#industrialhistory

[frnwhcom]

April 16, 1947, marks one of the darkest days in American industrial history – the Texas City disaster. This catastrophic event, which occurred in the bustling port of Texas City, Texas, stands as a somber reminder of the potential dangers in industrial operations and the importance of safety regulations. The Fateful Day The disaster unfolded…

[patriciadlr]

THE GREAT MOLASSES FLOOD 1919 The Great Molasses Flood (1919) The Great Molasses Flood (1919): In Boston, Massachusetts, a massive tank of molasses burst, sending a tidal wave of sticky syrup through the streets, resulting in 21 deaths and extensive property damage.

[robbialy]

Well written about my fav RevCo album, from • @waxtraxchicago 35 years ago tonight, the newly configured REVOLTING COCKS played the Cabaret Metro. I had moved to Chicago 8 months earlier at the tender age of 18. I remember vividly sitting between my dad and Dannie both laughing hysterically and nervously as the night's insanity, chaos and spectacle continued to unravel. Much has already been said about that night... -Luc, reading his song lyrics from the inside of his hat... - Al, while on acid, convinced he needed to throw all the ticket money out into the audience... -the opening act, Family Plan, coming out with a shotgun trained on the audience... As we sat there wondering if anyone would demand their money back, it became clear throughout the night that this show would definitely go down in history for good or bad. What we were left with, in our humble opinion, was one of the greatest live albums of all time. This album/video still resonates and is the REVOLTING COCKS at the top of their game (with a newly transplanted and fresh faced Chris Connelly). I hope you've enjoyed YOU GODDAMNED SON OF A BITCH over the years as much as I have. It is a special time for WAX TRAX!, REVCO, and music history as a whole. 35 years later and REVCO is still making this world a better place for you and your hog bitch girlfriend. Julia Nash P.S. Tell us your favorite song from the album/video. (Mine is "Attack Ships On Fire") #waxtrax #waxtraxrecords #waxtraxoriginals #industrialhistory #chicagoindustrial #revoltingcocks #ministryband #yougoddamedsonofabitch #aljourgensen #paulbarker #chrisconnelly #billrieflin #lucvanacker #revoltingpussies https://www.instagram.com/p/CiItvBxD8aHjQVOIDzRqzMLRYEXN49i8AEJnos0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[hamishsblog]

A journey along the Lea #639 A flashback to 2018 and the warehouse that has been replaced by the new apartments in the previous image was where the first plastic was made… #psychogeography #urbanlandscapes #newtopographic #thenewtopographicmovement #hackneywick #riverlea #london #industrialhistory #remnantmagazine #streetartlondon #londonstreetart https://www.instagram.com/p/CRtsgsmHeRC/?utm_medium=tumblr

[aconitum-napellus]

In the woods, hidden away, there is a tiny house with a roof of great slates and moss, where a recluse faerie lives. Actually it's part of the listed remains of the Hafod Las Slate and Slab Quarry, in the moss rich woods above Betws y Coed in the Conwy Valley. [Image description: colour Instagram photo of a small stone hut with a peaked roof and single door, in a damp, verdant, mossy wood.] #ImageDescription #Snowdonia #SnowdoniaNationialPark #eryri #wales #cymru #IndustrialHistory #FindYourEpic #ThisIsMyAdventure #AwakeTheSoul #KeepItWild #hiking #travel #TravelPhotography #adventure #NaturePhotography #GetOutside #UKHikers #wanderlust #DiscoverEarth #PeopleWhoAdventure #NotTheSafeRoute #snowdoniagram #NoFilter https://www.instagram.com/p/CDHZs1iJCxA/?igshid=l72y4l325727

[forestpines]

I admire the cut of your jib, sir #crane #vintage #industry #industrialhistory #railway https://www.instagram.com/p/CFWTy6XHSyJ/?igshid=1n5ku2we5h1gy

[pittarchives]

Notas interesantes acerca de Pittsburg: con los cumplimientos de la Cámara de Comercio al Congreso Internacional Americano en su visita á Pittsburg en los días 6, 7, 8 de noviembre, de 1889

For Hispanic Heritage Month we are looking at the impact an 1889 visit of Latin American delegates had on Pittsburgh’s industry and the way we promote the region today.

This post was written by Zach Brodt, University Archivist. 

In 1881, U.S. Secretary of State James G. Blaine attempted to initiate a conference with all the countries in Central and South America so that the United States might become the dominant trade partner in Latin America instead of Europe. His initial efforts were dismissed by Congress until an 1888 report on the South American economy convinced the American government to finally endorse a conference to discuss economic and politic topics facing the western hemisphere. The Congress met on October 1, 1889, in Washington, D.C. and began the following day with a railroad journey around the country to showcase the nation’s industrial and natural resources. Proceedings began at the conclusion of the tour on November 18 and the conference continued until April 19, 1890. The meeting later became known as the First International Conference of American States and eventually led to the creation of the Organization of American States, which continues to meet periodically with the same mission as the 1889-1890 congress.

The conference solidified political relations among the Latin American countries and the United States; however, little direct economic impact resulted from the meeting. For one stop on the delegates’ railroad tour, though, the visit of the Pan-American guests sparked an interest in self-promotion that would serve its industries well in the coming decades. That city was Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Western Pennsylvania spent much of 1889 thinking about how it might promote its products to the rest of the country, and even the world. In May, the newly formed Exposition Society dedicated its new complex at the Point and on September 4 the resurrected Western Pennsylvania Exposition opened at that site. Also in May, the Exposition Universelle opened in France with exhibits by Pittsburgh companies like Westinghouse, H.K. Porter and H.J. Heinz. As the Paris World’s Fair reached its conclusion in October, a contingent from Chicago came to Pittsburgh to campaign to host the next world’s fair in 1892, raising the prospect of a nearby global event. By then the Latin American delegates had already begun their journey toward the Midwest and were on schedule for their stop in Pittsburgh on November 6. When the train arrived at Union Station that afternoon, the delegates were transported directly to the magnificent Monongahela House, their home for the next few days and the site of their welcoming reception that evening. The next day consisted of tours of glass and steel mills on the South Side, the Homestead and Edgar Thomson Steel Works, and the National Tube Works in McKeesport, among others. That evening, the guests attended a display by many local manufacturers and companies at the Exposition’s Machinery Hall. On November 8, the visitors traveled to Pittsburgh Plate Glass in Tarentum, Keystone Bridge Co., H.K. Porter locomotive works and several other mills before another evening spent at Machinery Hall. The next morning the tour continued to Altoona and then Philadelphia. At the reception on November 6, the Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce presented each delegate with two souvenirs – a bronze medal and a book. The engraved medal was to be worn as identification during the guests’ many tours across the region. The album, however, was something much more. Titled Notas interesantes acerca de Pittsburg: con los cumplimientos de la Cámara de Comercio al Congreso Internacional Americano en su visita á Pittsburg en los días 6,7,8 de noviembre, de 1889 (Interesting notes about Pittsburg: with the fulfillment of the Chamber of Commerce to the American International Congress in its visit to Pittsburg on November 6, 7, 8, 1889), the book contained Spanish descriptions of many of the area’s most successful companies, several of which the delegates toured during their visit. These descriptions were complemented by photos of area buildings and mills taken in stunning detail by Otto Krebs.

 Bell, W.S., and Norton G. Chandler. Notas interesantes acerca de Pittsburg  Pittsburgh: Norton G. Chandler, 1889.

In addition to the information and photographs found in the volume, the souvenir album also represents a turning point in Pittsburgh’s efforts to promote itself as an industrial center. After successfully entertaining these cross-country tourists, the Chamber of Commerce likely saw the Pan-American delegation as a precursor to the thousands of visitors that would pass through western Pennsylvania on their way to and from a Chicago world’s fair. This realization possibly influenced the city’s decision to support the Chicago bid to host the Columbian Exposition which, as a result, propelled the region’s industries to new heights. Furthermore, the region became more aware of how self-promotion could improve Pittsburgh’s reputation not only as an industrial center, but also as a tourist destination – an angle the Chamber used in its Columbian Exposition pamphlet “Guide to all Points of Interest in and about Pittsburg.”

 The University of Pittsburgh Library System holds one of the few examples of the Notas interesantes acerca de Pittsburg in the country. The brightly covered volume is in excellent condition and provides a wealth of information about Pittsburgh’s economy as it approached the last decade of the 19th century.

[elizabethiris]

The Grade I Listed Catcliffe Glass Cone in Rotherham was built in about 1740 and is the oldest remaining structure of its kind in Western Europe. It is one of 4 similar structures that remain in the UK. The cone formed part of Catcliffe glass works, which was established by William Fenney in the eighteenth century. The works passed into the possession of Henry Blunn (date unknown) before being closed sometime between 1884 and 1887. #catcliffe #catcliffeglasscone #catcliffeglasskiln #grade1listed #grade1listedbuilding #unusualarchitecture #oldbuildings #blogger #exploring #architecture #rotherham #heritage #england🇬🇧 #industrialhistory #glasscone #obscura #femaleexplorers #historyexplorer #historygirlstravel #historygirl (at Catcliffe Glass Cone) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCawTxBlIZR/?igshid=10r7wjd4r35zn

[thehistorygirlnj]

Forge No. 2, (most likely a lime kiln), at Splitrock Furnace in Rockaway, #NewJersey. The original forge was built by Ebenezer Ferrand in the 1790s. Forge No. 1 (still standing) was built in 1862 and was the last charcoal-fired blast furnace built in New Jersey. It produced objects related to the Civil War. Various stone walls and other foundations exist at the site from a crushing mill and other outbuildings. The site operated until the 1870s. #nj #njhistory #SpreadTheHistory #historygirl #rockaway #rockawaynj #architecture #archi_ologie #thisisnj #jerseycollective #njspots #explorenj #igersnj #ushistory #americanhistory #ipulledoverforthis #travelblog #travelblogger #blog #blogger #journeythroughjersey #splitrockreservoir #furnace #CivilWar #industrialhistory #industry (at Splitrock Reservoir)

[ardeear]

Love the way the light filters through the window, illuminating the dust, spiders webs and decay: a bit Sleeping Beauty-ish, the Welsh slate trade waiting to reawaken? #llanberis #wales #walesonline #nationalslatemuseum #snowdonianationalpark #snowdonia #slate #mining #industrialhistory (at National Slate Museum) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1wypSVlZTs/?igshid=1nqkjgp8bkl9f

[hamishsblog]

Bromley Hall - this building on the entrance road to the Blackwall tunnel is part of the textile history of the Lea Valley. Behind this brick facade is hidden a much older building one of the earliest Tudor houses in England #london #urbanlandscape #psychogeography #newtopographics #leariver #industrialhistory #bromleyhall #londonwanderings #textilehistory #millenium_images #borderlands https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnic4THlrxq/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ql9wkal85jwi

[aconitum-napellus]

Disused incline at the abandoned Hafod Las Slate and Slab Quarry near Betws y Coed in the Conwy Valley. From the mid nineteenth century carts of slate would have trundled up and down here. [Image description: colour Instagram photo of an upward sloping, straight earth path bounded by overgrown banks and trees.] #ImageDescription #Snowdonia #SnowdoniaNationialPark #eryri #wales #cymru #IndustrialHistory #FindYourEpic #ThisIsMyAdventure #AwakeTheSoul #KeepItWild #hiking #travel #TravelPhotography #adventure #NaturePhotography #GetOutside #UKHikers #wanderlust #DiscoverEarth #PeopleWhoAdventure #NotTheSafeRoute #snowdoniagram #fairyland #BetwsYCoed #ThisIsMyWales https://www.instagram.com/p/CDKG9wXpb1v/?igshid=1aev2l0n6nfwo

[pittarchives]

Founding Anniversary- The Archives of Industrial Society

Cartoon from a Pittsburgh Press feature on the opening of the Archives of Industrial Society in the Fall of 1963. Pictured in the background are Heinz Chapel and the Cathedral of Learning. (Pittsburgh Press, November 3rd, 1963).

This post was written by Jon Klosinski, Archives Assistant

October 7th marks the 57th anniversary of the first accessions and founding of the Archive of Industrial Society (AIS)- one of the foundational collections for Pitt’s Archives & Special Collections department.

Preparation of the AIS program began as early as 1960 under the guidance Dr. Samuel Hays, the Pitt History Department Chair, who was already an avid collector of historical material related to industry and its environmental impact in the region. Hays intended for AIS to serve as a primary source collection that would meet the research demands of social history, a new discipline which had emerged in the early 1960s and sought to understand the lives of ordinary people whose experiences had been underrepresented in the historical record.

Samuel P. Hays, founder of the Archives of Industrial Society

Historians in the region had combed the area for records before, but generally for colonial-era material and records related to very small group of people- mainly white, male, public figures. Older institutions in the region, such as the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, founded in 1879, had up until the middle 20th century only focused its collecting work on prominent individuals and families in the region. Archival scholar Richard Cox describes the founding of the Archives of Industrial Society at Pitt in the early 1960s as “…a conscious effort to deal with the omissions in the acquisition policy of the Historical Society and to support the research needs and interests of the urban and social historians located at the University of Pittsburgh and other institutions of higher education.”[1]

Hays received a grant for the AIS project from the Wherrett Memorial Fund of the Pittsburgh Foundation, administered by Dr. Stanton Belfour. Monte Calvert, a Pitt History PhD candidate, was appointed as the first curator of AIS, and began work with a small team of graduate students providing assistance. Calvert, a native Californian, had worked in various capacities at archives and museums across the country, and spent time in August 1963 visiting the Baker Library at Harvard Business School to learn more about proper organization and management of an archival program.

Monte Calvert, then a Pitt History PhD and first curator of the AIS, in a Pittsburgh Press feature on the AIS launch (Pittsburgh Press, November 3rd, 1963)

Calvert anticipated the project to be very large, from single letters to roomfuls of records that detailed mines, large corporations, and other types of records generally thought to be outdated and thrown away by their creators. From the outset, the department intended to use the archive to reach beyond the field of history, envisioning a broader program for the study of industrial society in general that would connect with other departments at the University. All of the material gathered in the first few weeks of the program was piled into a single room, 2916, on the 29th floor of the Cathedral of Learning, along with a loan of additional storage space on the 3rd floor of the Mineral Industries Building. Clearly needing more adequate space to facilitate research, Calvert and his supporting staff anticipated an eventual move to facilities in the new Hillman Library, which opened in January 1968.

The initial scope for the archives project aimed to collect records created between 1850 and 1900, a period of great industrial expansion in the region. Early literature and outreach materials created by the AIS details the types of materials that were being sought, which included papers of important civic and political leaders and organizations, minutes and manuscript records of ethnic, nationality and religious groups; newspapers created by ethnic, labor and religious group; and books, printed documents and broadsides related to the history of Western Pennsylvania in the 19th and 20th centuries. Calvert and the AIS project also identified material that had been traditionally neglected at libraries. Known (and often dismissed) as “ephemera”, this included catalogs, pamphlets, instruction books, price lists and other printed matter that contained useful data on prices, specifications, principles or other information that could not be easily found elsewhere.

Archives of Industrial Society Promotional Brochure, c. 1966

The first two accessions into AIS were entered on October 7th, AIS.1963.01 and AIS 1963.02. The American Service Institute, AIS, 1963.01, The Records of the American Service Institute, was founded in Pittsburgh in 1941 with the purpose of working through the organized structure of the Pittsburgh community to promote better understanding and appreciation among people of all cultural and national backgrounds. The collection is comprised of material and includes minutes, unpublished studies and reports, immigration and naturalization files, publications, general information on local organizations, material on local community projects, context about the aged population, youth immigration records, and information about customs and traditions of cultural groups. The collection has been previously featured on this blog as part of the Archival Scholars Research Award program.

The first two entries in the Archives of Industrial Society Accession Log on October 7, 1963. (Archives and Special Collections Department Internal files).

AIS.1963.02, The Sumner B. Ely Diaries, is a series of 50 small diaries that detail the daily activities of Sumner B. Ely, an engineer who worked in the iron industry from 1899 until 1920, and became Superintendent of the Bureau of Smoke Prevention, part of Pittsburgh's Department of Public Health in 1941.

Today, building on the Archives of Industrial Society 's mission of documenting underrepresented and underserved communities, The Archives and Special Collections Department of the University of Pittsburgh Library System continues to pursue those broad objectives through its robust collecting initiatives. The Archives of Industrial Society continues in the Library System under its prefix “AIS” but has grown to represent new historical resources in areas such as African American studies, LGBTQIA+ studies, women’s studies, gender studies, medical innovation and other materials that document Western Pennsylvania's continual growth from its industrial past.

[1] Cox, Richard, Documenting Localities: A Practical Model for American Archivists and Manuscript Curators. (Lanham, Md & London: Society of American Archivists and Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1996). 74

[elizabethiris]

The remains of the winding house at Porth Wen, Anglesey. The house sits remote from the brickworks. To find it, follow the costal path towards Cemaes. #porthwen #porthwenbrickworks #anglesey #northwales #angleseycostalpath #angleseycostalfootpath #northwalestagram #welshcoast #beautifulwales #heritage #history #industrialhistory #welshhistory #angleseyhistory #angleseyhiddengem #outandaboutwithliz #femaleblogger #canonphotography #travelgram #abandonedengineering https://www.instagram.com/p/CEtM0wIMoRM/?igshid=1ejer999rf1sk