Building facades and ruins: Mexico, United States, France, 1908, undated

Series “II. Photographs and graphic materials” dates from 1860 to 1953 and visually documents the interests and projects of the Birkinbine Engineering Company. This series is arranged alphabetically by subject, and chronologically within each subject. Principal subjects include: landscapes, machinery, Mexico, mining, people, pipelines, and water works. After the alphabetical subject run the series is organized by format; featuring negatives, albums, stereographs, and glass slides.

Landscapes and nature subjects depict vistas of wooded areas, fauna, plant specimens, and undeveloped land. Many vantages are captured via aerial and panoramic perspectives; Presumably, some photographs are related to the Birkinbine Engineering Company’s geological surveys that were conducted to assess portions of undeveloped land for mining purposes. While some landscapes lack an obvious human presence, others more demonstrably imply the industrial processes with clearly visible machinery and infrastructure.

Machinery subjects depict machinery parts and systems of mechanical operation at various mines, water works, and iron works. Photographs of machinery parts from Platt Iron Works and Colorado Fuel and Iron Company are a strong example of the types of technology used in engineering industries at the turn of the 20th century. These machinery parts include furnaces, valves, pipes, engines, and factory buildings.

Mexico subjects illustrate landscapes and infrastructure of Mexican mining and water works interests, and larger-scale project initiatives such as the Mexico City Water Works. They also capture candid perspectives of Mexico’s inhabitants, laborers, landscapes, and fauna.

Mining subjects depict the construction of mines and railroads; workers performing activities; constructions and equipment, including trestles and other support structures; and material transportation. Regions of Western Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota, and the Lake Superior region of Michigan are particularly well documented.

People subjects include a variety of individuals via official portraits and candid photographs. These individuals range from company executives such as John Birkinbine to laborers and migrant workers. Many images depict executives on-site at various mining projects. Some personal photographs feature family events and holiday cards. Other photographs document specific landmarks and metropolitan tourist destinations in American and European cities.

Pipeline, shipyard, and railroad subjects document the construction of mining infrastructure and transportation across undeveloped landscape -- an essential process in facilitating industrial activities. Railroad subjects include stationary cars in the midst of transporting materials. Likewise, illustrations of ships and waterways show loading docks and transportation routes.

Water works subjects document the construction and operation activities at dams and urban water works throughout the United States, such as concrete superstructures under various weather conditions in Marquette, Michigan. A significant portion of water works materials focuses on the construction and operation of the Fairmount Water Works in Philadelphia and Johnston Water Company’s Hinckston Run Reservoir.

Negatives include a wide range of the aforementioned subjects and are organized in albums and loosely grouped in envelopes. Stereographs are organized by location and likewise feature a range of subjects notably, building facades and city streetscapes; landscapes; mining projects; European cities and museums; city fairs and International Expositions; Fairmount Water Works; and oil producing regions of Pennsylvania and New York. This series contains a few albums ranging in subject from specific projects and companies such as the construction of Bull’s Bridge by Amburson Hydraulic Construction Company and French Creek State Park to more general subjects such as Birkinbine’s trips to Mexico and San Juan. This series also contains a variety of graphic materials, including illustrations of genre and literary scenes from periodicals such as Harper’s Weekly and Harper’s Bazar. Additionally, graphic materials includes posters from the 1876 and 1893 World’s Fairs, portrait prints of Benjamin Franklin, several color painting reproductions, and amateur hand painted depictions of the people of Mexico.