Canals: A Norton/Library of Congress Visual Sourcebook

Robert J. Kapsch

 

Praise for Canals and for the Series:

"[A] valuable resource for teachers, students and industrial archaeologists... The series promises to be a breakthrough in publishing of the history of engineering, providing a user-friendly resource for those interested in teaching." —Mike Chrimes, Transactions of the Newcomen Society, Vol. 75, No. 2, 2005

"[T]he finest modern treatise on canal engineering and the impact of canals on America's national development."

—On the Level: The Newsletter of the Canal Society of New Jersey

"If you are a true canal enthusiast, this is one book you must have in your collection. Canals by Robert Kapsch provides the largest single source of material for those interested in the history of American canals." —Locktender, Newsletter of the National Canal Museum

"The strength of this book is its 555 mostly historic photographs and architectural drawings of the canals… [E]xcellent value for money as it includes a CD with all the images used in the book at a a size that could be studied in more details and printed out for home use."

—Waterways World

"A richly illustrated history of America's first transportation network… [A\n essential reference for all aficionados of canal landscape and lore. The accompanying CD-ROM contains high-quality, downloadable versions of all the illustrations."

—The Tiller: A Publication of the Virginia Canals and Navigations Society

"Exhaustively illustrated."
—Civil Engineering

"A treasury of historic photographs, illustrations, and plans of canals. . . . Provides the largest single source of material for those interested in the fascinating history of the classic era of American canals (1785-1860), for those who wish to explore canals today, and for professionals engaged in the preservation and rehabilitation of canals."
—The Canaller, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park

"This book and CD are for the person who wants to explore the American canals and to search out their heritage."
—The Canaller

"[M]agnificent.. As a source book for historians, students and restorers alike it is unrivalled and the finishing touch is the inclusion of the CD-ROM.. Every engineering college and major library should have a copy on their shelves."
—Panel for Historical Engineering Works Newsletter

"[R]ichly illustrated..[E]xtensive photographs and reprints of maps and drawings provide a thorough account of this unique and under-appreciated part of our American heritage..[E]xcellent and captures this timeless part of our American legacy..The detailed and hand-drafted drawings and maps are excellent complements to the photographs."
—Public Works Historical Society

"The contents of this book are a delight. For the uninitiated to the subject of canals, the narrative provides interesting reading and makes a complex subject comprehensible through simple text and rich images. For the scholar of canals, it provides volumes of information on the details of construction, the variety of constructions, and a broad pictorial history. For the researcher, it will be extremely useful in publishing papers, since the illustrations are provided electronically, as well."
—APT Bulletin: The Journal of Preservation Technology

"[A]n excellent overview of American canals.[W]ell written and well designed." —Journal of the Society of Industrial Archaeology

Overview — Index

A richly illustrated history of America's first transportation system, Canals describes the development of these waterways in their heyday and shows the varied structures-including locks, lockhouses, aqueducts, bridges, dams, and tunnels-they engendered. It provides a capsule tour of 35 (CK) canals and a visual journey along two of the most famous canals: the Chesapeake and Ohio (now a National Park) and the Morris Canal (largely lost to development). This volume offers the largest single source of material for architects and engineers engaged in preservation and rehabilitation, as well as a beguiling view of landscape treasures past and present.

CD-ROM included: screen resolution scans in easy-to-use TIFF format for Mac and PC.

Canals is the second in Norton/Library of Congress Visual Sourcebook series. The Sourcebooks are designed to present a broad, fresh, and newly informed survey of America's fundamental building types based on the unparalleled collections of the Library of Congress and build pathways to millions of photographs, drawings, prints, views, maps, rare publications, and written information in the general and special collections, much of it unavailable elsewhere.

About the Author

Currently the National Park Service Senior Scholar in Historic Architecture and Engineering, Robert J. Kapsch served on numerous projects to restore and rehabilitate canals and was for 15 years chief of HABS/HAE.

ISBN: 0-393-73088-3
Summer 2004
356 pages, cloth w/CD-ROM, 800 illus.