[PHOTOGRAPHY] [LABOR] [NEW YORK] Two photographs of the Seventh Regiment taken during their suppression of the 1895 Brooklyn Trolley Strike

[Photographer not identified]

Verlag: New York, 1895

Two photographs, the first measuring about 8" x 6", the other about 9.5" x 6.5", each mounted to cardstock. The smaller one shoes mild wear to extremities of the mount, but the photograph quite well-preserved. The second has two chips at two corners, but is otherwise clean and bright. The smaller and more striking photograph depicts a group of eleven men, some in uniform, inside a trolley car, laden with pots and mans, clothing, and other evidence of having been somewhat "lived-in." Their facial expressions suggest a certain degree of boredom, and possible drunkenness. There are five inked names, some only partially legible, at the bottom edge of the mount. On the verso of the mount is written, "My father with the Seventh Regiment during a strike in N. Y." The slightly larger image is a more standard, though still somewhat informal portrait of Company K of the 7th regiment (according to contemporary pencil notations on verso). The photograph is dated February 1895, which dates it to weeks after the strike began. Based on our understanding, the trolley strike was opposed by the operating company, and they received help from the Seventh Regiment of the New York state National Guard to protect replacement workers who would agree to the company's employment terms. The strikers fought back, and there was some exchange of gunfire, but the strike ultimately failed. These photographs offer a rare glimpse into a documented pre-1900 labor strike, back when these sorts of confrontations were often violent, and workers could expect no help or protection from law enforcement - in fact, much the opposite. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 5585

Bibliografische Details

Titel: [PHOTOGRAPHY] [LABOR] [NEW YORK] Two ...
Verlag: New York
Erscheinungsdatum: 1895