Collection is open for research. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
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:
William J. Eney Collection, 1929-1977, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Sixty-six pages from a photograph album compiled by an anonymous photographer, documenting the Philadelphia-Camden or Delaware River Bridge, now called the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.
Scope and Contents note:
Pages from a photograph album compiled by an anonymous photographer, documenting the Philadelphia-Camden or Delaware River Bridge, now called the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The album includes images of a parade celebrating the beginning of construction of the bridge, demolition of buildings to make room for the bridge, the construction, the machinery, the caissons, and the celebration of completion. The Chief Engineer, Ralph Modjeski, is also depicted. The images contain detailed captions.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into one series.
Provenance:
Collection purchased 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.
Roebling, Washington Augustus, 1837-1926. Search this
Collector:
Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI. Search this
History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI. Search this
Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI 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
Papers of Mary G. Roebling and Roebling Family Papers, 1821-1960 (MC 654.1).
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.
Roebling, Washington Augustus, 1837-1926. Search this
Collection Collector:
Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI. Search this
History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Container:
Box 6, Folder 3
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1950
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
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:
John A. Roebling Collection, dates, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Roebling, Washington Augustus, 1837-1926. Search this
Collection Collector:
Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI. Search this
History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Container:
Box 11
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1943
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
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:
John A. Roebling Collection, dates, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Roebling, Washington Augustus, 1837-1926. Search this
Collection Collector:
Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI. Search this
History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Container:
Box 13, Folder 10
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1961
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
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:
John A. Roebling Collection, dates, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Roebling, Washington Augustus, 1837-1926. Search this
Collection Collector:
Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI. Search this
History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Container:
Box 17, Folder 3
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
undated
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
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:
John A. Roebling Collection, dates, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Roebling, Washington Augustus, 1837-1926. Search this
Collection Collector:
Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI. Search this
History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Container:
Box 15, Folder 9
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1937
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
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:
John A. Roebling Collection, dates, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Roebling, Washington Augustus, 1837-1926. Search this
Collection Collector:
Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI. Search this
History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Container:
Box 18, Folder 3
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1925
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
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:
John A. Roebling Collection, dates, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Manuscripts, correspondence, business records, newspaper clippings and scrapbooks documenting the career of Henry Grattan Tyrrell, an early-twentieth-century civil engineer and bridge builder who was also a prolific self-published author of hundreds of journal articles and several books. Subjects include aesthetic bridge design, history of bridges, design of movable bridges, and the economical design of factories, shops, and mill buildings.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains typed manuscripts, correspondence, drawings, and business records written by and relating to Henry Grattan Tyrrell, civil engineer, bridge builder and prolific self-published author on the subjects of bridge engineering, aesthetics and history of bridge design, and the economical design of factories, shops and mill buildings.
The bulk of the collection consists of drafts and submission copies of his numerous published journal articles as well as early manuscripts of several of his books. Also included are two scrapbooks compiled by Tyrrell, containing many of his published articles, pamphlets, and letters to editors of engineering-related publications, as well as advertising material for both his engineering businesses and his books. There are many newspaper clippings related to projects Tyrrell worked on or expressed interest in, documentation of claims he brought against various companies for infringement or failure to pay, lists of his works, compilations of critical praise and personal endorsements, and general material relating to his experiences in publishing.
The collection presents a specific view of the trends and innovations in engineering at the beginning of the twentieth century, particularly focusing on bridges of all types and materials, as well as an early example of self-employment and self-promotion. It may be of interest to researchers in the areas of bridge and factory design in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, historical engineering publications, and the history of bridge building in the United States and Canada.
Arrangement:
This collection is divided into seven (7) series:
Series 1: Personal, 1886; 1920s-1930s; undated
Series 2: Correspondence, 1895-1901; 1907; 1911-1917; 1928-1929; 1931-1941
Henry Grattan Tyrrell (1867-1948) was born in Weston, Ontario, Canada and was educated at the University of Toronto School of Practical Science as a civil engineer specializing in bridge architecture and design. He worked for several architectural companies, including the Boston Bridge Company (Massachusetts), the Brackett Bridge Company (Ohio), as well as his own businesses the American Estimating Company, and Grattan Tyrrell & Co. His brief career as an engineer was superceded by his prolific career as a writer of both journal articles and books on the aesthetics of bridge design and practical designs for factories and mill houses.
The son of an avid outdoorsman and explorer, his early writings are about the Canadian wilderness. By the turn of the century, his writing focused on architectural engineering, specifically the design of bridges. Tyrrell was well-traveled and wrote at length about the beauty of a well-designed bridge, like those he had seen all over the world. He suggested that America's cities (Chicago, Seattle, Milwaukee and Cleveland), build attractive bridges, which, he argued, could also be economical. His books History of Bridge Engineering (1911) and Artistic Bridge Design (1912) spoke to these issues. He expanded his love of aesthetics to buildings as well, advocating for the economical and practical design of factory buildings and floors, as well as mill houses and shops (Mill Buildings, 1911; Engineering of Shops and Factories, 1912). His last (possibly unpublished) book, Movable Bridges (1921), explored the design of drawbridges, vertical lift bridges and suspension bridges. His wife, Mary Maude Knox Tyrrell, co-authored and illustrated many of the books.
Tyrrell was an avid self-promoter, writing reviews of his own books, including contents and endorsements of his achievements, and selling them in pamphlet form. He was a frequent contributor to many engineering journals, such as Canadian Engineer, Builders' Magazine, Engineering News, and The Engineering Magazine. His prolific writings on the subjects of bridge engineering and aesthetics are a lasting legacy of early-twentieth century ingenuity.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Grattan Tyrrell. Exact date 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.
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:
Henry Grattan Tyrrell and Mary Maude Knox Tyrrell Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
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:
Henry Grattan Tyrrell and Mary Maude Knox Tyrrell Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
