Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Edwin G. Rust Papers

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.1070
Creators:
Colorado Fuel and Iron Company
Elk Rapids Iron Company
Rust Boiler Company
Rust Engineering Company
Rust, Edwin
Rust, Henry Bedinger, 1872-1936
Rust-Helander Engineering Company
Dates:
1890-1928
Languages:
Collection is in
English
. Some materials in
German
.
Physical Description:
5 Cubic feet
14 boxes and 1 map-folder
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Papers, comprised mostly of business correspondence (typescript, handwritten, and letter press books), from Edwin Rust's career as an engineer, specializing in boilers and steam engines. Also included are agreements, receipts, telegrams, blueprints, sketches, job cost records, rate of wages (Antrim Iron Company), daily labor reports (Elk Rapid Iron Company) and publications such as
Iron Age.
Some letters relate to various engineering companies Rust was associated with, including the Rust Boiler Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company of Pueblo, Colorado; The Elk Rapids Iron Company, Michigan; the Rust-Helander Engineering Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the Rust Engineering Company, Birmingham, Alabama. Rust's brother Henry is one of the correspondents. Some of the personal correspondence relates to Rust's membership in various clubs such as the Duquense Club and Antelpoe Park Club. Photographs of Edwin G. Rust and boilers and boiler equipment are also included in the papers.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1: Biographical, 1912-1925
Series 2: Correspondence, 1893-1928
Series 3: Patents, 1890-1920
Series 4: Photographs, 1902-1918
Series 5: Drawings, Blueprints and Sketches, 1886-1917

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Edwin Gray Rust (1869-1925) was born in Leesburg, Viginia and attended Lehigh University, graduating in 1894 with a degree in mechanical engineering. During the Spanish American War he served as an assistant engineer with the rank of junior lieutenant and during World War Two, he served in the production department of the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC). EFC was established by the United States Shipping Board, in 1917to acquire, maintain, and operate merchant ships to meet national defense, foreign and domestic commerce during World War I. As an engineer, Rust specialized in boilers, inventing the Rust water tube bolier (US 710,340) and later founded the Rust Boiler Company.

Administration

Author
Alison Oswald
Immediate Source of Acquisiton
Originally collected for the Division of Agriculture and Extractive Industries' reference collections. Original provenance is unknown.
Processing Information
Collection procsssed by Alison Oswald, 2018.
Custodial History
Transferred from the Division of Work and Industry to the Archives Center in 2007.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on 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.
Preferred Citation
Edwin Rust Papers, 1899-1922, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
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.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Steam-engines Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Blueprints -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Manufacturing Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Boilers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry 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