American Bridge Patents: The First Century (1790-1890), thoroughly illustrated with dozens of photographs and reproductions, presents the findings of a two-decade long study of several thousand pages of patent documents collected from the U.S. Patent Office. The essays in this volume offer readers tremendous insight into the creativity that characterized the evolution of bridge patents during this important and formative period of American engineering history. Of particular interest to the authors is the great variety of innovative and unusual designs that were accommodated by the then ambiguous patent law. Alongside these case studies, authors also address the Patent Office itself, whose processes regarding permissions were reformed in 1836, linking the evolution of patent law to the technology it managed.

Emory L. Kemp, who writes and speaks actively on historic structures, is founder and first director of the Institute for the History of Technology and Industrial Archaeology at West Virginia University. Kemp edited American Bridge Patents with Shelly Birdsong-Maddex, who helped assemble patent records for this publication while pursuing her graduate studies. Eric N. DeLony has been at the forefront of efforts to document and preserve historic bridges under the auspices of the National Park Service. Larry N. Sypolt has been involved in numerous projects combining his expertise in archival work and historic preservation studies.