About this collection

The Harlan & Hollingsworth Corporation began in 1836 as a railroad car manufacturer founded by Mahlon Betts and Samuel N. Pusey. Samuel Harlan joined the firm in 1837, and Elijah Hollingsworth followed in 1841. That same year, Harlan purchased Pusey's interest. After Betts retired in 1849, the firm took the name of Harlan & Hollingsworth.

In 1843, the company leased a launching berth on the Christiana River and started doing marine engine work. Its shipbuilding activity increased markedly beginning in the 1850s. The company specialized in private steam yachts and commercial shipbuilding. In 1902, the company was included in the horizontal merger of shipyards put together under the title of the United States Shipbuilding Company, which, in 1905, was reorganized as a subsidiary of the new Bethlehem Steel Corporation.

This digital collection consists of photographs from cost books found in a subseries of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation records (Accession 1699). These ledgers summarize material and labor costs by department for ships built between 1902 to 1916. In cases where this information is accompanied by photographic records or other images, that information has been digitized here, along with a cover page providing a basic overview for each contract. The cost books have not been digitized in their entirety.

Image: Callahan Ferry, 'Woodbury'. ca. August, 1905. Click here to view this image in the collection.