Free summaries
Engineering & Technology — page 7
480 public-domain engineering & technology books, summarised. Page 7 of 10.
Gas Burners Old and New: A historical and descriptive treatise on the progress of invention in gas lighting, embracing an account of the theory of luminous combustion
Owen Merriman
The flicker of a flame holds more history than we often realize, tracing a path from the simple, unpretentious apertures of the early nineteenth century to the sophisticated, scientific combustion of a later age. This technical record invites us to look closely at the evolution of artificial light, revealing that…
Scientific American Supplement, No. 531, March 6, 1886
Various
This archival collection captures the Victorian obsession with industrial progress, providing a window into a world where engineering, botany, and physics converged to map the frontiers of human ingenuity.
Catechism of the locomotive
Matthias N. (Matthias Nace) Forney
To understand the iron heart of the nineteenth-century locomotive, one must master the precise interplay of fire, water, steam, and steel. This manual serves as an exhaustive guide to the mechanical anatomy and operational philosophy of the machines that defined an era.
Origin of modern calculating machines
J. A. V. Turck
Mechanical ingenuity defines the progress of human calculation, tracing a path from ancient, hand-cranked curiosities to the rapid, key-driven machines of the early twentieth century. This chronicle details the technical breakthroughs that transformed the labor of bookkeeping into a precise, automated science.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 810, July 11, 1891
Various
This collection captures the restless, expansive spirit of 1891, offering a detailed snapshot of a world rapidly transforming through civil engineering, electric innovation, and rigorous chemical inquiry.
Time and Clocks: A Description of Ancient and Modern Methods of Measuring Time
Cunynghame, Henry H. (Henry Hardinge), Sir
The quest to measure the passage of seconds, hours, and celestial cycles serves as a gateway into the bedrock of physical science. This work explores the intricate mechanics of timekeeping through the lens of history, logic, and engineering.
Dirigible Balloons
Charles B. (Charles Brian) Hayward
This technical manual traces the evolution of human flight from mythical beginnings to the industrialized aerial warfare of the early twentieth century.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 392, July 7, 1883
Various
This collection captures the frantic, earnest pulse of the late Victorian era, where every industrial hurdle was a puzzle waiting for a mechanical solution. It serves as a fascinating ledger of how a rapidly modernizing world viewed its own progress.
The development of armor-piercing shells (with suggestions for their improvement)
Carlos De Zafra
A high-stakes industrial arms race demands constant innovation in steel and ballistics, where the smallest structural flaw can mean the difference between a successful strike and total disintegration upon impact.
Chimneys & Fireplaces: They Contribute to the Health Comfort and Happiness of the Farm Family - How to Build Them
Ara Marcus Daniels
A drafty house is a cold house, and a faulty chimney is a fire hazard; this guide provides the technical knowledge necessary to ensure that home heating systems are both efficient and safe.
Lessons in Wireless Telegraphy
Alfred Powell Morgan
To master the early secrets of the air, one must first understand the invisible forces of magnetism and electricity that underpin the spark. This systematic guide provides the essential technical foundation for the amateur radio enthusiast.
History of the Water Supply of the World: arranged in a comprehensive form from eminent authorities, containing a description of the various methods of water supply, pollution and purification of waters, and sanitary effects, with analyses of potable waters, also geology and water strata of Hamilton county, Ohio, statistics of the Ohio river, proposed water supply of Cincinnati
Thomas J. (Thomas Jefferson) Bell
This technical record examines the vital intersection of engineering, geology, and public health through the development of global water systems and the specific challenges facing nineteenth-century Cincinnati.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 358, November 11, 1882
Various
Nineteenth-century scientific progress unfolds through detailed engineering diagrams, public health statistics, and precise chemical experiments. This miscellany captures an era racing to industrialize, sanitize, and systematically categorize the natural world.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 433, April 19, 1884
Various
Industrial ambition and observational science meet in a weekly snapshot of late nineteenth-century invention, where practical craft and global curiosity converge.
Aeroplanes
James Slough Zerbe
Wings do not fly by imitating nature, but by mastering mass, speed, and the relentless counterforce of the air.
Report on the lands of the arid region of the United States, with a more detailed account of the lands of Utah
John Wesley Powell
A dry landscape demands new ways of living, yet American laws continue to treat the arid West as if it were a rain-drenched eastern forest.
Scientific American magazine Vol 2. No. 3 Oct 10 1846: The Advocate of Industry and Journal of Scientific
Various
Mechanical ingenuity and civic ambition march together in an era of rapid American industrial expansion.
How to Make Electrical Machines: Containing Full Directions for Making Electrical Machines, Induction Coils, Dynamos, and Many Novel Toys to Be Worked by Electricity
R. A. R. (Reginald Arthur Renaud) Bennett
The spark of discovery begins in the workshop, where humble scraps of wood, wire, and household refuse transform into the electrifying marvels of a new scientific age.
Flying Machines Today
William D. (William Duane) Ennis
The sky is not merely a frontier but an engineering problem, waiting for the precise hand of the theorist to replace the reckless gamble of the daredevil.
Scaffolding
A. G. H. Thatcher
This technical manual transforms the unseen, hazardous skeleton of urban development into a disciplined, engineered science. It serves as an essential guide for those tasked with the structural survival of both buildings and the men who raise them.
The Petrol Engine: A Text-book dealing with the Principles of Design and Construction, with a Special Chapter on the Two-stroke Engine
Francis John Kean
A clear and authoritative guide to the mechanical heart of the early motor car, written for the student and the curious engineer.
Fulton's "Steam Battery": Blockship and Catamaran
Howard Irving Chapelle
Steam power once promised to break the suffocating grip of naval blockades, and this vessel was the world’s first attempt to turn that promise into a floating, fire-breathing reality.
Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910: The New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Alfred Noble
This volume provides an authoritative, technical record of the monumental engineering effort required to extend the Pennsylvania Railroad into the heart of New York City through sub-aqueous tunnels. It is a work of immense structural ambition, tracing the transformation of Manhattan’s subterranean geography through…
Cycling art, energy, and locomotion
Robert P. (Robert Pittis) Scott
A pioneering examination of human kinetics and mechanical design, this work explores the transition from the high-wheeled "Ordinary" to the modern "Safety" bicycle through the lens of physics, engineering, and the enthusiast’s experience.
Hoisting Appliances
International Correspondence Schools
This technical manual provides a comprehensive examination of the mechanical systems required to move materials and personnel vertically in mining operations. It serves as a foundational guide for engineers, focusing on the physics and structural integrity of industrial hoisting machinery.
The Traveling Engineers' Association to Improve the Locomotive Engine Service of American Railroads: Examination Questions and Answers for Firemen for Promotion and New Men for Employment
Traveling Engineers' Association
A rigorous manual for aspiring railmen, this guide codifies the essential knowledge required to master the mechanical complexities of steam locomotives and ensure the safe, efficient operation of American railroads.
The Boot and Shoe Manufacturers' Assistant and Guide.: Containing a Brief History of the Trade. History of India-rubber and Gutta-percha, and Their Application to the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes. Full Instructions in the Art, With Diagrams and Scales, Etc., Etc. Vulcanization and Sulphurization, English and American Patents. With an Elaborate Treatise on Tanning
Unknown
This comprehensive manual serves as a definitive guide for mid-nineteenth-century footwear production, detailing everything from the historical roots of the trade to the intricate chemical processes of modern industrial manufacturing.
Is a Ship Canal Practicable?: Notes, Historical and Statistical, Upon the Projected Routes for an Interoceanic Ship Canal Between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, in Which is Included a Short Account of the Character and Influence of the Canal of Suez, and the Probable Effects Upon the Commerce of the World of the Two Canals, Regarded Either as Rivals, or as Parts of One System of Interoceanic Navigation
S. T. (Silvanus Thayer) Abert
This technical assessment explores the mid-19th-century race to conquer the American Isthmus, weighing the ambitious engineering required to join the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Report on the Department of Ports and Harbours for the Year 1890-91
Australia. Queensland. Department of Ports and Harbours
The Queensland coast is a relentless, shifting frontier where the sea dictates the reach of human industry. This account captures the year-long struggle to maintain order against the forces of nature in 1890 and 1891.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 417, December 29, 1883
Various
This late-nineteenth-century scientific periodical acts as a time capsule, preserving the rapid industrial and mechanical ingenuity of the 1880s. It captures a world where engineering, commerce, and natural philosophy collide in pursuit of progress.
Story of the Aeroplane
C. B. (Charles Burleigh) Galbreath
Humanity’s long-held dream of conquering the skies finally took flight at the turn of the twentieth century. This narrative captures that transition from ancient myth and failed experiments to the practical, mechanical reality of controlled aviation.
'Return Loads' to Increase Transport Resources by Avoiding Waste of Empty Vehicle Running
United States. Council of National Defense. Highways Transport Committee
A wartime government initiative outlines how civilian motor trucks can rescue a congested transportation system by carrying freight on their return journeys rather than traveling empty across the nation's roads.
Scientific American magazine, Vol. 2 Issue 1: The advocate of Industry and Journal of Scientific
Various
A miscellany of practical craft, sudden technological marvels, and small-town curiosities reveals an era when lightning spoke across miles and common air was praised as medicine.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 443, June 28, 1884
Various
A single issue of a nineteenth-century industrial periodical captures a world in motion, where steam ferries, laboratory discoveries, and practical trades meet on equal footing.
The Steam Fire Engine and the Old-time Fire Bell
Anonymous
Flames once leveled American cities while citizens scrambled with buckets, but the invention of the steam fire engine transformed civic defense into a thrilling, mechanical spectacle.
Lead Smelting and Refining, With Some Notes on Lead Mining
Unknown
A detailed look into the turning point of industrial metallurgy, where trial-and-error craft transformed into systematic chemical engineering at the dawn of the twentieth century.
The Nuclear Ship Savannah: First Atomic Merchant Ship, One of the World's Safest Ships
United States. Department of Commerce
An unprecedented engineering effort pairs nuclear propulsion with merchant shipping, relying on rigorous design protocols, redundant systems, and multi-layered physical shielding to ensure complete operational safety.
Inventors & Inventions
Henry Robinson
A practical, deeply cynical, yet fiercely loyal manual for the mechanical mind, revealing how brilliant designs are routinely wrecked by raw business greed.
River and Canal Engineering, the characteristics of open flowing streams, and the principles and methods to be followed in dealing with them
E. S. (Edward Skelton) Bellasis
A stream is an living system governed by physical laws; mastering its flow demands clear observations, precise math, and respect for its forces.
Illustrated Catalogue of Cotton Machinery
Howard & Bullough American Machine Company
This technical manual serves as an exhaustive blueprint for the industrial production of cotton, detailing the precise mechanics required to transform raw fiber into finished yarn. It acts as a definitive record of early twentieth-century textile engineering standards.
Omnibuses and cabs
Henry Charles Moore
The rattling carriage and the crowded coach were the lifeblood of Victorian London, a sprawling urban network maintained by the grit, ambition, and frequent dishonesty of those who navigated its streets.
Marvels of Modern Science
Paul Severing
The rapid advancement of human ingenuity at the dawn of the twentieth century suggests that no frontier—on land, at sea, or in the stars—is beyond our reach.
Learning to fly in the U.S. Army
E. N. (Elisha Noel) Fales
This manual serves as a concise, practical guide for early twentieth-century student aviators, stripping away complex engineering theory to focus on the essential mechanics of flight, maintenance, and safe operation.
Lightning, Thunder and Lightning Conductors
Gerald Molloy
Nature’s most formidable electrical display meets the rigor of Victorian scientific inquiry. This exploration demystifies the flash and the peal, offering practical guidance for shielding human life and infrastructure from the sky’s unpredictable power.
Vacuum cleaning systems
M. S. (Maxwell Stephens) Cooley
Vacuum cleaning systems are a vital, often overlooked component of modern building maintenance that demand both engineering precision and architectural foresight. This technical treatise outlines the rigorous requirements for designing effective, long-lasting mechanical cleaning installations for homes and large…
History of the Confederate Powder Works
George Washington Rains
The Confederacy enters the Civil War with almost no gunpowder and no means to produce it, forcing a desperate, scientific race against time to prevent total military collapse.
A General Plan for a Mail Communication by Steam, Between Great Britain and the Eastern and Western Parts of the World
James MacQueen
A bold, ambitious vision for a global network of steam-powered postal routes, this work charts a future where geography bends to the speed and regularity of steam navigation.
Petroleum
Albert Lidgett
Petroleum captures the industrial fervor of the early twentieth century, mapping the transition from coal-fired reliance to a global economy powered by liquid energy. It serves as both a historical record of oil’s rapid expansion and a technical primer on the infrastructure that shaped the modern world.