The Steerage.

£9,500 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

stieglitz's most iconic photograph In June 1907, Stieglitz and his family sailed to Europe to visit relatives and friends. They booked 1st class tickets on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II, one of the largest and fastest ships in the world at that time. According to Stieglitz, sometime after their third day of travel, he went for a walk around the ship and came upon a viewpoint that looked down toward the lower class passengers area, known on most ships as the steerage. The scene Stieglitz captured is in fact a cultural document of an important period when many immigrants were coming to America. But this photo was taken on a cruise going to Europe from America, and so the poor people captured in the photo were most likely those who were turned away by U.S. Immigration officials and were forced to go back to Europe. Although some of the passengers might have been rejected immigrants, turned back because of failure to meet financial or health requirements for entrance, it is also likely that many of them were various artisans who worked in the booming U.S. construction trade of the time. Workers who were highly skilled in crafts such as cabinetmaking, woodworking and marble laying were granted two-year temporary visas to complete their jobs and then returned to their homelands when the work was complete. A son of German Jewish immigrants, Stieglitz perhaps recognised himself in those people of the lower deck. The Steerage began its life as a masterpiece four years after its creation, w

• Binding: Hardcover

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