David Van Nostrand (December 5, 1811 – June 14, 1886) was a New York City publisher.

Biography

David Van Nostrand was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

on December 5, 1811. He was educated at Union Hall,

Jamaica, New York Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Spring ...

, and in 1826 entered the publishing house of John P. Haven, who gave him an interest in the firm when he became of age. In 1834 he formed a partnership with William Dwight, but the financial crisis of 1837 led to its dissolution. Van Nostrand then accepted an appointment as clerk of accounts and disbursements under Captain John G. Barnard, at that time in charge of the defensive works of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

and Texas, with headquarters at

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

U.S. Army, afterward receiving orders from private individuals and from academic institutions for foreign books of science. His place of business was at first at the corner of John Street and Broadway. He founded the firm D. Van Nostrand Company in 1848. As his trade increased, he began the publication of standard works by American authors on military and scientific subjects. This extension, with the growing demands for books on scientific subjects, led him to move his firm to 23 Murray Street, where he continued until his death. In 1869 he began the publication of ''Van Nostrand's Engineering Magazine'', a monthly journal, which was devoted to selections from foreign sources, but also contained original papers on railroads, iron work, hydraulics, water reservoirs, sewage works, ventilation and mathematics (for examples). The magazine represented an early entry into the

STEM fields Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

area of publishing. Links to the volumes are given below, where a sample article is listed from each volume. In 1884 J.C. Derby quoted

Nicholas Trübner Nicholas Trübner (17 June 1817 – 20 March 1884), born Nikolaus Trübner, was a German-English publisher, bookseller and linguist. Early life The eldest of four sons of a goldsmith in Heidelberg, Trübner was born there on 17 June 1817, and edu ...

's characterization of Van Nostrand as "a gentleman of extensive and varied information, of genial and attractive character, eminent business capacity ..." He also noted that beyond military titles, Van Nostrand published books by Julius Weisbach on mechanics, James B. Francis on hydraulics, Quincy Gillmore on limes and cement, and both

Squire Whipple Squire Whipple (September 16, 1804 – March 15, 1888) was an American civil engineer. Biography Squire Whipple was born in Hardwick, Massachusetts on September 16, 1804. His family moved to New York when he was thirteen. He received his sec ...

and John A. Roebling on bridge building. The twelve volume digest of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

, ''The Rebellion Record'' by Frank Moore was published by Van Nostrand. A biography of Napoleon, authored by

Antoine-Henri Jomini Antoine-Henri Jomini (; 6 March 177922 March 1869) was a Swiss military officer who served as a general in French and later in Russian service, and one of the most celebrated writers on the Napoleonic art of war. Jomini's ideas are a staple at ...

, was translated by H. W. Halleck, an associate from New Orleans. He published

Stephen Luce Stephen Bleecker Luce (March 25, 1827 – July 28, 1917) was a U.S. Navy admiral. He was the founder and first president of the Naval War College, between 1884 and 1886. Biography Born in Albany, New York, to Dr. Vinal Luce and Charlotte Bleeck ...

's textbook on seamanship for the U.S. Naval Academy.

James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and ligh ...

's introduction to kinetic theory in his book ''Matter and Motion'' was first re-printed in the ''Engineering Magazine'' and subsequently by Van Nostrand in its own binding. Van Nostrand was one of the founders of the St. Nicholas and

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

societies, and was an early member of the

Century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial ...

and Union League clubs of New York City. He died in New York City on June 14, 1886.

''Engineering Magazine''

The ''Magazine'' appeared monthly and carried articles from other publications as well as some written for Van Nostrand. Each issue contained current information: Reports of Engineering Societies, Engineering notes, Iron & Steel notes, Railway notes, Ordnance and Naval, Book notices, and Miscellaneous. Every six months an index was compiled of a completed volume. No table of contents was published for the volumes; rather the index was placed at the head of an assembled volume as seen in these links: * January 186
Volume 1
* January 187
Volume 2
E. Sherman Gould, "Surveying Instruments", pp 5,6. * July 187
Volume 3
"Railways of the Future" * January 187
Volume 4
"Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute", p 4 * July 187
Volume 5
John Ericson "Solar Heat", p 8 * January 187
Volume 6
G.F. Grover "Notes on Fire-bricks" p 6 * July 187
Volume 7
"Theory of the Steam Engine" pp 17–26 * January 187
Volume 8
"Flow of Water in Open Canals" * July 187
Volume 9
"On Compound Engines" * January 187
Volume 10
Arthur Jacobs ater"Storage Reservoirs" * July 187
Volume 11
G.H. Mann "Laying out of ailwayCurves of Small Radius" p 13 * January 187
Volume 12
Abram S. Hewitt "The Future of Wages and of Iron" * July 187
Volume 13
George L. Vose "The United States Coast Survey" * January 187
Volume 14
N.B. Putnam "Arcs of Adjustment" * July 187
Volume 15
S.W. Robinson "On a New Odontograph" * January 187
Volume 16
Henry T. Eddy "New Constructions in Graphical Statics" pp 1–6 * July 187
Volume 17
H.T. Eddy continued pp 1–19 * January 187
Volume 18
A.A. Humphreys & Henry L. Abbot "Physics and Hydraulics of the Mississippi" * July 187
Volume 19
H.T. Eddy "Theory of Internal Stress" * January 187
Volume 20
Albert B. Leeds "Sanitary Science" pp 6–14 * July 187
Volume 21
H.T. Eddy "Thermodynamics" pp 1–9 * January 188
Volume 22
M.C. Stevens "Effective Ventilation" pp 13–16 * July 188
Volume 23
George W. Blodgett "Production and Transmission of Power by Electricity" pp 24–7 * January 188
Volume 24
M. Argand, A.S. Hardy translator "Geometrical Interpretation of Imaginary Quantities" pp 16–22 * July 188
Volume 25
Alex B.W. Kennedy "Kinematics of Machinery" pp 1–11 * January 188
Volume 26
William Thomson "Recent Improvements in the Compass, Corrections for Iron Ships" pp 1–11 * July 188
Volume 27
William Pole "Aerial Navigation" pp 1–15 * January 188
Volume 28
George B. Airy & Benjamin Baker "On the Proposed Forth Bridge" pp 40–5 * July 188
Volume 29
Charles C. Brown "Calibration of Thermometer" pp 1–7 * January 188
Volume 30
DeVolson Wood "Stresses in Beams" pp 1–3 * July 188
Volume 31
Wm Booth "Transformed Catenary as a Figure for Arches in Stone or Metal" * January 188
Volume 32
F. Gilman "Solar Temperature Question" * July 188
Volume 33
Wm Kent "Engineering as a Profession" pp 89–93 * January 188
Volume 34
W.C. Unwin "Water Motors" urbines* July 188
Volume 35
S.W. Robinson "Measurement of Gas Wells and other Gas Streams" pp 89–102 After the death of David Van Nostrand the assets of the ''Engineering Magazine'' were purchased by Matthias N. Forney who also acquired ''American Railroad Journal''. He merged these publications to form ''The Railroad and Engineering Journal''. That publication, after acquisitions and changes in name, is perpetuated in ''

Railway Age ''Railway Age'' is an American trade magazine for the rail transport industry. It was founded in 1856 in Chicago (the United States' major railroad hub) and is published monthly by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. History The magazine' ...

'' magazine.

Biography

''Engineering Magazine''

Notes

Further reading