Working Class Collection (#80)

CHINESE WORKERS, 1870. Chinese immigrants in a North Adams, Massachusetts, shoe factory, where they were hired in 1870 to replace striking workers. Wood engraving from a contempoary American newspaper

LONDON: NEWSBOYS, 1862. English newsboys selling the Times and the Illustrated London News on the streets of London. English colored engraving, 1862

TEXTILE MILL: COTTON. Mule Spinning of cotton cloth: colored engraving, 1834

POWER LOOM, 1834. Power Loom weaving of cotton cloth in a textile mill: colored engraving, 1834

BESSEMER STEEL manufacture and the rolling of railway track at Bethlehem, Pa. in 1876: contemporary colored engraving

ALGER: ROUGH & READY. Half-title of Rough and Ready, one of the enormously popular nineteenth century books for boys
ALGER: ROUGH & READY. Half-title of " Rough and Ready, " one of the enormously popular nineteenth century books for boys written by Horatio Alger, Jr

TEXTILE MILL WORKER, 1841. Massachusetts cotton mill worker preparing the warp for the weaver: colored engraving

TEXTILE MILL: COTTON. Calico printing in a cotton mill: steel engraving, 1834

HOMESTEAD STRIKE, 1892. The Pinkerton men leaving the barges after the surrender. Contemporary color engraving

ENGLAND: TEXTILE MILL. One of Robert Owens model textile mills at Tewkesbury, England, with work rules prominently dispayed on the walls. Wood engraving, from a French newspaper of 1860

DORÉ: LONDON, 1872. Mixing the Malt. Wood engraving after Gustave Dor

ENGLISH NEWSBOY, 1862. Wood engraving from an English newspaper of 1862

CHILD LABOR, 1842. Three children taking a loaded wagon of coal up an incline in the Lancashire and Cheshire district of England. Wood engraving, English, 1842

ENGLISH NEWSBOYS, 1871. Wood engraving from an Englih newspaper of 1871

CHILD LABOR, 1842. Hurrying Coal. A Girl drawing a loaded wagon of coal weighing between two hundred and five hundred pounds underground in the Halifax district (West Riding, Yorkshire) of England

BESSEMER STEEL, 1876. Bessemer Steel manufacture and the rolling of railway track at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Wood engraving, 1876

BESSEMER STEEL, 1886. Making Bessemer steel at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Wood engraving, 1886

TEXTILE MANUFACTURE, 1850. A Massachusetts mill-girl drawing in - the process of threading the heddle-eyes with warp threads. Wood engraving

TEXTILE MILL, 1747. The Fellow Prentices at the Looms. Plate 1 from William Hogarths series of engravings on Industry and Idleness, 1747

THE SPINNING JENNY. Designed by John Hargreaves in 1767. Color engraving, 19th century

HOMESTEAD STRIKE, 1892. The Mob Assailing the Pinkerton Men on Their Way to the Temporary Prison. Wood engraving from a contemporary newspaper

CHILD LABOR, 1873. Children gilding in a New York City picture frame factory. Wood engraving, 1873

CHILD LABOR, 1883. A young girl resting beside a wool-winding machine in a textile factory at Nottingham, England. Wood engraving, English, 1883

FACTORIES: GREAT BRITAIN. The workroom at Woolwich Arsenal, England. Wood engraving, English, 1862

TEXTILE MANUFACTURE. Dyeing and then drying yarn to be woven for tapestries. Copper engraving, French, 18th century

CANDLEMAKING, c1860. An English candle factory. Wood engraving, English, c1860

CANDLEMAKING, c1860. Machine for cutting candlewicks in an English factory. Wood engraving, English, c1860

MORNING BELL, 1873. Wood engraving, 1873 after Winslow Homer

CANDLEMAKING, 1861. The candle-room at Prices Patent Candle Manufactory, Battersea. Wood engraving, English, 1861

DEGAS: LAUNDRESSES, c1884. Two Laundresses. Oil on canvas, c1884, by Edgar Degas

Mob attacking Jacquard in Lyon, France. The French weaver Joseph Marie Jacquard (1752-1834, lower left) invented an improved mechanical loom in 1804

1873 British Museum Open to the Public
Holiday Time: British Museum by F. Smith in the Illustrated London News 1873. This image shows the general public visiting one of the natural history rooms in the British Museum

STEEL SQUARE WORKS, 1857. Vignette from a poster advertising the Chisel and Steel Square Works of Shaftsbury, Vermont. American lithograph, 1857

BLACK SHARECROPPERS, 1879. The Way They Live. Oil on canvas, 1879, by Thomas Anshutz

FACTORY: CHEVROLET, 1960s. A Chevrolet assembley line in the early 1960s

WORLD WAR I: WOMEN WORKERS. Women welding bomb casings in an American munitions factory, c1917

NEW YORK: BREAD LINE, 1915. Bread line on 41st Street, New York City, 30 January 1915

SHAHN: THREE MEN. Three working class men near a railroad station. Painting by Ben Shahn (1898-1969)

NEW YORK: TENEMENTS, 1912. A row of tenements on Elizabeth Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. Photograph, by Lewis Wickes Hine, March 1912

LONDON: RIVERSIDE, c1860. Riverside view in Lambeth, London, England, along the Thames. Photographed c1860

AUSTRIA: VIENNA, 1916. A woman street cleaner on Fleischmarkt, Vienna, in 1916, during World War I

BOSTON: SLUMS, 1909. Young boy eating scraps out of trash bins in a Boston slum. Photographed in October 1909 by Lewis Hine

SALVATION ARMY, 1908. Crowd waiting at basket distribution window for Christmas dinner from the Salvation Army, New York City

RED CROSS, c1920. Members of the American Red Cross Motor Corps learning to fix an automobile engine, c1920

CONEY ISLAND: LUNA PARK. Luna Park amusement park, Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York. Photograph, c1910-1915

CONEY ISLAND: SLIDE. Razzle Dazzle ride at Dreamland amusement park, Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York. Photograph, early 20th century

BENTON: FIELD WORKERS, 1945. Field workers picking cotton. Oil on canvas by Thomas Hart Benton, 1945

TELEGRAPH MESSENGERS, 1911. A young group of Western Union Messengers in Norfolk, Virginia. Photograph by Lewis Hine, June 1911

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The working class, an integral part of society's backbone, has long been depicted in various forms of art and propaganda. In the early 20th century, a capitalist pyramid stood tall, symbolizing the social hierarchy that oppressed the laborers. American Socialist posters from 1911 aimed to challenge this system and advocate for equality. As time progressed, the working class found representation in different ideologies. The Young Communist League emerged as a shock battalion during the Soviet Union's Five-Year Plan in 1931. Vladimir Lyushin's poster captured their determination and commitment towards building a new future. In late 1930s America, Ben Shahn painted an oil on canvas masterpiece titled "Organize?" It showcased over one million workers standing united behind the cause of organizing for better rights and conditions. Across borders, even organizations like Salvation Army used propaganda to address social issues such as poverty. A London-based chromolitho poster from around 1910 highlighted their efforts to uplift those affected by economic hardships. Historical landmarks also bear witness to the struggles faced by the working class. The Old George pub at Bethnal Green in London served as a gathering place where locals shared stories of hardship and resilience during challenging times. One such instance was witnessed when unemployed coal miners took to the streets of Jarrow, England in 1936 demanding justice amidst widespread unemployment caused by industrial decline. Artistic expressions have immortalized iconic figures representing laborers' strength and unity. Vera Mukhina's sculpture "Worker and Kolkhoz Woman" became an emblematic image celebrating collective effort during Moscow's industrialization era. Moving across continents to Harlem in New York City during World War II, Gordon Parks captured a powerful photograph depicting a young newsboy hustling through adversity while contributing his share towards survival amidst difficult circumstances. Industrial progress brought forth innovations like wringers - wet clothes dryers - which eased some burdens carried by homemakers within working-class households. During the war, women played a crucial role in supporting the troops.