Roebling, Washington Augustus, 1837-1926. Search this
Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry Search this
Extent:
18.5 Cubic feet (62 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photograph albums
Specifications
Reports
Price lists
Photographs
Newsletters
Letterpress books
Correspondence
Blueprints
Ledgers (account books)
Genealogies
Notebooks
Patents
Date:
1836-1975
bulk 1930-1950
Summary:
Collection documents the work of the John A. Roebling's Sons Company, builders of bridges. The materials consist primarily of photograph albums documenting some of the bridges, tramways, ski lifts and chair lifts that Roebling's Sons Company was involved with. The documentation also includes specifications, patents, and reference materials about the engineering process of building bridges and bridges in general.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the work of the John A. Roebling's Sons Company, builders of bridges. The materials consist primarily of photograph albums documenting a variety of bridges, mostly in the United States. The documentation also includes specifications, patents, and reference materials about the engineering process of building bridges and bridges in general.
Series 1, Historical background materials, 1895-1958, is divided into two subseries: Subseries 1, John A. Roebling's and Sons Company materials, 1895-1949 and Subseries 2, Newsletters, 1929-1931.
Subseries 1, John A. Roebling's and Sons Company materials, 1895-1949, contains a variety of items related to the company such as historical narratives, correspondence, price lists, testing data, and a ledger with cost estimates. The correspondence is partially bound (pages 1 to 104) from a letter press book (handwritten and typescript) belonging to John A. Roebling's and Sons Company. William Hildebrand and Charles G. Roebling are the chief correspondents. The correspondence documents daily activities related to the design and erection of bridges as well as finances and supplies. Charles G. Roebling's notebook, undated, contains calculations and notes about various bridge projects.
Subseries 2, Newsletters, 1929-1931, contain copies of Blue Center and Wire Engineering, which were John A. Roebling's and Sons Company publications intended for employees. The newsletters were apparently used as scrapbooks, with black-and-white photographs pasted into the pages. Found among the pages of Blue Center are photographs of the Hudson River Bridge and in Wire Engineering, there are photographs of the Maysville, Kentucky Bridge.
Series 2, Photographs, 1926-1975, comprises the largest series in the collection. The photographs are primarily black-and-white and document aerial tramways, tramways for logging or mining, chair lifts, ski lifts, floods, and bridge construction projects. The latter makes up the majority. Most photographs were assembled into albums with corresponding captions and dates, and almost all of the photographs document bridges in the United States. There is one exception, the Yauricocha Tramway in Peru. In some instances, the captions are recorded on the back of the photographs, and others were recorded on album pages. The series is arranged alphabetically by name of bridge and/or project.
Series 3, Specifications, 1855-1962, consists of printed textual documents (both bound and loose) that contain information for bidders, proposals, contracts, and bonds, and the detailed specifications. This series is arranged alphabetically by bridge name.
Series 4, Reports, 1928-1938, contains bound reports (both progress and final) detailing problems, requirements, research, manufacture, plant installation, cable equipment, strand adjustments, and Roebling Company developments. This series is arranged alphabetically by bridge/and/or project.
Series 5, Patent materials, 1849-1952, consists of issued patents (to a variety of individuals) for cable and cable appliances, cables, and cable apparatus, cableways and tramways, and grips. The patents are arranged by subject area, then by patent number.
Series 6, Reference materials, 1836-1964, contains a wide range of materials—articles, biographical files, drawings, photographs, newspaper clippings, advertising, correspondence, notes—documenting all aspects of bridges. This series is arranged alphabetically by topic.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into six series.
Series 1, Historical background materials, 1895-1958, undated
Subseries 1, Biographical, 1900-1958, undated
Subseries 2, John A. Roebling's and Sons Company materials, 1895-1949
Subseries 3, Newsletters, 1929-1931
Series 2, Photographs, 1926-1975
Series 3, Specifications, 1855-1962
Series 4, Reports, 1928-1938
Series 5, Patent materials, 1849-1952
Series 6, Reference materials, 1836-1964
Biographical / Historical:
John Augustus Roebling (1806-1869) was the founder and proprietor of John A. Roebling's Sons Company. Born in Mühlhausen, Germany, he was a civil engineer famous for his wire rope suspension bridge designs, in particular, the design of the Brooklyn Bridge. Roebling married Johana Herting in 1836 and they had nine children: Washington A. Roebling (1837-1926); Laura R. Methfessel (1840-1873); Ferdinand W. Roebling (1842-1917); Elvira R. Stewart (1844-1871); Josephine R. Jarvis (b. 1847); Charles Gustavus Roebling (1849-1918); Edmund Roebling (1854-1930); William Roebling (b. 1856, d. 1860); and Hannah Roebling (died in infancy). Roebling's three sons, Washington Augustus Roebling; Ferdinand William Roebling and Charles Gustavus Roebling, worked for the company.
Roebling's Sons Company was active in the design and manufacture of wire rope used in the erection of suspension bridges since the 1840s. Roebling devised a system of spinning the wires together where weights and swivels turned the wire coils in the opposite direction from the twisting, thereby removing kinks. Method of and Machine for Manufacturing Wire Rope (US Patent # 2,720) issued on July 16, 1842. Roebling would adapt this wire rope to his suspension bridge principle. In 1848, he established a company—John Roebling's Sons Company—in Trenton, New Jersey, to manufacture his wire rope. Roebling manufacturing plants were sold in 1952 to the Colorado Fuel and Iron (CF&I) Company of Pueblo, Colorado. In 1968, the Crane Company purchased the CF& I.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
George S. Morison Collection (AC0978)
Modjeski and Masters Company Records (AC0976)
Materials at Other Organizations
The Rutgers University, Special Collections and University Archives
Roebling family papers, cicra 1820s-1950s
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Blair Birdsall, former chief engineer at John A. Roebling's Sons Company in 1981.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
4 Company catalogs,100-300+ pps. Engineers, architects, and builders in iron and steel. Roofs, bridges, buildings, corrugated iron, beams, girders, columns, turntables, fire proof doors and shutters. Includes drawings of buildings, bridges, etc. built by company.
Includes:
Histories
Black and white images
Physical description:
4 pieces; 3 boxes
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
East Berlin, Connecticut, United States
Date:
1800s
Topic (Romaine term):
Architectural designs and building materials Search this
General constractors ; major construction company that builds bridges, structures associated for railroads, tunnels, military installations, dams, etc. ; book celebrating 25 years of business.
1922-1929 ; "Rail Steel for Concrete Reinforcing" ; two booklets published to describe the rail steel industry, the manufacture of rail steel bars and the use of this material in reinforced concrete construction ; lots of photos of industrial plants, hospitals, school buildings, hotels, office buildings, public buildings, manufacturing plants, terminals, bridges, public service work, sewers, roads, docks and piers, grain elevators, stadia, farm equipment, and factory equipment where rail steel is used ; interesting photos of contruction views ;
Includes:
Trade catalog and photographs
Black and white images
Physical description:
2 pieces; 1 box
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Date:
1900s
Topic (Romaine term):
Iron and steel products (castings; sheet steel; steel wire; wire rope; pig iron and structural steel products ) Search this
Construction and earth-moving machinery Search this
Architectural designs and building materials Search this
Industrial equipment or mechanical machinery (including supplies and components) Search this
Builders-Providence Inc. (Div.) ; see record for Omega Machine Co. (div.) Search this
Notes content:
"Venturi" meters for power plants ; "Venturi" hot water meters for boiler feed, etc. ; "Venturi" gas and air meters for station and industrial service ; shunt meters to measure steam, air, or gas ; electronically operated "Oriflo" meters ; "Diaphragm" meters ; orifices and orifice flanges ; filtration plant equipment ; gun iron air furnace castings ; machinery castings ; architectural iron work ; pneumatic tubes and caissons for bridge piers ; glabe special castings for water works ; mortar carriages ; rifled mortars ; recording, indicating, controlling instruments.
water storage in elevated steel tanks ; all steel grandstands ; municipal refuse incineration ; tanks for oil storage ; bins ; plate fabrication ; pipe line bridges ; standpipes and steel reservoirs ; welding ; steel brewery tanks ; all steel swimming pool
Includes:
Trade catalog
Black and white images
Physical description:
82 pieces; 2 boxes
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Date:
1900s
Topic (Romaine term):
Foods and beverage products and processing equipment (including brewing; distilleries; beer; wine; etc.) Search this
[Trade catalogs from American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc.]
Company Name:
American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc. Search this
Notes content:
Structural steel, steel construction. "Endurance and Beauty in Steel Bridges" ; "The Behavior of Longitudinally Stressed Welds and the Combination of Load and Shrinkage Stresses"...this comprises the uncataloged portion.
McClintic-Marshall Corp. ; McClintic-Marshall Products Co. ; Steel Frame House Co. [Subsidiary] Search this
Notes content:
One piece Oversize. Highway and railroad bridges ; steel bridges ; "Steel Framing: The Modern Method of House Construction" manual ; "McClintic-Marshall" steel transmission towers ; steel barges ; "MacMar" junior trusses ; Detroit River Bridge (Ambassador Bridge) ; George Washington Bridge .
Includes:
Trade catalog and manual
Black and white images
Color images
Physical description:
10 pieces; 2 boxes
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
New York City, New York, United States
Date:
1900s
Topic (Romaine term):
Architectural designs and building materials Search this
Draft of lease and agreement between City of Philadelphia and Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company for Frankford Elevated Railway and 35th Ward Surface Line (dated April 6, 1922) ; report on Sept.-Oct. 1919 testimony before Federal Electric Railways Commission in Washington, DC entitled "Philadelphia's Answer to the Traction Question" by T. E. Mitten
