education and learning cabinet making in Italy, entered his father's establishment and there acquired the trade of thermometer maker.
Education
Upon completing his apprenticeship in 1829, Tagliabue, although only seventeen years old, left London and went to Rio de Janeiro to ply his trade.
Career
After spending two years there without experiencing any material benefit, he emigrated to New York with all his worldly possessions, which consisted of a bellows, a bundle of glass tubing, a pan of tallow, and less than five dollars. Renting a single room on Water Street directly back of 298 Pearl Street, he began making and selling thermometers.
His business soon outgrew these limited quarters and he acquired a four-story house at 298 Pearl Street, which not only served as his store and workshop but for a time was his residence as well.
For upwards of forty-seven years he carried on his trade, becoming one of the most prominent and successful instrument makers of the United States. To him came Kane and Hall, the Arctic explorers; Bache and Hilgard of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey; Borden, the inventor of the process of condensing milk; and Havemeyer, the sugar refiner--all to secure the delicate instruments so necessary to their several undertakings. Besides his thermometers he made a great variety of hydrometers, including original forms and new adaptations to meet the changing manufacturing requirements. Many of the instruments used by the Geodetic Survey were constructed by Tagliabue and his hydrometer for the proving of whiskey was officially adopted by the United States revenue bureau.
He was always enthusiastic about his work and gave considerably more attention to the excellence of his instruments than to the money he received.
He died at his home in Mount Vernon, N. Y.
Achievements
He perfected a few instruments of original design, which he had patented. These included a mercurial barometer; an apparatus for testing iron and coal; an instrument to determine the amount of water in a barrel of oil; a number of hydrometers; and an apparatus for determining the proof spirits in fermented mash. These inventions were ever a source of loving pride to him and were profitable as well.
Connections
He was married twice; his second wife was Adelaide Arniboldi of New York City, who with their six children survived him.
