Starrucca Viaduct, Erie Eisenbahn im Staate New York
Cartographer : - Meyer, Herrmann Julius 1826 – 1909
- Date: - 1855
- Size: - 10in x 7in (255mm x 180mm)
- Ref#: - 25030
- Condition: - (A+) Fine Condition
Description:
This fine steel-plate engraved original antique print by Herrmann Julius Meyer was published in the 1855 edition of The United States Illustrated; in Views of City and Country, with Descriptive and Historical Articles edited by Charles A. Dana, New York.
These prints are beautifully engraved with extreme detail and artistry.
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 9in x 7in (230mm x 180mm)
Plate size: - 9in x 7in (230mm x 180mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None
Starrucca Viaduct is a stone arch bridge that spans Starrucca Creek near Lanesboro, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Built at a cost of $320,000 (equal to $9,051,077 today), it was at the time of its construction thought to be the most expensive railway bridge in the world. It was the largest stone rail viaduct in the mid-19th century and is still in use.
It was designed by Julius W. Adams and James P. Kirkwood and built in 1847-48 by New York and Erie Railroad, of locally quarried random ashlar bluestone, except for three brick interior longitudinal spandrel walls and the concrete base of the piers. This may have been the first structural use of concrete in American bridge construction.
The viaduct was built to solve an engineering problem posed by the wide valley of Starrucca Creek. The railroad considered building an embankment, but abandoned the idea because it was impractical. The Erie Railroad was well-financed by British investors, but even with money available, most American contractors at the time were incapable of the task. Julius W. Adams, the superintending engineer of construction in the area, hired James P. Kirkwood, a civil engineer who had worked on the Long Island Rail Road. Accounts differ as to whether Kirkwood worked on the bridge himself, or whether Adams was responsible for the plans with Kirkwood working as a subordinate. The lead stonemason, Thomas Heavey, an Irish immigrant from County Offaly, had worked on other projects for Kirkwood, primarily in New England. It took 800 workers, each paid about $1 per day, equal to $28.28 today, to complete the bridge in a year. The falsework for the bridge required more than half a million feet of cored and hewn timbers.
The original single broad gauge track was replaced by two standard gauge tracks in 1886. The roadbed deck under the tracks was reinforced with a layer of concrete in 1958
Herrmann Julius Meyer and his father, Joseph Meyer (1796-1856) were German publishers of an illustrated travel series called Meyers Universum: Ein Jahrbuch für Freunde der Natur und Kunst
After an apprenticeship as a bookseller, he returned to work in his fathers publishing house that was founded in Gotha in 1826 as a bibliographic institute.
Joseph Meyer had admired the people and institutions of America and sent his son to establish a printing house in New York. In 1852 Herrmann published an American edition of the Universum Views Of The Most Remarkable Places And Objects Of All Countries which was published by the North American Bibliographic Institution (New York: H.J. Meyer; first volume, 1852; second volume 1853.) using prints from Germany.
In 1855 Meyer published The United States Illustrated; in Views of City and Country, with Descriptive and Historical Articles enlisting the services of Charles A. Dana, editor of the New York Tribune, to be editor of the series. Unfortunately, the series did not do well as most titles were a mix of German and English, making them scarce to find today of excellent views of early America.
Herrmann Meyer had six sons, among them: Hans (Africa researcher and first ascendant of Kilimanjaro, 1858-1929), Arndt (1859-1920), Carl (1861-1908) and Hermann (1871-1932, also explorer in Africa).
In 1884 Herrmann Meyer withdrew from the publishing house and handed it over to his eldest sons Arndt and Hans.
Please note all items auctioned are genuine, we do not sell reproductions. A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) can be issued on request.
What is an Antique Map
The word Antique in the traditional sense refers to an item that is more than a hundred years old. In the past maps were sold in two forms, as a single sheet (broadsheet) or bound in an atlas or book. The majority of antique maps for sale today come from books or atlases and have survived due to the protection offered by the hardback covers.
When considering a purchaseThe first thing to determine when staring a collection or purchasing an item, is what is important to you. Most collectors prefer to build their collections around a theme. You may decide to collect maps from one region or country, charting its development through time. Similarly you could collect maps of one particular period in time, by type (i.e. sea or celestial charts) or by cartographer. The collector might also want to consider the theme of cartographical misconceptions such as California as an island or Australia as Terra Australis or the Great Southern Land.
The subject is so wide that any would-be-collector has almost endless possibilities to find his own little niche within the field, and thereby build a rewarding collection.
Pricing is based on a number of different factors, the most important of which is regional. In any series of maps the most valuable are usually the World Map and the America/North America. The World because it is usually the most decorative and America because it has the strongest regional market. Other factors that come into play re: price is rarity, age, size, historical importance, decorative value (colour) and overall condition and quality of paper it is printed on.
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About USClassical Images was founded 1998 and has built an excellent reputation for supplying high quality original antiquarian maps, historical atlases, antique books and prints. We carry an extensive inventory of antiquarian collectibles from the 15th to 19th century. Our collection typically includes rare books and decorative antique maps and prints by renowned cartographers, authors and engravers. Specific items not listed may be sourced on request.
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