Workers in new Johns-Manville plant listening to safety talk from the superintendent of construction, Jarratt, Va.

Share

A safety talk given by the superintendent of construction to workers at the new Johns-Manville plant in Jarratt, Virginia, is the focus here. The record gives no date, but the scene suggests a building project still underway, when crews were gathered for instruction before returning to work. Industrial firms of this era often photographed safety meetings to show their commitment to worker welfare. The print is a photoprint by Charles Phelps Cushing of New York, whose industrial views were circulated as records of American manufacturing and construction. Johns-Manville, a building-materials company, operated plants across the country.

More from the Historic Print Archive collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.