Accession Number: 2011.52.3
Description: Black-and-white glossy photo mounted to gray matboard with a black border; machinist Jake Steffen stands at vice on workbench to left, wearing white shirt, necktie and light-colored shop coat; the machine shop on the third floor of the 1923 western annex of the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, KY; in foreground is a wooden skid with a pair of cylinders for an embossing press, a large gear, and two smaller gears; in the background is a heavy metal turning lathe; five light bulbs dangle from overhead electrical cords, two are empty, two are bare, one has a thin wire cage; a wooden three pane sash window has bright light shining in onto Steffen's workbench at left.
Medium: Photographic Paper on mat board
Print Size: 9.75 x 7.75"
Date: ca. 1930
Photographer: unknown
History/Provenance: Photograph was recovered from APH cafe, where it and others were used as decoration for many years. Jake Steffen was a machinist working for the Cooper Manufacturing Company in Chicago who was hired by APH after the company bought braille slate making equipment from Cooper in 1927.
Subjects: Braille Printing presses Machine shops Lathes
