Building Materials Collection

Blowing up the Eastern Arch of the Great Exhibition Building, 1864. Creator: Unknown
Blowing up the Eastern Arch of the Great Exhibition Building, [South Kensington, London], 1864. Demolition of an '...arch which supported the eastern gable end of the nave of the International

Building proposed to be erected in the Alexandra-Park, Muswell-Hill, 1864. Creator: Mason Jackson
Building proposed to be erected in the Alexandra-Park, Muswell-Hill, 1864. 'The directors [of the Alexandra Park Company] have entered into a contract with Messrs

The works of the Metropolitan extension railway in Smithfield, 1864. Creator: Mason Jackson
The works of the Metropolitan extension railway in Smithfield, [London], 1864. View from the bottom of Cow-cross and St. John-street towards the south-west

Ruins of the Great Exhibition Building of 1862, (1864). Creator: Unknown
Ruins of the Great Exhibition Building of 1862, [London], (1864). Engraving from a sketch '...looking in an easterly direction along the Cromwell-road...The grand central entrance appears in

The Livingstone Expedition in Africa - Dr. Livingstone's station [on] the Kongone River... 1860. Creator: Unknown
The Livingstone Expedition in Africa - Dr. Livingstone's station at the mouth of the Kongone River, on the Zambezi Delta, 1860. Engraving from a sketch by...T. Baines, Esq

The Granite Quarries at Rubislaw, near Aberdeen, 1857. Creator: Unknown
The Granite Quarries at Rubislaw, near Aberdeen, [Scotland], 1857. The pavement of London, extending through more than 5000 streets, and exceeding 2000 miles in length

Unloading lumber, Saginaw, Mich. between 1900 and 1910. Creator: Unknown
Unloading lumber, Saginaw, Mich. between 1900 and 1910. "Langell Boys" on freighter

District of Columbia Supreme Court Being Remodeled, 1917. Creator: Harris & Ewing
District of Columbia Supreme Court Being Remodeled, 1917

Food Administration, U.S. Construction of Headquarters Building, 1917. Creator: Harris & Ewing
Food Administration, U.S. Construction of Headquarters Building, 1917

Temporary Building, Under Construction...Washington, D.C. 1917. Creator: Unknown
Temporary Building, Under Construction...Washington, D.C. 1917. Built in 1917, For The [First World] War, Washington Monument in Background

Temporary Building, Under Construction...Washington, D.C. 1917. Creator: Unknown
Temporary Building, Under Construction...Washington, D.C. 1917. Built in 1917, For The [First World] War, Washington Monument in Background

Three trucks: S.M. Frazier, between 1909 and 1914. Creator: Harris & Ewing. Three trucks: S.M
Three trucks: S.M. Frazier, between 1909 and 1914. USA. Your Credit is Good at Grogan's'. S.M. Frazier, Building Materials, Anacostia, [Washington] D.C

The Tanner's Council, between 1910 and 1920. Creator: Harris & Ewing. The Tanner's Council
The Tanner's [sic] Council, between 1910 and 1920. USA. Signs: Rooms for Rent; Furnished Rooms; The Tanners Council of the United States of America; Drugs'

Brick Yard near Mount Vernon, Va. between 1910 and 1917. Creator: Harris & Ewing. Brick Yard near Mount Vernon, Va
Brick Yard near Mount Vernon, Virginia, between 1910 and 1917. Black and white workers, USA. SSS 120 patented brick machine: Made by The Arnold Creager Co. New London, Ohio, USA

Camp Meade #2, Maryland, 1917. Creator: Harris & Ewing. Camp Meade #2, Maryland, 1917. Creator: Harris & Ewing
Camp Meade #2, Maryland, 1917

Making adobe bricks, Bosque Farms project, New Mexico, 1935. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Making adobe bricks. Bosque Farms project, New Mexico. These bricks are to be used in construction of the new school building

Turpentine plant near Marianna, Florida, 1937. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Turpentine plant near Marianna, Florida

Concrete mixing plant, Birmingham, Alabama, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Concrete mixing plant. Birmingham, Alabama

Concrete mixing plant, Birmingham, Alabama, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Concrete mixing plant. Birmingham, Alabama

Migratory field worker's home on the edge of a pea field, Imperial Valley, California, 1937
Migratory field worker's home on the edge of a pea field. The family lived here through the winter. Imperial Valley, California

Bosque Farms project - making adobe brick for school and permanent houses, New Mexico, 1935. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Bosque Farms project. Making adobe brick for school and permanent houses. New Mexico

Dispossessed Arkansas farmers, Bakersfield, California, 1935. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Dispossessed Arkansas farmers. Bakersfield, California

Dispossessed Arkansas farmers, Bakersfield, California, 1935. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Dispossessed Arkansas farmers. These people are resettling themselves on the dump outside of Bakersfield, California

Dispossessed Arkansas farmers, Bakersfield, California, 1935. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Dispossessed Arkansas farmers. These people are resettling themselves on the dump outside of Bakersfield, California

Farm woman beside her barn door, Tulare County, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Farm woman beside her barn door. Tulare County, California. No more horseshoes!

Transferring of Cargo along the Shore, 1889. Creator: Unknown
Transferring of Cargo along the Shore, 1889. From a collection consisting of an album and individual photographs that document the Arctic voyage in 1889 of the clipper ship Razboinik (Pirate)

Another Phase of Unloading, 12 July, 1889. Creator: Unknown
Another Phase of Unloading, 12 July, 1889. From a collection consisting of an album and individual photographs that document the Arctic voyage in 1889 of the clipper ship Razboinik (Pirate)

The First Day of Unloading Construction Material at Cape Aleksandr, 1889. Creator: Unknown
The First Day of Unloading Construction Material at Cape Aleksandr, 1889. From a collection consisting of an album and individual photographs that document the Arctic voyage in 1889 of the clipper

Lumber for the Anadyr Expedition on the Booms Deck, 1889. Creator: Unknown
Lumber for the Anadyr Expedition on the Booms Deck, 1889. From a collection consisting of an album and individual photographs that document the Arctic voyage in 1889 of the clipper ship Razboinik

The Right Side of the Quarterdeck with Cargo for the Anadyr Expedition, 1889. Creator: Unknown
The Right Side of the Quarterdeck with Cargo for the Anadyr Expedition, 1889. From a collection consisting of an album and individual photographs that document the Arctic voyage in 1889 of

Hard Labor Convicts Hauling Construction Materials to Worksites in Gornyi Zerentui, 1891. Creator: Aleksei Kuznetsov
Hard Labor Convicts Hauling Construction Materials to Worksites in Gornyi Zerentui, 1891. One of 74 views taken in July 1891 and contained in the albumTipy i vidy Nerchinskoi katorgi

Blasting the Granite Rock, 1857. Creator: Unknown
Blasting the Granite Rock, 1857. One of the vast natural depots is the granite quarries at Rubislaw (pronounced Robsley), within a mile of Aberdeen [in Scotland]...The area already worked is several

Above the construction work, the aggregate storage pile which... Fort Loudoun Dam, Tenn. 1942. Creator: Alfred T Palmer
Above the construction work, the aggregate storage pile which provides crushed stone and sand, Fort Loudon [i.e. Loudoun] Dam, Tenn

Possibly: Preparing the ground for the construction of emergency buildings
[Untitled photo, possibly related to: Washington, D.C. Preparing the ground for the construction of emergency buildings on Independence Avenue]

House in camp of carrot pullers, near Holtville, Imperial Valley, California, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
House in camp of carrot pullers. Near Holtville. Imperial Valley, California

Home of Mexican family migratory workers, Calipatria, Imperial Valley, California, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Home of Mexican family. Migratory workers. Across the road from the Farm Security Administration (FSA) migratory labor camp (emergency). Calipatria, Imperial Valley, California

Triangular Brick with Horse, Phoenix, and Tigers, Western Han dynasty, c. 1st cent. B. C
Triangular Brick with Horse, Phoenix, and Tigers, Western Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220), c. 1st century B.C

A Mat House - Skokomish, 1912. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
A Mat House - Skokomish, 1912. [Native American house, northwestern coast of North America]. Photogravure, plate 301 from " The North American Indian, volume 9" (1913)

Men cutting rushes, 1892. Creator: James Leon Williams
Men cutting rushes, 1892. [Rural scene: men cutting reeds or rushes, possibly for use in thatching]. From " The Home and Haunts of Shakespeare"

Building brick from Spelman Colleges Upton Hall, ca. 1905. Creator: Unknown
Spelman College, in Atlanta, Georgia, is a private, historically Black, womens liberal arts college. A clay brick that was once part of the structure of Spelman Colleges Upton Hall

Couple Reviewing Plans for Their New Home, 1930 (screen print)
3035758 Couple Reviewing Plans for Their New Home, 1930 (screen print) by American School, (20th century); (add.info.: Vintage advertisement with a 1930s couple reviewing plans for their new home)

Quarrying (engraving)
STC255662 Quarrying (engraving) by Rostagni, Francesco (18th century); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection; Italian, out of copyright

The great American brick machine (engraving)
6030701 The great American brick machine (engraving) by American School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The great American brick machine)

Lambeth and Westminster from Millbank (litho)
GHL6212 Lambeth and Westminster from Millbank (litho) by Parrott, William (1813-69); London Metropolitan Archives, City of London; eLondon Metropolitan Archives; English, out of copyright

Bricks (chromolitho)
1094219 Bricks (chromolitho) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Bricks. French educational card, late 19th or early 20th century.); © Look and Learn; French

The Brickmaker (engraving)
3646670 The Brickmaker (engraving) by Amman, Jost (1539-91) (after); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Brickmaker. Illustration for Kulturgeschichtliches Bilderbuch aus drei Jahrhunderten by Georg)

Ryde Esplanade, IOW, pub. c. 1890 - 1900 (chromolithograph)
2962423 Ryde Esplanade, IOW, pub. c.1890 - 1900 (chromolithograph) by English Photographer, (19th century); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection; English, out of copyright

Group of women in Hong Kong (b / w photo)
NAM280948 Group of women in Hong Kong (b/w photo) by English Photographer, (20th century); National Army Museum, London; (add.info.: from an album of 168 photographs and ephemera)

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"From Bricks to Timber: A Journey through Building Materials" Step back in time to 1923, where Harveys timber store and yard in Truro, Cornwall showcased an impressive assortment of bricks. These sturdy building blocks were the foundation of countless structures that stood the test of time. As we delve deeper into history, we encounter a snapshot from Fort Loudoun Dam in Tennessee during its construction in 1942. Above the bustling construction work, an aggregate storage pile looms large - a testament to the massive scale of this engineering marvel. In Washington D. C. , amidst World War II's chaos, preparations were underway for emergency buildings. Gordon Parks captured the scene as workers prepared the ground diligently for these essential structures. Traveling westward to California's Imperial Valley in 1939, we witness two contrasting scenes. First, a humble house nestled within a camp of carrot pullers speaks volumes about their hardworking lives. Then, we glimpse into another reality - a Mexican family's home amidst migratory work; their resilience shines through even in challenging circumstances. Shifting gears entirely, our journey takes us back centuries ago to China's Western Han dynasty. Here lies a remarkable triangular brick adorned with intricate carvings depicting horses and tigers - showcasing not only functionality but also artistic prowess. Venturing further into indigenous cultures brings us to Skokomish in 1912. Edward Sheriff Curtis captures the beauty of a traditional Mat House - constructed using natural materials found abundantly around them; it stands as an embodiment of harmony between humans and nature. Lastly, let us appreciate James Leon Williams' depiction from 1892 when men meticulously cut rushes for use as building material – reminding us that sometimes simplicity holds great significance too. Throughout history and across continents, they have shaped civilizations and provided shelter for communities worldwide. Whether it be bricks or timber or any other resource at hand – they are more than mere components; they are the building blocks of our shared human experience.