Tag: Haupt manual collection

Herman Haupt’s treatise, United States Military Railway Department. Construction And Transportation, is believed to be the first technical manual to use photo illustrations. With text by Haupt and photographs by Captain Andrew J. Russell, the volume presented Haupt’s ideas on building and destroying bridges, transporting railroad cars by barge and other topics. Producing the photographs for the volume was part of Andrew J. Russell’s training as Egbert Guy Fowx’s photography apprentice. While all the photos in the album are generally attributed to Russell, it is possible some were shot by Fowx.

To accompany copies of the manual, Haupt also published Photographs Illustrative of Operations In Construction And Transportation, As Used To Facilitate The Movements Of The Armies Of The Rappahannock, Of Virginia, And Of The Potomac, Including Experiments Made To Determine The Most Practical and Expeditious Modes To Be Resorted To In The Construction, Destruction and Reconstruction Of Roads And Bridges, which discussed in detail the experiments and operations that the photos documented, providing a wealth of information not included in the manual proper.