Sketch of the Civil Engineering of North America; Comprising remarks on the harbours, river and lake navigation, lighthouses, steam-navigation, water-works, canals, roads, railways, bridges, and other works in that country.

STEVENSON, David.

Edité par London: John Weale, Architectural Library, 1838

A propos de cet article

First edition, presentation copy, inscribed to a railway administrator with whom Stevenson worked in Scotland, and in a well-preserved example of the publisher's cloth binding. Stevenson's study includes extensive analysis of North American dams, hydraulic docks and water infrastructure. As a well-known engineer in his own right, David Stevenson (1815-1886) designed over 30 lighthouses. In 1837, he took an extended trip across North America: the Sketch records his observations and helped to dispel the myth of American backwardness in engineering. Chapter X is dedicated to water supply infrastructure, with a particular focus on the supply for New York and Boston. Plate XIII provides a ground plan of the Fairmount water works at Philadelphia, now a National Historic Landmark. Plate XIV depicts the Fairmount dam on the Schuylkill river, while plates VII-X depict various American bridges. In 1835, Marc Brunel invited Stevenson to join his staff at the Thames Tunnel, but he declined in order to work with his father. Assessing Stevenson's impact in the field, the later American engineer Kip Finch noted that "one cannot fail to be impressed with the outspoken yet, fair, impartial and keen observation of this young engineer of 23 years" (quoted in Paxton, p. 2). The recipient, John Riddle Stodart (1792-1871), was a lawyer who served as secretary of the Edinburgh, Leith, and Newhaven Railway Company. In 1843, the Stevenson engineering consultancy produced proposals for a branch line on the ELNR. The neat inscription on the half-title may be secretarial. Goldsmiths' 30525; Howes 976; Kress C.4740; Sabin 91589. Roland Paxton, "A British perspective on American civil engineering achievement before 1840", American Civil Engineering History: The Pioneering Years, 2002. Octavo. Folding engraved map frontispiece and 14 other engraved plates, wood-engraved illustrations in the text, 7 pp. publisher's advertisements at rear. Original brown straight-grain cloth, spine lettered in gilt and ruled in blind, covers decoratively blocked in blind, light yellow coated endpapers. Light bumping and wear, sunning to spine, inner hinges split but holding firm, minor browning and foxing to contents: a very good copy indeed.

N° de réf. du vendeur 175567

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Sketch of the Civil Engineering of North America; Comprising remarks on the harbours, river and lake navigation, lighthouses, steam-navigation, water-works, canals, roads, railways, bridges, and other works in that country.
• Éditeur: London: John Weale, Architectural Library, 1838
• Édition: Edition originale
• Signé: Signé par l'auteur