Book of Bridge Postcards Spans Both Time and Types

 Bridges, A Postcard History is a massive book that manages to span both the centuries and the types of structures for the curious and eager reader.

 Various sections of this comprehensive book provide sections on the evolution of bridge types and specific bridge construction.   There are also significant sections on landmark bridges in America and elsewhere, bridges on The National Road, bridges on the U.S. highway system, and structures within the Interstate highway system.

 Coverage of bridge types section is extensive. It includes stone arches, beam bridges, reinforced concrete arches, steel trusses, steel arches, suspension bridges, cable-stayed bridges, and even moveable bridges.

 For all of its variety however it gives only four examples among its hundreds of illustrations of my personal favorite—covered bridges.

 The author Geoffrey Goldberg notes in the preface that “this book makes use of images carefully culled from my extensive postcard collection, and augmented occasionally by images that man has produced.”

 “We will not only describe the various bridges, but we will examine the reason each was built, and why one bridge type was selected over another in the context of its location and time,” the author adds.

 The section on landmark bridges includes London Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge, the George Washington Bridge, and the Golden Gate Bridge among others. Postcards elsewhere in the volume also feature an array of bridged ancient roads and superhighways. Featured in the bridge construction section are postcards depicting cantilevered construction, cableways, concrete forming, and suspensions bridges.

 More than 480 postcards of bridges are presented in the extensive book, most are in full color. None are given values. And as vast as the coverage in the book is lots of bridges in little towns and small cities that would have held strong appeal for many postcard collectors are omitted.

 Goldberg works as a bridge engineer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ashley Rooney who served as editor for the book is the author of numerous postcard-related histories as well as other books ranging from architectural themes to regional ghosts.

Bridges, A Postcard History by Geoffrey Goldberg, hardcover, color illustrated, index, 208 pages is $49.99 plus shipping from Schiffer Publishing, www.schifferbooks.com. Originally published in 2011.