Promontory 1869 image - a good representation?
From: "Nicole Enriquez" bsaldana@sahousingtrust.org
My group is doing a project on the Promontory Point 1869 image. The main question is: Is this image a good representation of 1869. Why or why not? What is its significance?
—Nicole Enriquez
posted from CPRR Discussion Group at 9:02 AM
17 Comments:
Such questions are often posed as propaganda to elicit the false response that the image demonstrates that no Chinese were allowed to attend the ceremony, supposedly demonstrating racism. The truth is that while anti-Chinese sentiment was widespread in the 19th century western U.S., the Central Pacific Railroad hired and respected their Chinese labor force. Actually, Chinese were present and participated in the Ceremony laying the last rail, another photograph taken that day in 1869 shows them, and three of the eight Chinese men who actually laid the last rail lived long enough to also be in the 1919 parade held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that occasion! The Chinese were cheered at Promontory on May 10, 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad management. So the CPRR is a demonstration not of racism, but that economic necessity in a market economy forces people to overcome prevalent racist attitudes.
For a description of the events portrayed in A.J. Russell's famous photograph, see Driving the Last Spike at Promontory, 1869 by J. N. Bowman.
The correct location is Promontory Summit, not Promontory Point, but don't feel bad about this common mistake as the newspaper reports in 1869 often made the same error.
From: kylewyatt@aol.com
First, it depends which image you are thinking of - there were many taken by three different photographers that day.
Second, technically the location is Promontory Summit, or just Promontory. The actual Promontory point sticks into the Great Salt Lake some distance south of the golden spike location. When the southern Pacific built the Lucin Cutoff in 1904, they actually reached Promontory Point, and had a station of that name there.
If you are thinking of the famous photo by A. J. Russell of the two locomotives face to face, it was technically taken AFTER the ceremony was over – with most of the railroad officers having adjourned to private cars for toasts and celebrations. That said, certainly that view could represent 1869.
—Kyle Wyatt
So the famous A.J. Russell photograph could not include the Chinese workers photographed earlier participating in the joining of the rails ceremony because at the moment the famous photo was being taken it was after the conclusion of the ceremony and the Chinese workers were away from the two locomotives to dine at J.H. Strobridge's boarding car, being honored and cheered by the CPRR management.
Copy of request for correction sent to the Taipei Times:
Please correct the misinformation in Catherine Shu's article ART JOURNAL: Chinese laborers hidden in plain sight as the article's premise is wrong that "A famous photo taken that day captures railroad executives surrounded by a host of workers. But there is a notable absence. The faces of the Chinese laborers who constituted the majority of the workforce of the Central Pacific Railroad’s line that snaked east from California are missing."
The famous A.J. Russell photograph of the completion of the U.S. First Transcontinental Railroad could not include the Chinese workers photographed earlier participating in the joining of the rails ceremony because at the moment the famous photo was being taken it was after the conclusion of the ceremony and the Chinese workers were away from the two locomotives to dine at J.H. Strobridge's boarding car, being honored and cheered by the CPRR management. See the historical documentation.
See, caution to students.
Also see, "Two historic personages connected with that photo have close ties to the village of Nunda[, New York]. Andrew J. Russell, the photographer, was raised in Nunda. And somewhere within the sea of bearded faces is another Nunda native, Michael Dowling, construction contractor for the Union Pacific Railroad. Russell and Dowling had been playmates during their childhood years in Nunda."
Hi,
Very interesting discussion. However, I have a question here.
In your explanation why Chinese were not in the famous photo, the eight Chinese were invited to J.H. Strobridge's boarding car, being honored and cheered by the CPRR management. Thus they missed because of the photo shooting time.
However, Mr.J.H. Strobridge were in the photo!
The photo taken and dining must have happened in different time.
Thanks.
Cliff
Thank you for pointing out this correction.
Thus, to defend why Chinese were not in the photo using the reason the time conflict is very weak, because Mr. Strobridge, the host of dining for the quests( including the 8 Chinese) was in the famous photo!
We should understand that was 'political correct' for not including Chinese in most photos, because they were 'foreigners', and were low level labors, and medias were not interesting to show them in the reports for the celebration.
If you call this as 'discrimination', that would nothing in comparison with social bias toward Chinese immigrants at the time.
However, the photo #539 by A.J. Russell did approve that Chinese workers present in the Ceremony.
Cliff Li
Does anyone know how many of the original photos still exist. Where are they
Since the A.J. Russell imperial view collodion glass plate negative has survived and is in the collection of the Oakland Museum of California, if the term "original" is understood to mean a photographic print made directly from the negative, then there can be an unlimited number of originals of this iconic image. Don't know the number of prints that were produced by or under the supervision of A.J. Russell, or the number photographically printed in the 1869 time period, almost certainly as albumen contact prints made with sunlight.
From: "Don Snoddy" ddsnoddy@outlook.com
There are or were two at Union Pacific. One in Oakland, one in St. Louis, and one in San Francisco, and I'm certain there are some others elsewhere. I just don't know how many. Of those some must be in museum collections. Glenn Willumson probably has the best idea of anyone.
—Don
"Be yourself. Everyone else is taken." —Oscar Wilde
From: "Kyle Wyatt" kylekwyatt@gmail.com
For starters, the Oakland Museum has the original negative – and several other institutions have modern contact prints from that original negative (including the California State RR Museum, and the Utah Historical Society). Historic original prints are also held by the Union Pacific Museum, and by the Beineke Library at Yale University. Those are ones I know of off hand.
—Kyle
Can anyone tell me how many A.J. Russell photographs of Promontory exist today? Where are they?
Duplicate post, see above.
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