Item 27: Group of Essex Company employees

Albumen print, ca. 1878. Image depicts a posed group of men, most of whom (probably all) were employed by the Essex Company of Lawrence, Mass. Identified on reverse: front row, left to right: C. W. Kempton, Fred Chabot, Nelson Harris, and Thomas Holmes; back row, left to right: Fred Whittier, C. J. O'Reilly, Richard A. Hale, and James O'Reilly. In the 1877 Lawrence, Mass., directory, James L. O'Reilly, Whittier, and Hale were all listed as students at the Essex Company, while Fred Chabot was listed as an assistant, and Holmes as a gate tender. By 1881, Hale and Whittier had joined Chabot as assistants, while Holmes remained a gate tender. All of the men wear dark suits with wide lapels, white shirts, and dark ties (except for James O'Reilly and Holmes, who wear light ties). Several wear dark overcoats. Hale (1852-1928) wears pince nez, the ony one in the group wearing spectacles of any kind; he eventually became chief engineer of the Essex Company in 1921. Most of the men have mustaches; Holmes has a beard. 23 x 18 cm. (w/out mount); 24.25 x 19.5 cm. (w/mount).

Format: black and white photograph.