Nostalgia & History > A Terrific Picture

I found picture 1 on the website,
 
http://econtent.unm.edu/cdm/search/collection/wittick!nusbaum!acpa!pinhole!parkhurst/searchterm/Railroad%20Locomotive/field/all/mode/all/conn/and/order/nosort/ad/asc/cosuppress/0 
 
Picture 1, “Title: Mr. Paskerson making thermit weld, probably on locomotive 21, El Paso and Northeastern Railroad.  Creator: Prentice, Royal A.  Date Original:           1902?  Type: Still Image.  Physical Format: glass negative.  Source/Subject File: Transportation-Land-Railroad-El Paso and Northeastern.  Collection: Royal A. Prentice Collection.  Publisher            Palace of the Governors, Photo Archives, New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe.” 
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/16 13:37 by flynn.

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And the man is wearing a hat, vest and necktie!  Is this posed, or what?  Do you suppose that men actually dressed like that when at work?  And hot work too.

cabman Wrote:
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> And the man is wearing a hat, vest and necktie!
>  Is this posed, or what?  Do you suppose that
> men actually dressed like that when at work?

Well, most people bathed semi-annually in those days, so one had to thoroughly cover one's body, even in an industrial environment, to overcome one's stench sufficiently for 10 cents/gal. cologne to work its magic on the odious vapors that did manage to escape. Ties came in handy for plugging (alternately: wiping) one's nose, I would add. Historians have always overlooked this in proclaiming that people dressed more formally in public in those days. I maintain, on the other hand, that people were merely dressing practically given the circumstances of the times.

EO

It was a common sight years ago where I worked (Sunnen Products Co) for the tool and die makers to dress in a vest and tie with a white shop apron.  I was sent up to York, PA to evaluate a surface grinder at Weldon and their tool room was separated from the shop and the toolmaker dressed like the old days.  They also had a nickle Coke machine in the shop that still dispensed the small green glass bottles.   It was like a time warp.
I'll bet people were really ripe back in the "old days" because their clothes were heavy.  Women must have had ten pounds of clothes on even in the hot summer.    Aaaaack!

Looks like he's pouring babbit.