Tag Archive | early photography
February 16, 2019  

Then & Now: Computing Tabulating Recording Company (aka IBM)

It might feel like things are always changing in Washington DC. There are always new buildings being built, businesses closing and with every few years. But you might not realize how much Washington DC has changed until you look back at what it looked like in the past. In this “Then & Now” feature, I have combined one of Lewis Reed’s original photograph’s for “then” and matched it with a google street view image for “now”. Taken approximately 108 years apart, these photos show Hollerith’s Plant then and now.

THEN: Before becoming interested in automobiles, Lewis Reed was one of the original employees of the Computing Tabulating Recording Company, a Georgetown-based manufacturing firm that eventually became International Business Machines, Inc. The Tabulating Machine Company was formed by Hermann Hollerith in 1896 and merged to form the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in 1911. Seen in the photo below, the two-story building housed Hollerith’s card manufacturing plant, assembly plant, repair shop and development laboratory. Hollerith later incorporated his business as the Tabulating Machine Company. It was consolidated into the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. in 1911, and was renamed International Business Machines (IBM) in 1924.

Tabulating Machine Co. 1911

Hollerith’s Plant 1911. Photo by Lewis Reed

NOW: Today the U.S. technology sector is inextricably linked with the West Coast, but the history of data processing actually traces back to an unassuming brick factory in Washington, D.C. This was the Georgetown headquarters of the Tabulating Machine Company, an early analog computer manufacturer that you may know by the contemporary moniker IBM. IBM placed a historical plaque on the corner of the building by 31st Street and the Canal. Hollerith is also buried nearby in the Oak Hill Cemetery.

Tabulating Machine Company

Front of the old Tabulating Machine Company on 31st Street today

Tabulating Machine Company Delivery Truck

Tabulating Machine Company Delivery Truck. Note that the writing on the side of the truck is in reverse… I have no idea why. Photo by Lewis Reed

The following photographs are interior images.

Tabulating Machine Co. 1911

Photo by Lewis Reed

Tabulating Machine Co. 1911

Photo by Lewis Reed

Tabulating Machine Co. 1911

Photo by Lewis Reed

Tabulating Machine Co. 1911

Photo by Lewis Reed

Tabulating Machine Co. 1911

Photo by Lewis Reed

Tabulating Machine Co. 1911

Photo by Lewis Reed

Tabulating Machine Co. 1911

Photo by Lewis Reed

Tabulating Machine Co. 1911

Photo by Lewis Reed

Source: IBM Archives

February 2, 2019  

Lewis Reed Photo on Discovery’s Science Channel

Impossible Engineering episode 4 London ArrayIn case you missed it, I got word that Lewis Reed’s 1923 race car photographs were taken out of the U.S. version of Episode 4 ‘London Array’ Series of Impossible Engineering that was scheduled to be broadcast on Thursday, January 24th on Discovery’s Science Channel. The race car photographs were a part of the “London Array Wind Farm” episode that featured a segment on the development of the race car.

According to TwoFour Broadcasting, this has been happening with this series as Discovery requires a shorter episode length than the rest of their broadcasters. However, one of Lewis Reed’s photos made it in the UK version, and the rest of the world. TwoFour was kind enough to send me a DVD copy of the UK version of the London Array episode that shows the archive featured in the show. Below are screen shots taken directly from the DVD.

Impossible Engineering episode 4 London Array

Impossible Engineering episode 4 London Array

Lewis Reed’s photo from the 1923 Rockville Fair Auto Races extracted from the Science Channel Impossible Engineering DVD.

Impossible Engineering episode 4 London Array

Screen shot of credits from Discovery Science Channel Impossible Engineering

Impossible Engineering celebrates engineering wonders detailing how they were built and how they work. The show unveils the past, present and future builds that have and will continue to change our world.

“Impossible Engineering” is produced for Science Channel by Twofour Broadcast.

January 30, 2019  

Then & Now: Liberty Milling Company, Germantown

The coming of the Industrial Age meant the end of the Romantic Era and the beginning of machine’s rule over nature. In Germantown, this was represented by the big steam-powered mill. For this post, I have used two of Lewis Reed’s original photographs for “then” and a stock image from today for “now”.

Liberty Milling Company (THEN): “Feed the Liberty Way” was the slogan of Liberty Milling Company, mainstay of the little farming community of Germantown, Maryland for many years. The original mill was steam-powered and began operation in 1888. It was founded by the Bowman brothers – Charles, Eldridge and Upton – of Cedar Grove. Lumber to build the mill was sawed at the Black Rock Mill, one of the oldest water-powered mills in Germantown. The Bowman Brothers did a brisk business milling wheat and corn and selling it in the area as well as shipping it to the Washington, D.C. markets by way of the railroad. In about 1914 fire engulfed the old wood structure and the entire mill was lost. The Bowman brothers rebuilt almost at once. The new mill was sold by the Bowman brothers to the Liberty Milling Company.

Germantown Mill

Liberty Milling Company, Main Street Germantown, ca. 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed

In 1935 the company purchased an adjacent lot to the south and built a warehouse and store to sell its many products, which, according to a 1963 Damascus Courier article included Gold Leaf Flour, Silver Leaf Flour, Liberty Cake Flour, Liberty self-rising Corn Meal, Liberty Straight-Line Winter Wheat Flour, Liberty Pancake Flour, Liberty Self-rising Buckwheat Flour, Dairy Feeds, Horse Feeds, and Chicken Feeds. These products were sold all across the nation.

By the 1950s, it was the second largest mill in Maryland with eight 50-foot silos and a capacity of 24,00 pounds of flour a day and 9,000 pounds of cornmeal a week, bringing in a profit of more than $1 million a year. During World War II, it produced flour for the armed forces.

Liberty Mill Germantown 1910

Liberty Mill Germantown, ca. 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed

Liberty Milling Company (NOW): The Liberty Milling Company was finally put out of business by the larger commercial mills, its income dwindling in the 1960s. The mill burned in June 1972, and the still-standing cement silos were removed by the county in 1986 to make way for a train commuter parking lot. A historic marker erected by the Germantown Citizens Association stands at the edge of the parking lot.

Liberty Milling Company Germantown

Liberty Mill Historic Marker

Source: Germantown Patch

January 28, 2019  

Look Out! Early 20th Century Reckless Driving

1920s wrecked car

Car Wreck. Photo by Lewis Reed, ca. 1920

This photo taken by Lewis Reed in the early 1920s was not picked for its shock value, but for the history it contains of an era long since gone. Until the early 1900s, the primary mode of daily transportation in the United States had four legs and ran on hay. Horse-drawn carriages and buggies could be driven by almost anyone – even children. By the early 1910s, a different kind of horsepower hit the road — and in a big way, eventually outnumbering their carrot-munching counterparts. In the first 10 years of the 1900s, there were no stop signs, traffic lights, lane lines, brake lights, driver’s licenses, or posted speed limits. It was the wild west when it came to driving. Drinking and driving? Not that big a deal. Poorly maintained roads, uneducated drivers, and speeds approaching 40 mph was the perfect combination for some really bad accidents. This photograph sure hits home with just how fragile those early cars were.
 
Dodge Brothers was the first automaker to build a dedicated test track with a hill climb, while other car companies tested their new vehicles on city streets. The speedway test is by one of many given Dodge Brothers cars before being O.K.’d for shipment. It was said that John Dodge crash-tested a car into a brick wall at 20 mph to study the results. His reasoning was that “someone else is going to do it.”
Dodge Test Track 1915

Dodge Test Track 1915

The clipping is from the Bismarck Daily Tribune, April 21, 1915 newspaper.

Dodge Main test track 1915

Bismarck Daily Tribune April 21, 1915

December 30, 2018  

Then & Now: Wilson Bridge Hagerstown 105 Years Apart

Looking at old photographs is like peering through an open window back into history. Not only do they give you a sense of wonder from traveling back in time, but also a staggering feeling of awe from seeing just how much things have changed. For this post, I have used one of Lewis Reed’s original photographs for “then” and a Google stock image for “now”.

Wilson Bridge (THEN): Built in 1819, this five arch structure named for nearby village was the first stone bridge built by Washington County. Erected by Silas Harry at cost of $12,000, it was a major improvement to the road system between Baltimore and Cumberland, providing continuous smooth surface from eastern seaboard to western wilderness. Wilson Bridge carried traffic until seriously damaged by storm flood in 1972. It was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Wilson Bridge Hagerstown

Wilson Bridge Hagerstown, Maryland. Photo by Lewis Reed, 1914

Wilson Bridge (NOW): The bridge was beautifully restored in 1984 by LeRoy E. Myers. The bridge is one of numerous still standing stone bridges in central and western Maryland.

Wilson Bridge Hagerstown

Restored Wilson Bridge today

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