Gibson's Breaker, Rushdale, Pennsylvania

Thomas H. Johnson

ca. 1865 · Albumen silver print from glass negative · Photographs

Rising above the treetops with a ramshackle glamour, this wooden coal breaker displays a rickety, almost Seussian superstructure. Thomas H. Johnson photographed the breaker for a company that transported anthracite coal from Pennsylvania mines to New York markets. His study locates the coal at its point of origin. In the foreground, chunks of anthracite catch the sun, awaiting treatment in the breaker, where they will be crushed, cleaned, and sorted for delivery. With an eye to the idiosyncrasies of this purpose-built structure, Johnson anticipates a vernacular documentary style later popularized by photographers like Walker Evans and Bernd and Hilla Becher.

Artist

Thomas H. Johnson

Date

ca. 1865

Medium

Albumen silver print from glass negative

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Purchase, Alfred Stieglitz Society Gifts, 2000