[Western American Photographica]. [Prison Labor]

[Group of Eight Annotated Vernacular Photographs Documenting Construction of an Unidentified Fort in the American West, Retained and Annotated by a Law Enforcement Officer]

[N.p. ca. 1915-1925]. Eight silver gelatin photographs, 5.25 x 2.75 inches, all with pencil annotations on verso. Mild edge wear. Very good plus. Item #3241

An intriguing collection of eight annotated vernacular photographs picturing construction and other work taking place at an unnamed western riverside fort. The manual labor for the project was performed by incarcerated men, who are sometimes pictured. The annotations on the verso of each image provide valuable information on the activities and settings in the pictures. The images themselves show the stockade adjacent to the river, the prisoners' dining hall, the front part of the bunkhouse and dining tent, an elevated view of the stockade showing sand and cement being hauled down a nearby road, three young men preparing dinner, "prisoners building a concrete wall," "prisoners working on the retaining walls," and "prisoners starting a wall in the side of a very bad slide." In the latter photograph, the compiler of the photographs reveals his own involvement in the activities here: "You can see me R.B.A. standing with a gun on my shoulder." An interesting group of photographs documenting the long tradition in the United States of employing prison labor to perform back-breaking manual labor.

Price: $350.00