Bourke-White, Margaret (1904-1971) Two Men on a Dock Unloading Bales of Pulp for Papermaking.
Savannah, GA: Printed ca. 1939
Gelatin silver print, stamped with the photographer's and Time, Inc.'s credits, with penciled description to verso reading: "Stevedores loading pulp which is manufactured in this plant and then shipped to other plants where paper is completed" (minor chips to edges, not affecting the composition); 13 1/8 x 10 in.
Margaret Bourke-White, best known as the first female war journalist and foreign photographer to enter and document the Soviet Union's industrial endeavors during its inaugural five-year plan, is celebrated for her stark black-and-white industrial photography. Her works are featured in prominent institutional collections like the Brooklyn Museum, MoMA, and the Library of Congress, among many others. In 1937, Bourke-White was commissioned to photograph the paper mills of the International Paper and Power Company in Canada. The resultant 1939 book, Newsprint: A Book of Pictures Illustrating the Operations in the Manufacture of Paper on Which to Print the World's News, not only showcases her unique eye in capturing industrial landscapes but also demonstrates her enduring fascination with the interplay between photography, corporate culture, and printed media, a theme she continued to explore.
