J.M. Nichols¹

¹Assistant Professor, Dept of Construction Science, Texas A&M University, TAMU – 3137 College Station, Texas, 77843-3137, USA, jm-nichols@tamu.edu

ABSTRACT

Ira O. Baker in 1889 published a major and significant textbook, entitled ‘Treatise on Masonry Construction, which had been reprinted ten times by 1914. This widely used text covered the theoretical and construction subjects of masonry, reinforced concrete, steel, and timber using a significant number of case studies of now famous structures such as the Eads Bridge in St Louis. Baker correctly identified the dynamic modulus of elasticity long before the advent of modern damage and fracture mechanics. Baker has published a significant set of test results on strength of materials, modulus of elasticity, and tensile capacity of mortars. He provides specific details of the methods of analysis used in the late 19^th century for masonry and reinforced concrete which provide a wealth of data for the historic professional assessing a late 19^th century to early 20^th century structure. This paper will summarize and review the critical data and methods from the treatise that can be used in a modern analysis of historic buildings masonry, and comment on the use of the information in historic preservation of masonry structures, whilst not deviating into a formal consideration of modern analysis methods.

KEYWORDS: historic masonry, historic masonry texts

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