[Photographs of Factory Workers and Processes]

Published by [Taiwan], 1970

About this Item

120 loose photographs measuring 4" x 5"; 94 are captioned verso. Photos generally near fine with a moderate curl. This is a collection of photographs depicting Chinese factory workers. Their origin is unknown and the captions are in English and read as though someone in the position of inspector or similar took and described them. One of the photos shows a medallion or pin with Chinese letters as well as "C.S.Q.C." which stood for "Chinese Society for Quality Control," which opens the possibility that these photos were taken by an employee of that entity. Along those lines, two photos depict vehicles for the China Productivity and Trade Center (CPTC). CPTC was a Chinese government entity which issued "The Taiwan Buyer's Guide," which was a bilingual directory of manufacturers, so our compiler may have been part of that group. The photos are devoted exclusively to factory workers and their conditions and include at least 15 showing child laborers. They are separated into several distinct series including at least ten photos which depict the production of plastic including precise plastic sheets, plastic bags and the pouring of liquid plastic into moulds. Approximately 23 photos relate to processing cotton. Several of these are captioned as having been taken at the Min Hsing Cotton Mill Company. We see workers cleaning mounds of raw cotton, rooms filled with dozens of workers and machines spinning and spooling. We also see women working in the quality control rooms, others are shown weaving and one shows huge rolls of cotton, ready for sale. At least eight photos show a Honda plant where we see the manufacture of electric motors, motor and motorcycle assembly, and the testing of motorcycles. At least 20 show frozen food processes including fish, green beans, asparagus, mushrooms and mandarins. Several show the manufacture of electric irons including captions mentioning "dirty and outmoded plating shop" and "buffing dept. in shop making electric motors-no masks, dark and dirty." At least 18 depict the manufacture of plywood and a few photos are captioned as taken at the Taiwan Sugar Co. in Fu Wei district. We also see manufacturing and production of asbestos, wire coils for electronics, nails, iron rods, electric motors and more. A detailed dive into Taiwanese labor conditions and manufacturing processes.

Seller Inventory # 1856

Bibliographic Details

• Title: [Photographs of Factory Workers and Processes]
• Publisher: [Taiwan]
• Publication Date: 1970
• Condition: Near fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • China
  • Manufactoring
  • Photographs
  • Labor