Guide to the Bruce Drisbach-American Steel & Wire Company Photographs, 1915-1917 AIS.2001.02

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Bruce Drisbach-American Steel & Wire Company Photographs
Creator
Drisbach, Bruce
Collection Number
AIS.2001.02
Extent
126 items (7 boxes)
Date
1915-1917
Abstract
The Bruce Drisbach-American Steel & Wire Company Photographs consists of 126 glass plate negatives documenting the construction of housing in Donora, Pennsylvania, and the construction of the American Steel & Wire Company buildings. Landscape and family photographs are also included. Digital reproductions of the entire collection are available online.
Language
English .
Author
Renee Ziemann.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

History

The American Steel & Wire Company, founded in 1899, occupied 300 acres in Donora, Pennsylvania, and later became part of the United States Steel Corporation in 1900. Ground was broken for the Zinc Works on June 16, 1915 which would occupy 45 acres of land along the Monongahela River on the opposite side of Donora. The first zinc was produced at the plant on October 29, 1915. The zinc was used to galvanize wire and other steel items as well as being a component of explosives and brass.

Donora and the Zinc Works are probably most famous for the disaster on October 28, 1948 when sulfur dioxide emissions covered the area during a weather inversion leaving 6,000 residents ill and twenty residents dead. This was the first documented case of air pollution deaths. Within twenty years, the American Steel & Wire Company closed.

Bruce Drisbach, or Dreisbach, the oldest of 12 children, was born October 8, 1881 in Nescopeck, Pennsylvania. He was employed by the American Steel & Wire Co. as a photographer and also worked in the offices. He died September 2, 1959.

Scope and Content Notes

The Bruce Drisbach-American Steel & Wire Company Photographs documents the construction of the American Steel & Wire Company and the housing for its workers. The images chronicle the varying aspects of a steel mill community, from the equipment used to its employees and their family's homes and living conditions. Subjects are creatively captured through the use of accented light and varying angles, portraying an artistic image of unpleasant objects and events. This collection represents the conception and realizations of the American steel town, a symbol of the nation's Industrial Age.

Drisbach family photographs are also included in the collection.

Arrangement

The photographs have been organized into four series. All images date between 1915 and 1917.

Series I. Mill Construction

Series II. Mill Views and Equipment

Series III. Housing Construction

Series IV. Miscellaneous

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Acquisition Information

Purchased from Marie Martin Fine Arts Service from the niece of Mr. Drisbach in 2001.

Previous Citation

Bruce Drisbach-American American Steel & Wire Company Photographs, 1915-1917, AIS.2001.02, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

Preferred Citation

Bruce Drisbach-American American Steel & Wire Company Photographs, 1915-1917, AIS.2001.02, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Miriam Meislik in May 2001. The finding aid was created by Renee Ziemann in April 2009 using information provided by the processing guide as well as from the corresponding digital collection.

Copyright

The University of Pittsburgh holds all the rights to the material in this collection. For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Archives Service Center.

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital versions of the photographic images are available online: http://historicpittsburgh.org/collection/bruce-drisbach-american-steel--wire-company-photographs.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • American Steel & Wire Co.
    • Donora Zinc Works

    Personal Names

    • Drisbach, Bruce

    Family Names

    • Drisbach family

    Geographic Names

    • Donora (Pa.)

    Genres

    • Dry collodion negatives

    Other Subjects

    • Mills and mill-work -- Machinery -- Pennsylvania -- Donora
    • Mills and mill-work -- Design and construction -- Pennsylvania -- Donora
    • Zinc smelting -- Health aspects -- Pennsylvania -- Donora
    • Labor
    • Industrial housing -- Design and construction -- Pennsylvania -- Donora
    • Business and Industry
    • Personal papers

Container List