I found this sequence of four shots at the very end of the collection of construction negatives in William Ward Watkins’ papers. They were completely unexpected and I nearly wept when I understood what they were–the immediacy of the images and the homeliness of the task they depict felt overwhelming. I’m tearing up a bit now just thinking about it.
This day was October 8, 1914 and these men were unloading a new gas tank from a railcar and moving it onto a mule drawn wagon:
That’s just so good.
Bonus:
A Little Note: I’ve got a bunch of family obligations the rest of this week–all happy ones–so I probably won’t be back until Monday. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves.