Snapshots of the Past

Steam shovel at Cayuga, Ill. – Vintage Wall Art

Steam shovel at Cayuga, Ill., [between 1900 and 1905] — historic photograph
Steam shovel at Cayuga, Ill., [between 1900 and 1905]. Historic photograph from the Detroit Publishing Company collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

A window into the past: Steam shovel at Cayuga, Ill., preserved in this historic photograph. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. Perfect for a home, office, library or classroom wall, and a gift with a story behind it. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

Steam shovel at Cayuga, Ill.

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A steam shovel at Cayuga, Illinois, is the subject here, and the record links it to the Vulcan Iron Works and the Chicago and Alton Railroad, which suggests railroad grading or excavation work. Steam shovels of this period, often built by firms like Vulcan in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, moved on rails and swung a dipper on a boom to load earth into waiting cars, replacing much of the hand labor that earlier grading required. The Detroit Publishing Company, which sent photographers across the country around 1900, made this 8 by 10 inch glass negative, and the machine's bulk against the cut shows how much earth such equipment could move.

Created / published[between 1900 and 1905]
Medium1 negative : glass ; 8 x 10 in.
GenreDry plate negatives.
NotesIncludes Vulcan Iron Works and Chicago and Alton Railroad. 15" on negative. Detroit Publishing Co. no. 042291. Gift; State Historical Society of Colorado; 1949."
SubjectsExcavation. Iron industry.United States--Illinois--Cayuga.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
Original scan973 × 793 px
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-DET-69579

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