Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Anders K. Bak Papers

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.1065
Creators:
Detroit Edison Company.
Bak, Anders K., 1892-
Dates:
1923-1970
Languages:
Collection text is in
English
.
Physical Description:
0.6 Cubic feet
2 boxes
Repository:
The collection contains papers assembled by Anders K. Bak, a Danish mechanical engineer and employee of the Detroit Edison Power Company. The papers include personal correspondence concerning the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; papers on the Parsons Steam Turbine; papers and blueprints on work done at the Barton Power Station in Manchester, England; and Detroit Edison Company background material, blueprints, articles, power plant test reports, information and data.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Correspondence concerning the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1945, 1968, 1970; papers on the Parsons Steam Turbine, 1933; papers and blueprints on work done at the Barton Power Station, Manchester, England, 1925-1934; photographs of buildings, staff, and equipment at the Mason Laboratory of Yale University; and material on the Detroit Edison Company, including a corporate history, 1903-1923, research and operations reports, 1923-1926, and copy for a pamphlet.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Collection is arranged into three series.
Series 1: Historical Background Materials, 1923-1970
Series 2: Power Plant Materials, 1917-1932
Subseries 2.1: Conners Creek Power Plant, 1917-1924
Subseries 2.2: Trenton Channel Power Plant, 1923-1925, undated
Subseries 2.3: Test Reports, 1920-1926
Subseries 2.4: Other, 1927-1932
Series 3: Miscellaneous, 1919-1933

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Anders K. Bak was a Danish mechanical engineer and employee of the Detroit Edison Power Company. The Detroit Edison Company was incorporated on January 17, 1903, for the purpose of engaging in the manufacture, distribution and sales of electricity in the City of Detroit, the State of Michigan, and elsewhere. Construction at Conners Creek, Michigan, was begun in 1913. The site was located on the Detroit River at the outflow of Lake St. Clair and had the Detroit Terminal railway on its eastern side. In 1918 the company started work on a power plant site, the Trenton Channel Power Plant, which acquired the Trenton Channel of the Detroit River.

Administration

Author
Kendra Ciccone
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated to the Museum's Division of Civil and Mechanical Engineering (now the Division of Work and Industry) in the 1970s by the Detroit Edison Company.
Custodial History
The collection was transferred to the Archives Center in 2007.
Processing Information
Processed by Kendra Ciccone (intern), April 2010; supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Anders K. Bak Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Power (Mechanics) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Turbines Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Blueprints -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Barton Power Station (Manchester, England). Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-3270
Fax Number: Fax: 202-786-2453
archivescenter@si.edu