William Geary
Date1890
MediumPhotography; Kodak safety film acetate negative
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (overall height x width): 5 15/16 × 4in. (15.1 × 10.2cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineBequest from the Estate of Elizabeth Beattie
DescriptionBlack and white kodak safety film photographic negative, image of an earlier photograph of William Geary, the bookkeeper, at the John Beattie Granite Quarry office, 1890. Two men are seated in an office. Geary sits behind a desk, he has a mustache, wears glasses and is dressed in a long sleeve shirt and vest. The unidentified man is seated in front of the desk, he is clean shaven and dressed in a suit jacket and tie with a fedora-style hat. The small room features a pot belly stove, there are papers and pictures hung on the walls and there are various knick-knacks on shelves and around the office area.
This negative is a 20th century photograph of a 19th century photograph.
This negative is a 20th century photograph of a 19th century photograph.
Object number2023.17.64
CopyrightPublic Domain
MarkingsAlong upper edge: "KODAK SAFETY - - FILM"InscribedHandwritten on negative: "WM GEARY / BOOKKEEPER / OFFICE"(.64-.65) Hand written on envelope in black ink: "QUARRY – TOM HANNIGAN / + GANG / WEST SIDE / also OFFICE SCENE / 1890"NotesSubject Note: John Beattie's granite quarry, situated in Guilford on the Long Island Sound, was well-positioned to distribute granite via a fleet of schooners to locations in Connecticut and New York. Notably, granite from Beattie's quarry was used in the pedestal at the base of the Statue of Liberty.
The quarry operated from 1869, when Scottish immigrant Beattie purchased 400 acres of land on Leetes Island, until about 1918, when Beattie's sons closed up shop 20 years after his death. At its height, the quarry employed 700 people, many of them immigrants from Scotland, Ireland, England, Finland, Sweden, and Italy.
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