Without Fitting, Filing or Chipping An Illustrated History of the Phoenix Bridge Company by Thomas R. Winpenny. Softbound (also available in a very limited edition maroon cloth hardbound), 154 pages, profusely illustrated in b/w, appendices, notes, and an index.
From the author’s web site: “There is something patently heroic about pioneering in late nineteenth and early twentieth century bridge building, and thus the people who were part of the Phoenix Bridge story are, in many respects, worthy of recognition. The men who originally conceptualized bridge building in Phoenixville in the 1860s became part of the catalogue bridge movement and thus to some extent distanced themselves from the view of a bridge as a highly individualized work of art. “Both Clarke, Reeves and Phoenix Bridge published promotional albums featuring a variety of wrought-iron truss bridges that could be delivered with greater haste than anyone heretofore had imagined possible. Working closely with the parent firm, Phoenix Iron and Steel, the bridge company practiced velocity of throughput and produced a quality cheap bridge. Each bridge was reassembled at the plant to insure good fit, and then disassembled and shipped to the erection site. Ironically, these cheap bridges had a useful life that approached the better part of a century and thus precluded a healthy replacement business. The bridge company at Phoenixville had a good product that enjoyed an identifiable market niche; of the thousands of bridges designed and fabricated in Phoenixville (the total is about 4,200) a very substantial portion were wrought iron truss railway spans. “
OUR PRICE: Softcover: $19.00 (includes free shipping in the Continental U.S. and all applicable sales tax).
Very Limited Edition Maroon Cloth HardboundL $45.00 SALE $25.00
