Object Details
- Creator
- Roebling, Charles Gustavus, 1849-1918
- Roebling, Ferdinand W. (Ferdinand William), 1842-1917
- John A. Roebling's Sons Company
- Roebling, John Augustus, 1806-1869
- Roebling, Washington Augustus, 1837-1926.
- Collector
- National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology
- National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering
- National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry
- Topic
- Bridges -- New York (N.Y.)
- Bridge construction industry -- United States
- Bridges -- Design and construction
- Iron industry and trade -- United States
- Iron industry and trade -- Colorado
- Wire industry -- New Jersey
- Suspension bridges -- Design and construction
- Ski lifts
- Wire-rope industry -- New Jersey
- Provenance
- This collection was donated by Blair Birdsall, former chief engineer at John A. Roebling's Sons Company in 1981.
- Creator
- Roebling, Charles Gustavus, 1849-1918
- Roebling, Ferdinand W. (Ferdinand William), 1842-1917
- John A. Roebling's Sons Company
- Roebling, John Augustus, 1806-1869
- Roebling, Washington Augustus, 1837-1926.
- See more items in
- John A. Roebling Collection
- 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.
- 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.
- Extent
- 18.5 Cubic feet (62 boxes, 1 map-folder)
- Date
- 1836-1975
- bulk 1930-1950
- Custodial History
- This collection was formerly known as the Blair Birdsall Collection. It was transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Work and Industry in 2007.
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0981
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Photograph albums
- Specifications
- Reports
- Price lists
- Photographs
- Newsletters
- Letterpress books
- Correspondence
- Blueprints
- Ledgers (account books)
- Genealogies
- Notebooks
- Patents
- Citation
- John A. Roebling Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- 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
- Processing Information
- Processed by Beatrice Kelly (intern) and Alison Oswald (archivist), August 2009.
- 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.
- Genre/Form
- Photograph albums
- Specifications
- Reports
- Price lists
- Photographs -- 20th century
- Newsletters -- 1920-1940
- Letterpress books
- Correspondence
- Blueprints
- Ledgers (account books)
- Genealogies
- Notebooks
- Patents
- 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.
- 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.
- Record ID
- ebl-1503511630188-1503511630200-0
In the Collection
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