The company history is fascinating! Wilson sounds like an interesting man. I can't help wondering if his health was really as fragile as it's been represented in history. Brilliant minds do tend to be fairly eccentric.
I've heard the hand-cranks are difficult to come by. Congratulations on those finds! I hope to find earlier machines as time passes. I'm not in the best location for that, but you never know what folks have tucked away in their attics and basements. And I do enjoy the hunt. :-)
Angela