Item 69: Lithograph by Edward Valois and Charles Currier, after a Drawing by Valois of the “Switch-Back Railroad. Sketched from No. 5 Coal-Breaker.,”(removed to Print Box #5), 1860
Item — Box: 21, Folder: 69
Dates
- Created: 1860
Creator
- Valois, Edward, active 1840–69 (Person)
Disclaimer for Name and Subject Authorities
Some of the name and subject authority tags have been assigned by educated guessing and estimation of persons and subjects by region, age, profession, and familial relationships. They have been thoroughly researched by using primary and secondary sources available digitally, and named in each description, or in some cases linked directly to the person tag.
Access:
All series and subseries within this collection are open for research, with the exception of a few files within the Academia series that are restricted. The Academia series contains financial and sensitive institutional records from Wilkes College, and financial report records from Princeton University that will remain restricted for 80 years upon creation.
Extent
1 items
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Type of Material:
Lithograph
Condition Note:
Fair
Measurements:
13 ½ in. x 9 ⅛ in.
Title:
Switch-Back Railroad. Sketched from No. 5 Coal-Breaker.
Description:
A lithograph by Edward Valois and Charles Currier, after a drawing originally by Valois, depicting the processes of men at work at the No. 5 Coal Breaker. In the forefront, the coal-breaker stands with smoke pouring out. To the left, you see boys leading mules along a rail to the top of the breaker and then carts returning to the mine after the coal has been deposited. Referred to as the “Switzerland of America,” Mauch Chunk was known for its mountainous scenic views along the line of the Switchback Railroad and Lehigh Valley Railroad. It is still attracting tourists to see the beautiful, mountainous views. Now referred to as Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania since 1954, Mauch Chunk is located in Carbon County, Pennsylvania. It is known for the burial site of the Native American athlete, Jim Thorpe. It is settled in the Pocono Mountains about 29 miles northwest of Allentown. The Switchback Railroad hauled coal into the mountains of Pennsylvania. Built in 1827 it operated until 1932 and was used by the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company to transport coal from Summit Hill to the Lehigh canal. It was the second gravity railway to be built in the United States. Steam engines were a way of life for over 80 years. The first appearance of a steam engine in the valley was traced to Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1864. For more information on this topic, visit the TNOnline website.
Edward Valois was born in 1820 and was a lithographer based in New York City in the 1840s through the 1860s and was still in business with another artist, G.W. Fasel in the 1860s. He died in 1903. More work by Valois can be found on the Metropolitan Museum of Art website.
Charles Currier was an American artist possibly from Roxbury, Massachusetts and was born in 1818. He died in 1887 in Brooklyn, New York.
Location:
Mauch Chunk, Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania
Transcription:
Ed Valois. del. & lith. C.Currier’s Lith.33 Spruce SoN.Y.
SWITCH-BACK RAILROAD. 1860.
Sketched from No 5, Coal-Breaker.
450,000 tons of coal carried over this R.R. from the mines to Mauch Chunk 1859.
Mauch Chunk
Creator
- Valois, Edward, active 1840–69 (Person)
- Currier, Charles, 1818-1887 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository
Contact:
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu