Pennsylvania
JOHNSON, Thomas H. (b. 1821), photographer. Grassy Island Shaft. Del. & Hud. Canal Co. Scranton, PA: Ca 1863-1865.

16 x 12 in. albumen photograph on 20 7/8 x 17 3/8 in. cardstock mount. Titled and credited to Johnson on mount recto.

The Grassy Island shaft was one of a series of mines that were developed in Pennsylvania's anthracite coal region of Lackawanna County in the 1860s by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. This photograph was probably part of a portfolio of images of the nascent industry meant for prosective investors or board members.
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Little is known of Johnson though he apparently operated a studio in Scranton from at least 1863-65. Works from this same series are curated the the J.P. Getty Museum of Art, The National Gallery of Art and The Cleveland Museum of Art. A duplicate of this print is curated at the Albany Institute of Art.

Rich, and detailed, these prints depict a rural America on the verge of industrialization rarely seen in 19th century American photography.

This lot is located in Cincinnati.