Joseph Pennell's Pictures of the Wonder of Work / Reproductions of a Series of Drawings, Etchings, and Lithographs, Made by Him about the World, 1881-1915, with Impressions and Notes by the Artist

Chapter 53: LII SCHNAAPS AT SCHIEDAAM, HOLLAND

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About This Book

An illustrated collection of drawings, etchings, and lithographs made worldwide between 1881 and 1915, accompanied by the artist's impressions and descriptive notes. The introductory essay argues for treating industrial and manual labor as a legitimate pictorial subject, surveying earlier artists who found beauty in mills, harbors, and urban works. The plates reproduce scenes of engineering, construction, maritime and urban labor, with captions and commentary that emphasize technique, composition, and the human element in work. The volume balances visual reproductions with reflective commentary on the aesthetics of labor and the practical processes behind the subjects depicted.

LII SCHNAAPS AT SCHIEDAAM, HOLLAND

As the Continental express from the Hook of Holland reached Schiedaam the traveller who was not fast asleep—most were—could see the old town where work crowns war—each bastion bears a windmill, while from the city within the walls endlessly rise and silently drift away masses of white smoke clouds, showing for one moment, hiding the next, the spires, towers, and domes of the city. I do not know what makes the smoke clouds—whether Schnaaps or not—but there they always are—and are always to be seen from the station platform from which I made the drawing.