Birdsey Breaker, Archbald, Del. & Hudson Canal Co. c. 1863 - 1865

Thomas H. Johnson captured this albumen print, titled "Birdsey Breaker, Archbald, Del. & Hudson Canal Co.", sometime in the 1860s in the United States. Here we see the visual vocabulary of American industrial expansion. Note how the mine looms over the community: both physically and economically, the mine dominates the landscape and the lives of its residents. The Delaware and Hudson Canal Company was founded in 1823, and played a crucial role in transporting anthracite coal to eastern markets. By the time Johnson took this photograph, the company was already a powerful economic institution. Photographs like this served to document the scale and impact of industrial activity. But they also reflect the social and environmental costs of extractive industries and the growing power of corporations in American life. To better understand this image, you could explore the archives of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, local historical societies, and collections of photographs documenting industrial landscapes. The meaning of the image resides in the specifics of time and place.