[Photographs]: Philadelphia General Strike 1910

FORBIN, Victor, photographer

Verlag: Philadelphia, 1910

A collection of 27 sepia-toned albumen photographs measuring around 5" x 7" with captions on the verso, with some duplicates. Slight curling else near fine. An archive of photographs following the Philadelphia General Strike of 1910. The versos of most of the photos include photographer's stamps reading "The P.J. Press Bureau 908 Walnut Street, Philadelphia." Additionally the stamp of French travel writer and journalist Victor Forbin appears on some with the address "12, Rue du Croissant Paris." It seems Forbin took the photographs for the Press Bureau while traveling around Philadelphia. The strike began with trolley workers from the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company and shortly grew into a citywide riot and general strike. The photos show the police with the striking workers, trolley cars with broken windows, and crowds in the streets. One caption reads, "state troopers in action on car strike;" another reads "mob blocking up car." The captions refer to the "mob" and how things started to become increasingly dangerous. A photo of a crowd surrounding a trolley car reads "burning car - mob in complete control." The strike of 1910 began in March when the railroad union tried to negotiate wage increases with the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT). According to historian Phillip S. Foner the union demanded "an hourly wage of 25 cents for motormen and conductors, the right to buy their uniforms on the open market, limits of workdays to 9 or 10 hours and recognition of the Association." When the PRT refused to meet with the railroad unions the strike began. Soon unions throughout the city of Philadelphia walked out in solidarity with the trolley workers and "city commerce ground to a near halt." Their numbers grew to an estimated 140,000 people by the end of the strike on March 27, 1910. A wonderful collection of photographs detailing the Philadelphia strike of 1910 taken by a French photojournalist. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 442023

Bibliografische Details

Titel: [Photographs]: Philadelphia General Strike ...
Verlag: Philadelphia
Erscheinungsdatum: 1910
Einband: Unbound
Zustand: Near Fine