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Neafie, Levy & Co., commonly known as Neafie & Levy, was a Philadelphia shipbuilding and engineering firm that existed from the middle of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. Described as America's "first specialist marine engineers",〔Dawson, Andrew (2004): ''Lives of the Philadelphia Engineers: Capital, Class, and Revolution, 1830–1890'', Ashgate Publishing, p. 36. ISBN 978-0-7546-3396-9.〕 Neafie & Levy was probably the first company in the United States to combine the building of iron ships with the manufacture of steam engines to power them.〔Tyler, p.7.〕 The company was also the largest supplier of screw propellers to other North American shipbuilding firms in its early years, and at its peak in the early 1870s was Philadelphia's busiest and most heavily capitalized shipbuilder. Following the death of one of its proprietors, John P. Levy, in 1867, the company grew more conservative and eventually became a "niche" shipbuilder of smaller high quality vessels such as steam yachts and tugs. A few years after the retirement and death of its founder and longstanding manager Jacob Neafie in 1898, the company folded through a combination of indifferent management, bad publicity and unprofitable US Navy contracts. Amongst the more notable vessels built by the company were the U.S. Navy's first submarine, the in 1862, and the Navy's first destroyer, , in 1902.〔(USS ''Bainbridge'' (DD-1) ), Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.〕 Several of its vessels, such as the tugboats ''Jupiter'' and ''Tuff-E-Nuff'' and the ferry ''Yankee'', are still operational today more than a hundred years after first entering service. In all, the company built more than 300 ships and 1,100 marine steam engines during the course of its 63-year history,〔Heinrich, p. 151.〕 in addition to its non-marine manufactures, which included refrigeration and sugar refining equipment. ==Early years== The dominant figure in the company for most of its existence was Jacob G. Neafie. Born in New Jersey on Christmas Day 1815, Neafie served his apprenticeship as a machinist in New York before joining the Philadelphian shipbuilding firm of Thomas Holloway in 1832, where he gained experience in shipbuilding and reportedly took an interest in the new technology of screw propulsion. After leaving Holloway to establish his own small business in 1838, Neafie joined with two other Philadelphian mechanics, Thomas Reaney and William Smith, to found the firm of Reaney, Neafie & Smith in 1844. The partners quickly established a plant on of waterfront property along the Delaware River, and named the new plant the Penn Steam Engine and Boiler Works (thus giving the company its most often used alternative name, Penn Works). Though originally established to build "fire engines, boilers and stationary steam engines",〔Heinrich p. 19.〕 the firm quickly added shipbuilding, constructing its first vessel, the 65-ton steamboat ''Conestoga'', in its first year of operation, and the 99-ton ''Barclay'' the following year.〔Tyler, p. 7.〕 That same year, Smith died, and a new partner, Captain John P. Levy, joined the firm, which was then renamed Reaney, Neafie & Levy. Levy, a wealthy man with connections in government and industry, was an important addition to the company. His most significant early contribution was to persuade a local Philadelphian inventor and steamboat operator, Richard Loper, to license his patent for a unique type of curved propeller, and Reaney, Neafie & Levy were soon to acquire a reputation as specialist propeller makers. In 1859, Thomas Reaney left the firm to establish his own shipbuilding company, Reaney & Son (later Reaney, Son & Archbold), and Reaney, Neafie & Levy became Neafie, Levy & Co..〔Heinrich, pp. 19–20.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Neafie & Levy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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