(NEW YORK) Howard Soule Jr Two volumes of an engineers bridg

Sale 2600 - Lot 178

Price Realized: $ 1,500

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 1,200 - $ 1,800

(NEW YORK.) Howard Soule Jr. Two volumes of an engineer's bridge designs prepared for the Syracuse area and beyond. [37]; [34, 6] manuscript pages plus additional notes laid in, including several dozen sketches. 2 volumes: folio (17 x 11 inches) and oblong 4to (9 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches), both coming disbound with boards detached; minimal wear to contents, other than one leaf excised from the smaller volume. Syracuse, NY, 1869-1874, 1884-1885

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Howard Soule Jr. (1829-1924) was a prominent civil engineer based in Syracuse, NY; he began his career in 1854 with the Erie Canal. These two volumes document his estimates and proposals for bridge projects in at least 19 New York towns, most of them in the Syracuse / Oswego County area, but some as far-ranging at St. Lawrence County to the far north, Albany and Yonkers to the east, and Elmira and Binghamton to the south. Most projects contain sketches and a detailed estimate for supplies and labor. Often two or more design options for the same project are prepared. His designs included Whipple arch bridges, iron chord bridges, iron trapezoidal truss bridges, and one dubbed "Soule's Combination Bridge" in Cohoes, NY. Almost all of the dated plans are from 1869 to 1874, with three added later in 1884 and 1885.

In addition to loose notes and sketches laid into the larger volume is an April 1869 letter to Soule from the Office American Sheet and Boiler Plate Co. of Cleveland, OH, quoting him the cost of iron beams. In the smaller volume, a clipping from Rochester, NY shows Soule's bids in competition with 14 other engineering firms. A significant piece of engineering history, and strong documentation of western New York's built environment.