approximately 22,890 photographs (including 18,500 stereographs), 1220 prints, 13 photograph albums, 11 books, 117 pieces of ephemera, 15 pieces of realia
The Robert M. Vogel collection of historic images of engineering & industry contains approximately 22,890 photographs (including 18,500 stereographs), 1220 prints, 13 photograph albums, 11 books, 117 pieces of ephemera, and 15 pieces of realia documenting a wide range of subjects primarily related to 19th-century civil engineering, industrial processes, and mechanization.
Particularly well-represented topics within the Vogel collection include images of different types of civil infrastructure such as bridges, canals, roads, dams, and tunnels as well as images showing construction projects, various types of machinery, modes of transportation (such as railroads, steamboats, automobiles, etc.), agricultural pursuits, natural resource extraction (including oil drilling, quarrying, mining, and lumbering), textile operations, electrical and hydraulic power generation, manufacturing, metal working, machine shops, and various industrial factory scenes. Many images of important and iconic structures are included such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Panama Canal, Hoosac Tunnel, and SS Great Eastern. Other represented topics include general architectural views, scenes of disasters/accidents, and portraits of notable individuals (such as Thomas Edison, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and Robert Stephenson). While predominately United States-focused, the materials are international in scope overall and especially include many images of industrial sites and civil infrastructure in Great Britain. The order of the collection's original arrangement has largely been kept intact.
Examples of items of particular interest include salt prints possibly taken by civil engineer Montgomery C. Meigs documenting the construction of the U.S. Capitol and Washington Aqueduct in Washington, D.C.; a series of portraits of early Baldwin Locomotive Works locomotives; images documenting the SS Great Eastern and USS Niagara steamships; a group of 4 colored stereoviews on glass produced by Frederick Langenheim showing the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge ca. 1850s; images related to specific railroads including the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Mauch Chunk, Mount Washington Cog Railway, and New York City elevated railroad; and half-frame proof prints of stereographs produced by Underwood & Underwood as well as H. C. White & Co.
The following list represents the general subject categories found across the Vogel collection along with relevant box and folder numbers:
While the Vogel collection general subject categories are generally comprehensive there are still numerous instances of items that could feasibly belong to multiple categories other than the group they are classified under. For instance, there are disaster images found in several groupings other than "Disasters," while bridge construction images can be found in all of the various "Bridges" categories as well as within the "Construction" category. For more detailed descriptions of specific materials, see the box and folder listing in the Contents section below.
approximately 22,890 photographs (including 18,500 stereographs), 1220 prints, 13 photograph albums, 11 books, 117 pieces of ephemera, 15 pieces of realia
1 volume
The Rowland Stephenson scrapbook contains numerous clippings, engravings, illustrations, notes, and ephemera primarily related to British banking and finance, the Royal Family, and prominent political and historical figures.
The scrapbook (23 x 18 cm) has brown board covers, is lacking a spine, and contains 184 pages in total. While it is unlikely that Stephenson himself created the scrapbook, it does appear that it may have been compiled by a close associate or relative of Stephenson's. Dated contents range from ca. 1767 to 1840 and generally speaking include numerous engraved portraits of various individuals (mainly royal personages, aristocrats, politicians, military and religious leaders, writers, artists, doctors, scientists, athletes, eccentrics, criminals, and historic figures), engravings and illustrations of buildings and other scenes, handwritten notes and ephemeral materials related to various subjects including royal finances and banking, multiple pasted in signatures, and newspaper clippings regarding various subjects including a reward notice for information on Stephenson's whereabouts after his disappearance following his embezzlement scandal. A number of engravings appear to have been clipped from European Magazine as well as R. S. Kirby’s Wonderful and Eccentric Museum; Or, Magazine of Remarkable Characters. Many undated engravings of pre-18th century historic figures were likely produced prior to 1767.