The Panama Canal was one of the man-made Wonders of the World in the early 1900s. After a French project had failed the United States took over construction between 1904 and 1914, with the canal opening to shipping in August 1914.  

In the early 1900s, people were impressed by the way the Industrial Revolution had made possible the transformation of the natural landscape and thus many industrial and engineering achievements appeared as postcard views to record the ways in which this transformation was occurring. The Panama Canal was just such an accomplishment of engi_neering and sheer hard work of tens of thousands of workers. In all, some 200 million cubic yards of material had to be moved by both the French and American projects over a 30 year plus period.  Machinery on a large scale made it possible - steam shovels, railroad trains, cement works, dredges and more - were essential to the task.

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Steam shovels, concrete mixers, and dredges were all part of the mix in creating one of the man-made Wonders of the World.

Hopefully you didn't receive an Easter Lemon this year instead of an Easter Egg! 

Easter Greetings artist signed Florence Hardy Raphael Tuck postcard

Fighting The Flames Series II Raphael Tuck & Sons postcard set, circa 1907
Find out more at TuckDB web site

The People's Hero Rescuing A Child Fireman artist signed Hilda Walker Tuck postcard

Hi! Hi! Hi! Horse Drawn Fire Engine Gallops to Blaze Artist Signed Walker Tuck postcard

American Scaling Ladder Artist Hilda Walker Tuck postcard
Click on image for more info at TuckDB

A Call - Fire Fighters Leave Station For the Fire, artist signed Hilda Walker, Raphael Tuck & Sons postcard. Click on image to link to the TuckDB site.

Raphael Tuck & Sons, perhaps the most well-known of postcard publishers, produced sets of postcards in the many thousands of different series. The typical set consisted of a packet of six cards in a series. 

"A Call", showing a horse team pulling a steam fire engine out of the station house, is one of six cards in the Fighting The Flames - Series II published by Tuck in 1907.  The artist in this Oilette series is Hilda Walker.  

Champion Bridge Works Factory Wilmington Ohio 1910c postcard

The Champion Bridge Works Company was formed in 1872 when brothers Zimri and Jonathan Wall formed a partnership with Albert Israel Bailey to develop a wrought iron trussed arch bridge. They moved their business from Hamilton Ohio to Wilmington in 1875 to a new, larger factory in which they could fabricate bridges. In the following two decades the company grew rapidly necessitating a move to larger premises. 

In 1894 the company moved into the East Sugartree Street building pictured in the postcard above. 

Over the following century the company moved from bridge work to structural steel with an emphasis on high quality product over volume sales which went against broader industry trends but proved to be an adaptive strategy that led to the firm's longevity.  

Today's Champion Bridge Company can be visited at their web site or you can simply visit them - they're still at the East Sugartree address. 

Greyhound Bus Depot Terminal Fort Wayne Indiana Roadside America linen postcard
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