STEVENSON, David.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Sketch of the Civil Engineering of North America; First edition, presentation copy, inscribed to a railway administrator with whom Stevenson worked in Scotland, and in a well-preserved example of the publisher's cloth binding. Stevenson's study includes extensive analysis of North American dams, hydraulic docks and water infrastructure.As a well-known engineer in his own right, David Stevenson (1815-1886) designed over 30 lighthouses. In 1837, he took an extended trip across North America: the Sketch records his observations and helped to dispel the myth of American backwardness in engineering. Chapter X is dedicated to water supply infrastructure, with a particular focus on the supply for New York and Boston. Plate XIII provides a ground plan of the Fairmount water works at Philadelphia, now a National Historic Landmark. Plate XIV depicts the Fairmount dam on the Schuylkill river, while plates VII-X depict various American bridges.In 1835, Marc Brunel invited Stevenson to join his staff at the Thames Tunnel, but he declined in order to work with his father. Assessing Stevenson's impact in the field, the later American engineer Kip Finch noted that "one cannot fail to be impressed with the outspoken yet, fair, impartial and keen observation of this young engineer of 23 years" (quoted in Paxton, p. 2).The recipient, John Riddle Stodart (1792-1871), was a lawyer who served as secretary of the Edinburgh, Leith, and Newhaven Railway Company. In 1843, the Stevenson engineering con

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