I was going through my fathers old textbooks and technical books that have been boxed up in the basement to see what ones might apply to my field of study. (for reference, my father passed away in 1997) I figured that it might be good to have differing books handy that looked at things form a different viewpoint. Now, my father majored in physics and was employed in the nuclear field for most of his professional life. (got cancer from his job and hence I have NO desire to TOUCH nuclear as a subject) I am majoring in Materials Engineering.
My father was in college around 1970, so naturally most of the books were of about that age.
One was a Mechanical Engineers handbook copyrighted 1930.
Then I noticed a small, black, leather bond with flap pocket book.
Trautwine's Engineer's Pocket-Book.
looked in it and the print date is 1876 
How to lay railroad track, use of animal power to run mechanisms, and countless other practical knowledge of a bygone age.
When I asked my mom about it, she said she had totally forgotten we had it. She recounted my father discovering it at a secondhand book sale and being jubilant at finding it (he had been seeking a copy of this text for 2 decades or more as she told it)
book is discussed in this link http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi895.htm
I thought some of the other engineer-types on here would find it interesting (plus i wanted to show off my discovery)
