National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry Search this
Extent:
0.25 Cubic feet (1 box )
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Watercolors
Place:
United States of America -- New York -- Queens County -- Queens
Date:
1989-1991
Content Description:
Collection consists of 36 watercolors documenting the bridge construction of the Jamaica Bay Bridge and Cross Bay Boulevard Bridge.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Naima Rauam, 1994.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
Collection documents dam construction in California and Colorado.
Content Description:
Collection contains color slides documenting construction of the Trenton Dam, Sulphur Creek Dam, Mancos Dam and Brite Valley Dam in California and Colorado.
Arrangement:
Collection is unarranged.
Biographical / Historical:
Born in Buffalo Gap, South Dakota, he grew up in Everett, Idaho, and attended The College of Idaho for three years, and The University of Washington for one year. He had extensive work in advanced mathematics, hydraulics, civil engineering, surveying, and geodesics.
In the 1930's he was employed by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads, the Idaho State Highway Department, the W.P.A. of Idaho City and The Bureau of Reclamation.
In 1941 he worked for the U.S, Engineers Dept, in Portland, Oregon for airport layouts, then transferred to the L.A. District to enter foreign service in Central America.
He was with the U.S. Corps of Engineers in the
Managua, Nicaragua area, in the vicinity of San Marcos de Colon working on the Pan American Highway.
In 1942 he married Helen L. Kubli. There were no children.
In 1944 he returned to the United States and worked for Associated Shipbuilders in Seattle, Washington as liaison engineer. He sought a commission in both the Marine Corps and the Navy, but was physically disqualified as 2-A.
In 1944 and 1945 he was engineer with Puget Sound Bridge and Dredge at Harbor Island, Washington, and with the Corps of Engineers, L.A. district for the Whittier Narrows Dam. In 1945 he returned to Central America with Tucker McClure Co. and in Guayaquil, Ecuador again working on the Pan American Highway. In 1950 he returned to the United States and was employed by Vinnell Construction Co in Alhambra, California.
He worked on canal projects, highways, dams, flood control, and bridges. He traveled to many underdeveloped countries on government assignments to develop highways, airports, bridges, and did estimating, negotiating and bidding.
In 1963 he left Vinnell Co. and he and Ross Griggs formed Griggs-Norwood Inc. and their work encompassed engineering of all kinds. They were based first in Pasadena, California and then in Long Beach, California. Mr. Griggs soon retired. After Mrs. Norwood's death in 1974 he moved his base to Duarte, California. In 1978 he married Mrs. Helen Wilkes. He retired in 1980 and died May 1, 1991.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Helen Wilkes Norwood, wife of Kenneth T. Norwood, 1992.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Unprotected photographs must be handled 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.
Papers contain performance data, publications, handwritten notes, and instruction manuals related to Westinghouse Corporation and the Westinghouse Engineering School. Also includes biographical materials (course books, notes and lesson plans) for E. Lewis Allen.
Arrangement:
Collection is unarranged.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Ellen Y. Allen, 1989.
Restrictions:
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.
Rights:
Collection is open for research. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Topic:
Refrigeration and refrigerating machinery Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry Search this
Extent:
0.33 Cubic feet (1 box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Photograph albums
Place:
Yadkin River (N.C.)
North Carolina
Date:
1916-1917
Summary:
Photograph album showing all aspects of construction of the Narrows Dam on the Yadkin River in North Carolina.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of one album containing 101 photographs documenting the hydroelectric project and construction of the Narrows Dam on the Yadkin River near Badin, North Carolina. Frank Kemmer took the photographs from December 30, 1916 through April 25, 1917. Images include the trusses, piers, cranes and other equipment.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged in one series.
Series 1, Photograph Album, 1916-1917
Biographical / Historical:
Narrows Dam is located on the Yadkin River, one of the largest rivers in North Carolina. The dam and its hydroelectric station was constructed by the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa), to supply power for an aluminum production plant nearby.
Related Materials:
Other Archives Center collections relating to dams and hydroelectric power plants include Robert F. Olds Collection and John L. Savage Collection.
Separated Materials:
Four lantern slides of electric furnace operation were placed in the Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection (NMAH.AC.1013)and received no numbers.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Department of the History of Science and Technology, Division of Engineering and Industry by Frank Kemmer's granddaughter, Anne Wheelock, in 1990. It was transferred to the Archives Center in 2007.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Physical Access: 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.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry Search this
Extent:
0.3 Cubic feet (1 box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Ephemera
Newsletters
Photographs
Pamphlets
Postcards
Placemats
Scrapbooks
Articles
Correspondence
Writings
Date:
1942-1986
Summary:
The collection documents Mrs. Rudell's research on covered bridges, mostly in the United States, but also including some in Europe and Canada.
Scope and Contents note:
The collection is comprised of Mrs. Rudell's research on covered bridges, mostly in the United States but also including some in Europe and Canada. Included are letters, responses to her inquiries to local groups and governments, pamphlets, travel and tourist information, writings on covered bridges, postcards, clippings, a photograph album of covered bridges, newsletters from the Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges, and ephemera such as placemats and greeting cards depicting covered bridges.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into one series.
Biographical/Historical note:
Collector of covered bridge materials.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Frances Moyer in 1987.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Unprotected photographs must be handled 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.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry Search this
Extent:
3 Cubic feet (4 boxes and 1 map-folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Clippings
Blueprints
Maps
Minutes
Correspondence
Diagrams
Advertisements
Specifications
Photographs
Date:
1852-1986
Summary:
Collection documents various aspects of the development, implementation and research value of the Bollman truss bridge design.
Scope and Contents note:
Papers documenting various aspects of the development, implementation and research value of the Bollman truss bridge design. The collection includes correspondence, photographs, articles and clippings, schematics, diagrams, maps, and other printed materials. Also includes records of government agencies associated with Bollman truss structures, such as meeting minutes, and surveys receipts.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into one series.
Biographical/Historical note:
Wendel Bollman (1814-1884) was a self-educated engineer who began working for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as a carpenter and devised a bridge-trussing system that was a series of independently supported floor beams, each carried by a double pair of eye-bar ties. He patented the system in 1852 and it became known as the "Bollman Truss". The Bollman truss was used on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, its subsidiaries, and several roads. It was the first bridge trussing system which all princicpal elements were made of iron. Bollman trusses were built until about 1875 nd rtained in service until about 1890.
Provenance:
Collection assembled by Robert M. Vogel, curator, for the National Museum of American History, Division of Civil Engineering reference files.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Unprotected photographs must be handled 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.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry Search this
Extent:
3 Cubic feet (11 boxes, 1 map folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Postcards
Picture postcards
Photographs
Slides (photographs)
Date:
1900-1991
Summary:
This collection is made up of Richard H. Miller's collection of postcards and slides illustrating bridges from around the world.
Scope and Contents:
This collection is made up of postcards and photographic slides of bridges collected and organizedby Miller. Many of the postcards were sent by others before being purchased by Miller and include messages, postmarks and secondhand prices. A small number of postcards appear to have been sent to Miller by friends, while the remainder do not have any dates or notations. The slides are captioned.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1: Postcards, undated
Series 2: Slides, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Richard H. Miller (1913-2015) was an an industrial engineer and bridge enthusiast. A longtime resident of Cheshire, Connecticut, Miller collected postcards and slides of famous bridges as a lifelong hobby.
Provenance:
Donated by Richard H. Miller in 1991.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry Search this
Extent:
1 Cubic foot (3 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Patents
Charts
Technical notes
Photographs
Technical reports
Lectures
Correspondence
Diagrams
Date:
1952-1984
Summary:
Papers, mostly technical, relating to Caruthers' development of automated machine tools. The papers include technical reports and notes; schematics for specific inventions including diagrams, graphs, photographs and plans bound together; patents and related correspondence; operators' manuals; copies of papers delivered by Caruthers at engineering events; and assorted trade literature.
Scope and Contents note:
This collection consists largely of bound copies of technical manuals, providing information on automatic machine control equipment, including its operation, servicing and parts. The papers include technical reports and notes; schematics for specific inventions including diagrams, graphs, photographs and plans bound together; patents and related correspondence; operators' manuals; copies of papers delivered by Caruthers at engineering events; and assorted trade literature. Published materials include a book co-authored by Caruthers. A partial personnel history of F. P. Caruthers is included together with his hand-written notebooks.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Biographical/Historical note:
Felix P. (Phil) Caruthers was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. (ca. 1915) and took an early interest in radio, constructing his own transmitter at age nine. He continued this interest, obtaining an advanced-class amateur license. After graduating Princeton University (BSEE 1938) Caruthers joined EBASCO Services, specializing in long-distance high-voltage utility systems.
After Pearl Harbor, Caruthers enrolled in a course at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute specializing in radio wave analysis and pulse techniques which predated radar. When the instructor was called to a government assignment, Caruthers took over his place and completed the course. He then volunteered in the U.S. Navy and was assigned to a program under Sperry Gyroscope Co. which was developing night fighter aircraft and radar. Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, Caruthers was put in charge of all plants producing this equipment. Later, he was assigned to work on antennas and other components of radar equipment.
On his return to civilian life, Caruthers joined Thomson Equipment Co. as vice president and chief engineer, producing precision machined products and metal toys. Later, the firm's output shifted to machine tools, which Thomson not only manufactured but also designed, introducing new concepts of machine control.
In 1968 Caruthers organized Caruthers & Associates, Inc., consultants to various industrial firms, and also served as Director of Engineering of Industrial Control Equipment for the Bendix Corporation.
Provenance:
Collection transferred by Division of the History of Technology, National Museum of American History, Engineering and Industry Collections.,12th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20560.,Transfer.,ACNMAH 812; Nonacc. No. 2002.3050.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Register by Robert S. Harding and Don Darroch, 2 pp., avaiable in repository.
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.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Transportation Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry Search this
Extent:
18 Cubic feet (78 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Right of way deeds
Reports
Letterpress copybooks
Mechanical drawings
Estimates
Financial statements
Circular letters
Bills
Accident reports
Correspondence
Place:
Lackawanna County (Pa.)
Luzerne County (Pa.)
Cressona (Pa.)
Harrisburg (Pa.)
Norristown (Pa.)
Philadelphia (Pa.)
New Jersey
Sumerton (Pa.)
Cheltenham (Pa.)
Sunbury (Pa.)
Reading (Pa.)
Trenton (N.J.)
Schuylkill County (Pa.)
Pennsylvania
Date:
1860-1936
Summary:
Collection of engineering reports and correspondence from the Engineering Department of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad was most used for the transportation of anthracite coal within Pennsylvania from 1833 through the early 1970s.
Scope and Contents:
Primarily outgoing correspondence from the Engineering Department of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company, the remainder being engineering reports and other miscellaneous papers.
Series 1: Letterpress Copybooks consists of 219 volumes from various engineers, each with own index (1865-1892): were generated by Chief Engineer, Assistant Chief Engineer, various resident engineers, other lower-level engineers, and the Chief Road-Master. Bulk of copybooks created by William H. Bines and Henry K. Nichols during long careers with the Philadelphia & Reading. Other volumes contain letters and reports by Charles W. Buckholz, Charles E. Byers, William Lorenz, and others. Correspondence covers all aspects of the engineering operations of the railroad, much of it at highest levels, being addressed to the Presidents of the Reading. Also includes one letterbook from John E. Wooten (1865), Superintendent.
Series 2: Reports of Chief Engineer to Auditor, 1908-1910; structural design calculation notebooks, 1901-1935; right of way deeds, 1903; and tracings of assorted machine parts.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into five series.
Series 1: Letterpress Copybooks, 1866-1870
Series 2: Chief Engineer Standard Plans, 1904-1942
Series 3: Construction Reports, 1901-1913
Series 4: Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) Valuation of Railroads, 1913-1922
Series 5: Reports and Miscellaneous Papers, 1860-1936
Biographical / Historical:
This railroad was chartered in 1833 to provide low-cost transportation from the Schuylkill and Mahanoy anthracite coal fields in eastern Pennsylvania to Philadelphia. Main line from Philadelphia to Pottsville opened 1842. Reading expanded by acquiring other railroads, and by 1869 had monopoly of coal traffic from Schuylkill anthracite region.
Expansion accelerated when Franklin B. Gowen became president (1869) and attempted to dominate entire anthracite trade. Purchased Schuylkill Canal (1870) to eliminate competition for coal trade; then organized the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company in 1871 to purchase and operate coal mines; secured over 40 percent of U.S. anthracite reserves, but debt incurred led railroad to bankruptcy and receivership (1880). Gowen's reckless style drove the Reading into second receivership (1886), and he was forced to resign.
Gowen's Successor, Archibald A. McLeod, tried to increase company control over anthracite trade (1892-1893), then control of several New England railroads. The Reading went bankrupt again and McLeod was ousted. In a reorganization (1896), the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad and the Coal & Iron Company became properties of the Reading Company, a holding company. Later additions to system were infrequent and largely confined to short branches and improvements inalignment. Due to anti-trust proceedings, company divested mining subsidiary (1923) and merged wholly owned railroad companies into an operating company. Acquired Lehigh & Susquehanna Railroad 1963, went bankrupt in early 1970s, and conveyed portions of its lines to Conrail (1976). The reorganized Reading Company retains real estate and other non-rail holdings.
Collection donated by the Reading Company, Philadelphia, Pa., 1960s.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
This collection documents, in correspondence, publications, forms, paperwork, drawings, newspaper clippings, diplomas and photographs, the operations and products of the Frick Company of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, manufacturers of steam-powered engines (portable, stationary, and traction), sawmills, threshing machines, grain separators and other mechanized agricultural harvesting implements, refrigeration, mechanical cooling systems, and ice making plants, from its founding in 1852 through 1961.
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the founding and business operations of the Frick Company* of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, manufacturers of portable, stationary, and traction engines, threshing machines, sawmills, and refrigeration and ice making machinery. The collection covers the period from 1852 to 1961, with the bulk of the material dating from 1860-1873 and from 1880 through the 1920s and illuminates the evolution of mechanized agriculture and refrigeration technology from the mid-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century.
The largest portion of the collection contains photographs of Frick engines and refrigeration machinery, taken both in the foundry and in various installations worldwide, as well as original drawings of Frick machines, parts, and components used to illustrate catalogs and trade publications. Another large portion of the collection is correspondence, containing communication from clients ordering Frick products for their farms or businesses, as well as receipts and correspondence from local and regional suppliers of raw materials and components for the construction of Frick products.
The collection also contains numerous examples of operational paperwork from the 1880s-1890s, such as letterheads, order forms, contracts, test logs, and timesheets, as well as a significant amount of trade literature largely from 1880-1920, such as price lists, catalogs, product pamphlets, and advertising material.
There are several published company histories, technical drawings/blueprints of Frick products, diplomas awarded to Frick machinery presented at expositions and fairs (including the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1893), full-color posters advertising Frick & Co., agent supplies (including telegraph cipher code books), accounting paperwork, payroll records, communications with shareholders, and significant documentation of the highly publicized labor dispute/strike at Frick in 1946.
This collection would be of interest to researchers in the areas of: agricultural machination and invention in the nineteeth century, steam and horse-powered engines, the development of refrigerating and ice making equipment in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, business operations and financial transactions in the nineteenth century, Pennsylvania history and companies, industrial photography, and nineteenth and twentieth centuries industrial trade literature.
*The name of the company was modified several times over the history of its operation, variations including George Frick, Frick & Bowman, Frick & Co., and Frick Company, depending on the time period in question. Efforts have been made to align the description of the materials throughout the collection with the correct company name at the time of their creation.
Arrangement:
This collection is divided into six series:
Series 1: Publications, 1852, 1874-1875; 1880-1932; 1942-1943; 1953; 1961
Founded in 1852 by engineer and inventor George Frick (1826-1892), Frick Company has been an innovative machinery design leader in many areas of the agricultural and refrigeration industries over the last 160 years. Frick began building steam engines and threshing machines in a small shop in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania.
Frick quickly gained a reputation for quality in the growing field of mechanized agriculture. His designs for early portable engines--transported and driven by horsepower--soon evolved into self-propelling, steam-powered vehicles that could be driven into the fields and then used to run the grain separating, cleaning and bagging machines that were revolutionizing the farming industry, increasing production at exponential rates.
In addition, Frick's stationary engines were put to use in mills of all kinds (grist, flour, paper, and woolen) to augment or replace their dependence on unreliable natural water power, including sawmills, of which Frick was soon building a line of portable, steam-driven versions. Between the mid-1850s and the early 1870s, the company continued to expand, outgrowing three different shops before building the final location of the works in Waynesboro. George Frick himself was continuously active in the company through the end of the nineteenth century as a mechanical engineer and product designer, as well as a frequent consultant, traveling to confer with clients on specifications for their orders.
Beginning in 1872, George Frick's business and personal life took a downturn with the deaths in quick succession of both his oldest son Frank and his new business partner C.F. Bowman, as a result of a typhoid fever epidemic that swept through the area. Additionally, the financial Panic of 1873 nearly closed Frick's company along with thousands of other American businesses that year, but thirteen local businessmen formed a partnership, putting forth the necessary capital to keep the manufacturing plant afloat. George Frick sold his controlling interest to the partnership, but remained as general manager of the company.
After this brief period of struggle, Frick and Company began again to expand its product line as well as its reputation. The new works in Waynesboro were modern and efficient, enough to warrant a feature article in Scientific American in 1881. The following year, the company built its first refrigeration machine, and a whole new direction of production opened up. Automatic and traction engines were still in demand, being constantly improved and updated, but refrigeration was the new frontier. Frick rose to become one of the leaders in development of high quality, durable, and functional refrigeration machinery. George's son A.O. Frick, now an engineer with the company, partnered with Edgar Penney, another design engineer, to develop the Corliss engine line, which would run the large ammonia compressors, creating what was called a refrigeration machine. They were intially used to power ice plants, which were being built all over the world after the mild winter of 1890 tipped the natural ice industry into decline. They also used cold storage/mechanical cooling units, of which breweries and meat packing plants were the earliest adopters, followed by cold food stores, florist shops, and fur storage, as well as the dairy and shipping industries. The Armour Packing Plant in Kansas City, Missouri was the proud owner of "The Largest Ice Machine in the World," built by Frick and shipped by train via specially-reinforced rails in 1896. At the turn of the twentieth century, hotels, restaurants, hospitals and industrial plants soon began to rely on refrigeration units for daily operations, and Frick's business was booming.
As gas-powered engine technology began taking over in the first decades of the twentieth century, Frick moved away from steam engines and focused on more specialized farm equipment such as dehydrators, peanut pickers, combines, balers and silo fillers. Their line of sawmills was also still in high demand. But increasingly, Frick was focused on steadily refining and improving its refrigeration equipment. Ammonia, while highly efficient as a coolant, had its dangerous downsides: it could be fatal if leaked, and could contaminate plant ice easily. Although many of Frick's ammonia compression refrigeration machines were still in use forty or more years after installation and were still preferred for industrial use, the technology needed to improve in order to be viable for the general public. Several publicized accidents led eventually to the preferred use of chloroflorocarbons as a coolant, and Frick developed enclosed-type CO2 compressors and eventually freon units. Other Frick refrigeration products included machinery for making dry ice, air conditioning units, and temperature controls for test plants, as well as marine refrigeration (developed during the First World War) for shipping food between continents. Frick did contract work for the US military during and following World War II, and was a major company involved in the development of quick-freezing systems to support the growing frozen food industry starting in the late 1940s.
Frick Company positioned itself as a permanent leader in the food production and distribution industry by the 1950s. The company is still in operation today, though it has been purchased several times, most recently by Johnson Controls, which maintains a product line bearing the name Frick.
Related Materials:
The Archives Center holds several collections that may be of interest to researchers in relation to the Frick Company Collection.
For related material on Corliss engines, see the following collections:
Chuse Engine and Manufacturing Company Records (AC 1088)
For related material on threshing machines and agricultural machinery, see the following collections:
John K. Parlett Collection (AC 3066)
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (AC 0060)
For related material on refrigeration machinery, see the following collections:
Madison Cooper Papers (AC 1105)
Nickerson and Collins Photography (AC 1044)
Southwork Foundry and Machine Company Records (AC 1107)
Separated Materials:
The Division of Work and Industry holds artifacts related to this collection. See acquisition numbers AG79A09.1, MC 319243.12 and .13, and 58A9.
Provenance:
Collection donated by the Frick Company, through Terry Mitchell in 1961.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
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.
United States. National Bureau of Standards Search this
Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry Search this
Extent:
5.5 Cubic feet (14 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Patents
Photographs
Engineering drawings
Date:
1947-1990
Summary:
The collection documents three major areas of Jacob Rabinow's work in improvement of electronic and other devices: phonograph record players, optical character recognition (reading machines) and automatic self regulation of watches and clocks.
Scope and Contents:
This collection comprises material from three major areas of Jacob Rabinow's work in improvement of electronic and other devices: phonograph record players, optical character recognition (reading machines) and automatic self regulation of watches and clocks. Included are technical descriptions, engineering drawings and sketches, numerous patent applications, patents, photographs of devices and voluminous correspondence, often related to patents and financial claims arising from them. The papers are grouped into the three areas of product innovation in approximate chronological order. In addition to many U.S. patents, Rabinow was granted numerous foreign patents, including British, French, German, Canadian and Japanese which are part of the collection. The patents as early as 1910 1917 were collected and assembled by Rabinow in his search of previous inventors' work.
Arrangement:
The papers are arranged into three series.
Series 1, Straight Line Photograph Arm, 1910-1917; 1947-1988
Subseries 1.1, Patents, 1910-1917; 1947-1988
Subseries 1.2, Litigation and Royalties, 1954-1980
Subseries 1.3, Brochures, Publicity, Photo Prints, and Advertisements, 1954-1980
Subseries 1.4, General Correspondence, 1954-1978
Series 2, Reading Machine, 1956-1990
Subseries 2.1, Patents, 1957-1958
Subseries 2.2, Brochures, Publicity, and Photo Prints, 1954-1970
Subseries 2.3, Correspondence, 1956-1960
Subseries 2.4, General Correspondence, 1954-1978
Series 3, Automatic Regulation of Watches and Clocks, 1948-1981
Subseries 3.1, Patents, 1948-1975
Subseries 3.2, Patent Right Litigation and Royalties, 1948-1976
Subseries 3.3, Brochures, Publicity, and Photo prints, 1953-1964
Subseries 3.4, General Correspondence, 1948-1981
Biographical / Historical:
Jacob Rabinow was born Jacob Rabinovich in the Kharkov, Ukraine in 1910 and moved with his family to Siberia in 1917 during the Bolshevik Revolution. In 1919, the Rabinow Family moved to China, where his father died. With his mother and brother, Rabinow then immigrated to the United States in 1921, where his mother established a corset shop in New York City. Rabinow graduated from the City College of New York with a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering (1933) and a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering (1934). After graduation in 1934, he worked at diverse jobs until he was hired by the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) and now known as National Institute of Standards and Technology or NIST in 1938. At NBS Rabinow calibrated flow meters and then, with the outbreak of World War II, designed proximity fuses for Army bombs and rockets. To calculate the velocity of the falling fuses, he devised an acceleration integrator. He also worked on bombing techniques. Rabinow eventually became Chief of the Electro-Mechanical Ordnance Division at NBS before leaving in 1954 to form his own company, Rabinow Engineering.
At Rabinow Engineering, projects included the development of automatic winding equipment and test equipment for Sprague Electric; design of a letter sorter later built by Burroughs; a digital computer for the U.S. Post Office; and the construction of reading machines for RCA, UNIVAC, and others. When servicing machines began to require too much staff and travel, Rabinow sold his company and became a consultant. In 1964, Rabinow Engineering eventually became part of Control Data Corporation (CDC) where Rabinow was head of the Rabinow Advanced Development Laboratory. In 1968, Rabinow formed RABCO Company to manufacture his straight-line phonographs. RABCO was later acquired by the Harmon-Kardon Corporation. In 1972, Rabinow rejoined NBS where he was Chief Research Engineer. In 1975, he retired, but acted as a consultant.
Rabinow held 230 United States Patents on a wide variety of mechanical, optical and electrical devices. Of note is his magnetic particle clutch (1956) used in tape and disk drives; first automobile clutch to work by magnetic and not electrostatic charge (1956); first phonograph whose cartridge moved along a straight track rather than at the end of a swinging arm (1959); first self-regulating clock (1960); and his best known invention, a Reading Machine (1960). Rabinow was honored for his scientific work with the Naval Ordnance Development Award (1945); the President's Certificate of Merit (1948); the IEEE's Harry Diamond Award (1977); and the Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award (1998) Rabinow died September 11, 1999.
Related Materials:
The Division Medicine and Science holds the Rabinow Scanned Comparison Reading Machine (Accession #: 1982.0393.01).
Provenance:
Collection donated by Jacob Rabinow, 1990, Decmeber 17.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry Search this
Extent:
0.3 Cubic feet (1 box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photograph albums
Photographs
Place:
Mexico
Hawaii
Havana (Cuba)
Hawaii -- Oahu -- Honolulu
Cuba -- Havana
Cuba
Kilauea Volcano (Hawaii.)
Honolulu (Hawaii)
Hilo (Hawaii)
Panama Canal (Panama)
Panama
Date:
1900-1956.
Summary:
Photograph album documenting the work and life of A.R. Van Tassell, an engineer who worked on structures in Hawaii as well as the Panama Canal.
Scope and Contents note:
The collection consists of two photograph albums documenting A.R. Van Tassell's engineering career and family life. The first album includes photographs that begin in 1900 and include images of buildings, structures, ships, harbors, a sugar factory, the Kilauea Volcano, mills, and the "Rainbow Bridge" near Hilo, which Van Tassell was involved in building. Other images feature Van Tassell's friends and family, as well as his wedding trip to Laredo, Texas. The album also contains photographs from Mexico City, Havana, and various travels in the United States. Van Tassell has included tickets from bull fights and musical programs in Mexico City. The photographs are captioned and dated. Three loose postcards found in this album have been placed in a folder. The second, smaller album consists of photographs taken of the Panama Canal.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged in one series.
Series 1, Photograph Albums, 1900-1956
Biographical/Historical note:
In 1900, A.R. Van Tassell took his first engineering job in Honolulu, Hawaii at the age of seventeen. In 1902, he went to Mexico City to help build the Central Post Office. He also worked on the Panama Canal and was employed as an engineer during the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. He was married at least twice and had one daughter, Janet.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
W. P. Stine Panama Canal Papers (NMAH.AC.1039)
John Frances Little Panama Canal Scrapbook
Photograph Albums (NMAH.AC.0708)
Katherine Kingsford Panama Canal Photograph Album (NMAH.AC.1040)
Provenance:
This collection was donated to the National Museum of American History's Division of Engineering and Industry by Paul Jackson, 1987.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research and access on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled 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.
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Extent:
24 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Hamilton (Ohio)
Ohio -- Manufacturing
Date:
ca. 1899-1969.
Scope and Contents:
Over 2,000 photographic negatives of machinery produced by General Machinery Corporation and its predecessors; also three cubic feet of prints from the negatives.
Arrangement:
Divided into five series: Series 1, Long and Allstatter Negatives; Series 2, Niles Bement Pond Negatives; Series 3, Hooven, Owens, Rentschler Company Negatives; Series 4, Bement Company Negatives; Series 5, Niles Tool Works Negatives; Series 6, Photoprints from Negatives in General Machinery Corporation Collection.
Biographical / Historical:
The General Machinery Corporation of Hamilton, Ohio was formed in 1928 by the merger of Niles Bement Pond Co. and Hooven Owens Rentschler Co. Other companies that became part of General Machinery were Putnam Machine Co. and Long and Allstatter. The General Machinery Co. became subsumed by the Baldwin Lima Hamilton Co. during th e1950s..
Provenance:
The negatives were donated to the Division of Work and Industry, in several gifts in 1991 and 1992, by the Ohio Historical Society.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
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.
Collection of personal notebooks of civil engineers.
Scope and Contents note:
Mainly personal notebooks of engineers, although one is a listing of products of a manufacturer of gears and another is a compilation of shop orders for various products of a manufacturer. They generally contain technical descriptions, drawings, specifications, and financial data.
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry Search this
Extent:
2.7 Cubic feet (8 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
Europe
Date:
1948-1952
Scope and Contents note:
Correspondence, memoranda, and interim and final reports on planning and scheduling of team visits and summaries of findings and impressions of team members. Some reports are in foreign languages and English translations.
Arrangement:
1 series. Arranged by serial number, apparently in chronological order.
Biographical/Historical note:
About 1500 documents relating to visits of more than 100 European "productivity teams" to U.S. industrial facilities as part of the Marshall Plan program to rebuild Western Europe's industry after WWII. ECA organized these visits.
Provenance:
Collection donated by William Sanford, November 15, 1988.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
A collection of 15 reels of 16mm training films used to train United States Naval personnel in the repair and use of diesal engines and related equipment.
Scope and Contents:
Films depict U.S. Navy personnel carrying out maintenance and repair operations on diesel engines. The films were made under the supervision of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics for Bureau of Ships. 400-500 feet in length, with a voice-over commentary on technical aspects of the work on Bessemer, General Motors, and International diesel engines.
Biographical / Historical:
Rice was a consulting engineer and a professor of engineering at Newark College of Engineering, 1928-1936, and North Carolina State University, 1937-1956.
Provenance:
Robert B. Rice.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry Search this
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Extent:
0.5 Cubic feet (3 boxes, 1 oversized folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photograph albums
Postcards
Photographs
Place:
Canada
Quebec
Date:
1905-1986
bulk 1905-1916
Summary:
The collection documents the construction of the first and second Quebec Bridges over the St. Lawrence River. Construction on the first bridge began in 1900 and the bridge collapsed before completion in 1907. Construction on the second Quebec Bridge, which is the longest cantilever bridge in the world, was completed in 1917.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the construction of the first and second Quebec Bridges over the St. Lawrence River primarily through photographs. The collection is arranged into two series: Series 1, Photographic Materials, 1905-1965 and Series 2, Other Materials, 1916-1986.
Series 1, Photographic Materials, 1905-1965, is divided into two subseries: Subseries 1.1, Photographs, 1907-1965 and Subseries 1.2, Photograph Album, 1905. The black-and-white photographs primarily document the construction of the second Quebec Bridge, 1907-1917. Many of these photographs were taken in a workshop where the production of the bridge parts and building materials occurred. One picture, marked number 24, is of the Prime Minister of Canada, Robert Borden, attending the construction site in October 1913. This series also contains photographs of the 1907 bridge collapse and pictures taken in 1965 of the current second bridge. Subseries 2, Photograph Album, 1905, documents the construction of the first Quebec cantilever bridge. The album contains mounted black-and-white photographs taken between May 12 and November 23, 1905.
Series 2, Other Materials, 1916-1986, consists of newspaper articles and postcards. The
newspaper articles detail the 1916 construction accident on the second Quebec bridge; one 1917
article about the bridge; and one 1986 article about the 1907 collapse of the first bridge. There
are three postcards, both black-and-white and color, of the Quebec Bridge.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1, Photographic Materials, 1905-1965
Subseries 1, Photographs, 1907-1965
Subseries 2, Photograph Album, 1905
Series 2, Other Materials, 1916-1986
Biographical / Historical:
The first Quebec Bridge was built over the St. Lawrence River in order to connect important railroad lines.[1] This bridge collapsed on August 29, 1907, killing 79 men.[2]
The engineers for the second bridge were Maurice Fitzmaurice, H.E. Vautelet, and Ralph Modjeska.[3]
Notes:
[1] "Bridge of 1,800-FT. Span Across the St. Lawrence," Popular Mechanics Vol. 8, No. 12 December 1906
[2]"Wrecked Quebec Bridge to be Recommended"[3] "Wrecked Quebec Bridge to be Recommended"
Provenance:
Originally collected for the Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering's reference collections; exact date and source of acquisition unknown.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Physical Access: 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. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: reproduction fees may apply.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry Search this
Extent:
30.1 Cubic feet (81 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Personal papers
Date:
1915 - 1954
Summary:
Personal papers and correspondence (ca. 1946-1953) of Rice; publications, mostly on Diesel engines, their components and technical problems; material from Rice's academic career; directories of Diesel engine manufacturers and brochures describing their products; technical manuals and reprints of technical articles.
Scope and Contents:
The collection contains personal papers and correspondence, c. 1946 1953, of Robert B. Rice, as well as publications about diesel engines, their components and technical problems, dating from 1915 1954. It also includes academic material: class notes, examination questions, and theses required for the masters degree. There are directories of manufacturers of diesel engines, both foreign and domestic, and copies of brochures and technical manuals describing their products. Diesel engine applications in road transportation, railroads, electrical generation, ships, and aircraft are described in numerous brochures and published articles. Technical articles on diesel fuels (including coal) and lubricants are also included. There are numerous papers on other types of internal combustion engines.
Included are specifications, parts lists, instruction books, design data, pamphlets, test data, and drawings for American and foreign diesel engines, parts, and accessories, 1936 1947; research reports, trade literature, facts sheets, articles, test data, catalogs, and handbooks on disel engines for railroad, aircraft, and marine use, 1926 1967; diesel engine charts, 1943 1945; and materials on metals, fuel lubrication, jet propulsion, steam engines, turbines, and thermodynamic and heat power problems.
The collection is arranged into seven series. Series 1, Indexes and Directories, consists primarily of catalogues of diesel engines. Series 2 is composed of Rice's Professional and Academic Material. Series 3, Diesel Engines, consists of information on manufacturers of diesel engines; this information is sub divided into U.S. and foreign manufacturers and it is arranged alphabetically. Series 4 -6 provide information on Electric Utility Generator Units, Diesel Components and Technical Problems, and Fuels and Lubricants. Series 7, Reference Materials, is divided into Files and Blueprints, Manuals and Publications, and Design Drawings and Technical Data for the DZ 710 Aircraft Diesel.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into seven series.
Series 1: Indexes and directories
Series 2: R.B. Rice professional and academic material
Series 3; Diesel engines (by manufacturer)
Series 4: Electric utility generator units
Series 5: Diesel components and technical problems
Series 6: Fuels and lubricants
Series 7: Reference materials
Biographical / Historical:
Rice was a consulting engineer and professor of engineering at Newark College of Engineering, 1928-1936, and at North Carolina State University, 1937-1956.
Related Materials:
The Archives Center also holds collection #308, the Robert B. Rice Film Collection, 1936-1945. In addition, there is a small group of Rice's papers, primarily concerned with his academic career, in the Archives of North Carolina State University at Raleigh.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Robert B. Rice, October, 1972.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
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.
Matthew Mawhinney, an engineer specializing in industrial furnace design and operation, collected this material during his career with Salem Engineering Co. and later as a consulting engineer.
Scope and Contents:
The collection includes several engineering textbooks authored by Mr. Mawhinney and others. Also included is correspondence of Mr. Mawhinney with professional engineering groups relating to articles in professional journals and presentations to meetings of professional societies. This collection also includes correspondence with numerous industrial corporations and many photographs of furnaces and other industrial equipment.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into three series.
Series 1: Correspondence
Series 2: Photographs
Series 3: Publications
Biographical / Historical:
Matthew Mawhinney, a graduate of Carnegie Institute of Technology and an engineer specializing in industrial furnace design and operation, collected this material during his career with Salem Engineering Co. (Salem, Ohio) and later as a consulting engineer.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Mrs. Matthew H. Mawhinney, 1978.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 1
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1835-1840
Scope and Contents:
Notes, drawings, data on railroad installations and operations, and waterworks
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Engineering Notebook Collection, 1835-1930, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
