Second Volume of the John Hays Hammond, Jr., Biography Finally Sees Print

GLOUCESTER, Mass. - Feb. 11, 2020 - PRLog -- Inventor John Hays Hammond, Jr., is a local legend in Gloucester, Massachusetts, because of his quirkiness in building himself a castle to serve as both his residence and laboratory. The castle is now a museum beckoning tourists throughout the year. But the sheer number of Hammond's patents is certainly nothing to scoff at (more than five hundred and fifty in the United States and an estimated eight hundred worldwide). Most of those patents were in the fields of remote control and naval weaponry.

The second volume of Living in the Past, Looking to the Future: The Biography of John Hays Hammond, Jr. debuts on February 12th —the fifty-fifth anniversary of Hammond's death.

This new volume adds and expands upon Hammond's personal life along with the much sought-after list of the inventor's patents. That patent list was no small feat to compile as it required research into a great many foreign patent offices for cross-reference. Also included is a discography of recordings made of the castle organ and a filmography of the castle as a movie/television locale.

Dandola's reason for tackling a second volume was because he constantly had been asked more and more questions by readers and by visitors to the museum. As he explains, "People would visit the castle, come away with more questions than are supplied there, and seek out somebody to ask. I'm that somebody."

As the internet has begun listing more avenues to explore, Dandola found those answers. Researching a biography entails a great deal of detective work. It becomes a sort of obsession. The result is that Dandola has acquired files and photos which rival those of the museum itself and he has corresponded with sources all over the world.

Although Dandola was introduced to Hammond Castle because of his love of things medieval, it turned out that there was another link the author shared with the inventor. Dandola has a unique familial connection to Hammond through inventor Thomas Alva Edison. Edison lived and worked for the last fifty years of his life in Dandola's hometown of West Orange, New Jersey. Dandola's grandfather worked as a personal messenger boy for Edison during the same years Hammond was Edison's protégé. What's more, both Hammond and Dandola's grandfather shared a friendship with Edison's youngest son, Theodore.

Now that it's finally published. Living in the Past, Looking to the Future: The Biography of John Hays Hammond, Jr. Addendum is 318 pages and includes a great many vintage photos. Priced at $21.95, it is available exclusively from The Quincannon Publishing Group. Combined as a set with the original biography, the price for both books is $39.95. http://www.QuincannonGroup.com/HammondCastleTitles.html.