1900 Miner’s Record
DESCRIPTION
This striking and rare chromolithographic broadside, titled "Miner’s Record," was produced around 1900 by the J. M. Vickroy Company of Terre Haute, Indiana, as a decorative certificate for members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). Designed in the elaborate style of turn-of-the-century fraternal and labor ephemera, it served both as an official record of membership and as a proud piece for coal miners and their families to display in their home.
Allegorical Imagery and Patriotic Symbolism
The poster features finely detailed allegorical imagery arranged within an elaborate chromolithographic frame. Across the top, miners are shown at work underground, wielding picks and pushing coal carts along timbered shafts, scenes that highlight the difficult and dangerous nature of their labor. Flanking these views are symbolic vignettes of progress and industry, including smokestacks, machinery, and rays of light breaking over the horizon, signifying prosperity through collective effort. The ornate decorative borders are filled with scrollwork, shields, and floral elements, giving the print the grandeur of an official certificate while also making it visually compelling for display.
At the center are oval medallion portraits of prominent union leaders, surrounded by banners bearing the name of the United Mine Workers of America. Around them are depictions of tools of the trade, including crossed picks, shovels, and helmets, interwoven with patriotic motifs such as the American flag and the eagle, underscoring both solidarity among miners and their national identity. Large open panels in the composition were reserved for inscribing a miner’s name, membership number, and date of initiation, though known examples, including this one, remain unfilled. Together, these elements create a powerful balance of symbolism and practicality, celebrating the dignity of labor while affirming the miner’s place within the broader struggle for industrial and social progress.
About the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA)
The Miner’s Record stands as a vivid testament to the identity, pride, and cohesion fostered by organized labor at the dawn of the 20th century, a period when coal mining was central to American industry and when the UMWA was gaining influence as one of the country’s most important unions. Few examples have survived intact due to the fragile nature of such broadsides, and institutional holdings are scarce, with known examples in the Library Company of Philadelphia and the United Mine Workers of America archives.
Founded in 1890 in Columbus, Ohio, the United Mine Workers of America quickly grew into a powerful labor union, fighting for fair wages, shorter hours, and safer working conditions in one of America’s most dangerous industries. The union gained national prominence after the 1902 Anthracite Coal Strike and expanded its influence under leaders such as John L. Lewis, who helped create the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). Though coal mining has declined, the UMWA continues today to represent miners and energy workers, advocating for pensions, benefits, and labor rights.
CONDITION
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