[2]  Proceeding from the entrance, turning right toward the reception area of the executive director's office--to your right is the largest and one of the earliest oil portraits given to ASME, that of Sir Isaac Newton [1]. This portrait and two others (Watt and Stephenson on the 22nd floor) are copies from the National Portrait Gallery in London made by a Miss Suplee, an artist who was a sister of Council member Henry H. Suplee, 1897-1900. They were given to ASME by a syndicate of past presidents including Ambrose Swasey (23rd, 1904-1905) and James M. Dodge (22nd, 1903-1904). Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727), British scientist and inventor, is a central figure in all scientific knowledge, including his development of the three laws of motion and the basis of space travel.

Continuing on to the reception area of the executive director's office--on the far wall to the left is a hand-illustrated proclamation given to "the Presidents of the American Societies" in 1889 by the Institution of Civil Engineers of London, which had invited members of the four major engineering societies to visit Europe. A similar type of proclamation is found in the President's Room.

In the executive director's reception area, opposite the proclamation, is the John Fritz chiming Westminster clock [2]. This clock, a replica of the antique tall clocks of the colonial period, with a Tiffany face, was presented to past president (1895-96) and honorary member John Fritz on the occasion of his 70th birthday (in 1892) and given to the Society in 1913. The inscription reads "Oh! Time, deal gently with our loving friends, John and Ellen Fritz. August 21st, 1892, Bethlehem, Pa."