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Perspective view of the ENGINE made use of for Sawing off under Water, The Piiles which help'd to support the Centers, for turning the Arches of WESTMINSTER BRIDGE. most humbly inscrib'd to the Right Honble. & c.
Perspective view of the ENGINE made use of for Sawing off under Water, The Piiles which help'd to support the Centers, for turning the Arches of WESTMINSTER BRIDGE. most humbly inscrib'd to the Right Honble. & c. The Commissioners for building the said Bridge by the Inventor. {Willm. Etheridge, Carpenter} [contemporary ink mss]. A Perspective View of the Engine, as it appears in the Water, with the Floats, and Men at Work. A Perspective View of the Engine, as it appears out of the water to an eye 13 Inch.es:Distant from this Mark ... Explanation...
Cars. Labelye Delint. P. Foudrinier Sculpt.
Publish'd {May 1st}[contemporary ink mss] 1745.
Engraving. 350 x 465mm. Creases with stained edges
Charles Labelye, a naturalised Swiss engineer and architect. was appointed in May 1738 to the Westminster Bridge Project. The initial design was for a timber superstructure with stone piers and abutments. This was abandoned after damage to the works caused by the severe winter of 1739-40, during which the Thames froze solid. All 140 wooden piles were destroyed. So Labelye produced a design for a Portland stone bridge with 13 large semicircular arches and two small, and work recommenced. This engraving appears to have been the property of 'Willm. Etheridge, Carpenter', who is regarded as the inventor of the machine drawn here by Labelye. William Etheridge (1709-1776) was one of a very long family line of carpenters called variously Edrich, Edriche, Eteridge, or Etheridge from Stradbroke and Fressingfield in Suffolk. His career as a master carpenter first comes to light in 1738-1749 when he worked under James King in the building of the first bridge to cross the Thames at Westminster, first as King's foreman, then replacing him after King's death in 1744. He was credited as the inventor of a battering ram to assist in the striking of the centres, as well as the underwater saw to cut off piles underwater. From 1747-1750 he worked on the Walton Bridge, and in 1748 produced the design and model for the Queens' bridge, Cambridge.
Ex. Blackburn Collection.
[Ref: 2555]   £520.00  
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