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Lot of 3 Antique Occupational Photographs – Grand Rapids Railway Co. Shop Crew & Laborers (Circa 1900-1910s)
Item Overview
Up for sale is a remarkable, original lot of three (3) large-format antique occupational photographs mounted on heavy dark charcoal display mats. Two of the photographs provide an exceptional look inside an early 20th-century urban transit hub, while the third features a compelling, diverse outdoor labor crew. These are not modern reproductions—they are authentic, period-correct historical photographs perfect for transit historians, regional Michigan collectors, or early Americana enthusiasts.
Detailed Item Breakdown
Photo 1 & 2: Grand Rapids Railway Company (G. R. Ry.) Coach Shop Crew
• Subject: The entire interior mechanical and woodworking shop crew posed inside parallel maintenance bays. The workmen are dressed in classic early utility gear (canvas aprons, denim overalls, suspenders, and flat caps).
• Equipment Featured: Features exposed steel undercarriages, bogies, heavy jacks, workshop tools, and multiple wooden electric streetcars. One trolley clearly displays the fleet number 217 on its crown.
• Reverse Information: The back of these mats features an embossed photographer’s stamp reading:
• “YOUNGS STUDIO, 1223 Broadway Ave., Grand Rapids, Michigan” (Attributed to local photographer E. M. Youngs).
• Includes vintage handwritten pencil inscriptions reading: “G Ry Coach Shop / Grand Rapids Mich” and “G Ry Coach shop crew / Grand Rapids”.
Photo 3: Outdoor Labor & Construction Crew
• Subject: A striking, integrated group portrait featuring a racially diverse team of workers posing at a job site.
• Details: The men are standing before a weathered wooden facility with a large, partially broken multi-pane window. Notable details include a worker holding a stack of roofing shingles/slats, a worker proudly holding a oil can aloft on the far right, a utility bucket, and a foreman in a suit holding a rolled-up blueprint or technical document.
• Reverse Information: The back has faint, weathered pencil handwriting indicating it belongs with the same Grand Rapids provenance.
Physical Specifications
• Format: Silver gelatin or related period prints mounted directly onto heavy commercial cardboard display mats.
• Overall Mat Size: Approximately 14" x 11" (Standard large-format presentation size).
• Quantity: 3 total mounted photographs sold together as a single lot.
Condition Report
These items are in good antique condition with excellent contrast, sharpness, and a wealth of clear, microscopic detail. Given their 110+ year age, they exhibit honest signs of handling and storage:
• Mats: The heavy charcoal cardstock mats have some corner wear, minor chipping, and edge fraying. One mat has a notable notch/tear on the left edge, and another has a notch/chip out of the right edge (as clearly pictured in the listing photos). These imperfections do not touch or affect the central photographic prints.
• Prints: The surfaces show mild, expected silvering/mirroring around some edge borders when held at an angle to the light, which is typical for authentic prints of this era.
• Reverse: The backs show light surface tracking, minor age-toning, and historic pencil notations.
Please review all high-resolution images carefully, as they serve as the definitive guide to cosmetic condition.
