[Photograph Album of a Chicago Steel Company] Business,Chicago,Photography,Women

9" x 11¾". Postbound ledger, cloth over boards, holding 92 linenbacked B&W 8" x 10" photographs with tabbed section dividers adhered to six photos' versos. Very good plus: cloth lightly scuffed and spotted, tips and corners frayed; a few photos gently dustsoiled, faded or curled at edges with scattered light spotting, primarily to versos. This is a commercial photo album holding great shots of the employees, equipment and products of the Highway Steel Company located in Chicago Heights. It notably shows women in all aspects of the work. Of the 92 photographs in this album, 65 were taken on the factory floor, revealing seven general "Plant Views" and 58 shots of the equipment, separated into sections such as "Heat Treating," "Metal Finishing" and "Inspection." Just over half the photos feature workers, and a dozen of these show women smiling at the camera as they sort and inspect parts; assessing the work of male colleagues, clipboard in hand; and welding in protective mask, photographic name badge our only clue. The final "Products" section has 27 shots, some of which are illustrations. Newspapers.com reveals the company in business in 1934 and taken over by 1951; a handwritten label inside the cover guesses "1945?", and we estimate the same. Fantastic internal shots of a Chicago Heights steel company, featuring the work of women.