Rynin, N.A.
Journey Through the United States of America. One of the earliest Russian books about construction in the USA.
Journey Through the United States of America. One of the earliest Russian books about construction in the USA.
Rynin, N.A. [Journey Through the United States of America: Report to the Assembly of Railway Engineers, January 28, 1905]. Puteshestvie po Severo-Amerikanskim Soedinennym Shtatam: Doklad v Sobranii inzhenerov putei soobshcheniia 28 ianvaria 1905 g.
S.-Peterburg, Izdanie Sobraniia Inzhenerov Putei Soobshcheniia, 1906.
8vo, [4], 103 pp., 1 fold.l.ill., ill., maps.
In contemporary owner boards.
In good condition, boards worn, front hinge cracked, owner note and large stamp ‘8812’ to front free endpaper.
Most likely, one of the earliest Russian books about construction in the USA.
This is an early work by the prominent Russian civil engineer, aerospace researcher, and advocate of space travel, Nikolai Rynin (1887–1942).
After graduating from St. Petersburg State Transport University in 1901, Rynin, recognized for his talent, worked in the railway technical department, taught, and made three trips abroad to enhance his engineering and scientific expertise in structural mechanics and metal structure design. This book resulted from his 1904 trip to the United States and is based on his report to the Assembly of Railway Engineers.
During his extensive journey through the U.S., Rynin visited cities such as New York, Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco, and New Orleans. The book focuses on the specifics of construction in the U.S. (buildings, railways, piers), and particularly noteworthy are the images detailing the stages of construction of the Broadway-Chambers Building (by architect Cass Gilbert) in New York, floor plans, and a longitudinal section of Boston's South Station.
An interesting highlight is Rynin's account of Salt Lake City, which he referred to as 'the capital of the Mormons', accompanied by an image of the Salt Lake Tabernacle, showing the exposed crossbeams (an original photo by Charles Roscoe Savage, ca. 1864–1867).
The year following the publication of this book marked a significant shift in Rynin's life, as he developed a deep interest in aviation and manned flight, which had started gaining popularity in Russia and would profoundly influence his future work.
We couldn’t trace any copy of this edition via OCLC. The Smithsonian Library has photocopy of this edition only.