Skip to product information
1870's antique american stereoview card depicting the construction of new york city's brooklyn bridge originally known as the east river bridge
  • 1870's antique american stereoview card depicting the construction of new york city's brooklyn bridge originally known as the east river bridge
  • 1870's antique american stereoview card depicting the construction of new york city's brooklyn bridge originally known as the east river bridge
1870's antique american stereoview card depicting the construction of new york city's brooklyn bridge originally known as the east river bridge

1870's antique american stereoview card depicting the construction of new york city's brooklyn bridge originally known as the east river bridge

SKU: UR-29850-18
authentic 19th century antique american industrial stereoview card featuring the construction of new york city's brooklyn bridge (formerly known as the east river bridge). the largely intact stereoview card was likely fabricated by or for the american scenery co., new york city, ny. the two albumen prints applied to the bright orange heavy cardstock are in great condition, considering age. the upper right corner is missing a small piece, but otherwise the sv card remains in goood overall condition. the brooklyn bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge in new york city and is one of the oldest bridges of either type in the united states. completed in 1883, it connects the boroughs of manhattan and brooklyn by spanning the east river. it has a main span of 1,595.5 feet, and was the first steel-wire suspension bridge constructed. it was originally referred to as the new york and brooklyn bridge and as the east river bridge, but it was later dubbed the brooklyn bridge, a name coming from an earlier january 25, 1867, letter to the editor of the brooklyn daily eagle, and formally so named by the city government in 1915. construction of the bridge began in 1869. the bridge was initially designed by german immigrant john augustus roebling, who had previously designed and constructed shorter suspension bridges, such as roebling's delaware aqueduct in lackawaxen, pennsylvania, waco suspension bridge in waco, texas, and the john a. roebling suspension bridge in cincinnati, ohio. while conducting surveys for the bridge project, roebling sustained a crush injury to his foot when a ferry pinned it against a piling. after amputation of his crushed toes he developed a tetanus infection which left him incapacitated and soon resulted in his death, not long after he had placed his 32-year-old son washington roebling in charge of the project. washington roebling also suffered a paralyzing injury as a result of decompression sickness shortly after the beginning of construction on january 3, 1870. this condition, first called "caisson disease" by the project physician andrew smith, afflicted many of the workers working within the caissons. roebling's debilitating condition left him unable to physically supervise the construction firsthand. roebling conducted the entire construction from his apartment with a view of the work, designing and redesigning caissons and other equipment. he was aided by his wifeemily warren roebling who provided the critical written link between her husband and the engineers on site. under her husband's guidance, emily studied higher mathematics, the calculations of catenary curves, the strengths of materials, bridge specifications, and the intricacies of cable construction. she spent the next 11 years assisting washington roebling, helping to supervise the bridge's construction. when iron probes underneath the caisson for the manhattan tower found the bedrockto be even deeper than expected, roebling halted construction due to the increased risk of decompression sickness. he later deemed the aggregate overlying the bedrock 30 feet below it to be firm enough to support the tower base, and construction continued. measures 7 x 3 1/2 inches.

Please Note: We do not appraise, nor disclose prices of items sold. No Exceptions.

Questions? Click on Contact Us below. Please make sure to reference the UR# when contacting us.

 Contact Us

You may also like