Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg
The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain
Munby's Views of Women and Children Colliers

Scanxx17 Ellen Grounds+Munby broo wench 9-11-1873

Arthur Joseph Munby was an educated person with a discerning eye, on the colliery scene. Similarly, George Orwell found the collieries and the miners of interest. Orwell wrote a small essay about the mines ("Down The Mine").
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Just a small, but pertinent note. In many of the photographs provided here, the women are often dressed in either their best clothing, or even in borrowed clothing. These exploited women often were dressed to match their incomes. Thus often, the reality was that the women could not afford shoes to wear. In addition, the photograph "Two Views of Women" (below, bottom right) doesn't quite bring out the reality of the gender discrimination that existed. Weathy women dressed well, attractively, had their hair taken care of, etc - indeed: they were the image of women that the society portrayed (propaganda). Poor women of a lower class were not well dressed, often were sick or had poor physiques (due to poor diet) or masculine physiques (due to their heavy labour). These working class woman did not appear as women were portrayed in the popular propaganda. Thus these women were viewed as "masculine"! The women of these lower classes rejected the gender propaganda of the day, thus were looked upon as coarse as well. Such working class women had a mentality that no longer was acceptable in "society", they were thus viewed as "immoral". For example, such working class women rejected marriage as a form of "domestic slavery". Click to get a different perspective. What does the reader think the views of Charles Dickens were of women? Does Agnes (David Copperfield) or Nancy (Oliver Twist) betray a bias towards any particular class viewpoint?

Click to see Hannah Pointer: Navvy

scan0002 Hannah Pointer ballast digger (navvy, ship ballast) Munby

Click to see Hannah Cullwick, 1901

scan0004 Hannah Cullwick Munby 1901

Click to see Ellen Lowe: Collier girl

scan0007 Ellen Lowe (22) collier, Munby

Click to see a Pit woman

scan0020 Pitwoman Munby

Click to see a Pit woman

scan0021 Pitwoman Munby

Click to see Eliza Hayes
and Arthur Munby

scan0019 Eliza Hayes and Arthur Munby

Click to see Ellen Bryant: 1857

scan0024 Ellen Bryant (Munby) 1857

Click to see Two Views of Women

scan0035 Two views of women - Munby

Click to see Pit brow girl

DSC01451 Pit brow girl Munby

Click to see Ellen Bryant: Lord's Pit (1857)

scan0023 Ellen Bryant (Lord's Pits) Munby 1857

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