Title	Detail of wire suspension bridge
Description	William Strickland's sketch of the details of an unnamed suspension bridge. The sketch shows details of the iron suspension cords and a cross-section of the bridge trestles.
Historical note	After Strickland left Rome in mid-April, 1838, he traveled north into Germany and France. This sketch represents an unnamed suspension bridge on the Saone River in France. A suspension bridge is one where cables or ropes are strung across a river and the deck is suspended from the cables. Suspension bridges have towers through which the cables are strung. Thus, the towers are supporting the majority of the roadway's weight. The design of the suspension bridge was developed in the early 19th Century. The suspensions in these early bridges were made from chain or linked bars. The bridges on the Saone River were built by order of the French government and the local departments were taxed to defray the costs of construction. The majority of the bridges on this river were constructed between 1830 and 1838.
Date	1838
Creator	Strickland, William, 1787-1854
Place	Saône River (France)
Collection name	William Strickland Sketchbook, 1838
Accession number	2005-014
Subject	Suspension bridges Trusses Trestles
Owning Institution	Tennessee State Library and Archives
ID#	32941
Digital type	Still Image
Digital Format	Image/jp2
Media Type	Sketches
Copyright	No copyright - United States: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
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