Kentucky Miners Defense Photographs
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Abstract
The Kentucky Miners' Defense was formed to help free seven miners convicted of murdering three coal company guards in Evart, Harlan County, Kentucky, during a miners' strike in May 1931. Herbert Mahler, director of the organization, spearheaded the publicity campaign to bring national attention to the miners` case. Fund-raising publicity was often aimed at unions and their members, since the Kentucky miners had been attempting to organize, but were being blocked by the coal companies, when the incident took place. The collection spans the years 1931-1939 and consists of 44 photographs, almost all of which are 8x10 black and white copy prints. It is made up of the images of the convicted miners and their families used for publicity purposes by the Kentucky Miners' Defense. There are also views of the area where the strike took place. The shots of Harlan County were used by the defense in the 1932 Court versus Hightowercase. Additional images show Mahler with the four defendants, Al Bencon, Chester Poore, W.B. Jones and Jim Reynolds, the wives of three of them, and portraits of one of the witnesses for the defense.
Historical/Biographical Note
The Kentucky Miners' Defense was formed to help free seven miners convicted of murdering 3 coal company guards in Evart, Harlan County, Kentucky during the miners' strike in May 1931. Herbert Mahler (a former activist in the Industrial Workers of the World), director of the organization, spearheaded the publicity campaign to bring national attention to the miners` case. Fund-raising publicity was often aimed at unions and their members since the Kentucky miners had been attempting to organize when they were violently blocked by coal companies.
Arrangement
The files are grouped into 1 series:
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Scope and Content Note
The collection of 44 photographs, almost all of which are black and white 8x10 copy prints, is made up of images of the convicted miners and their families used for publicity purposes by the Kentucky Miners' Defense. There are also views of the area where the strike took place. The shots of Harlan County were used by the defense in the 1932 Court versus Hightowercase. Additional images show Mahler with the four defendants, Al Bencon, Chester Poore, W.B. Jones and Jim Reynolds; three of the defendants leaving a reformatory with their wives; and 2 portraits of Dolly Hudson Daniels, a dramatic witness for the defense because she was the wife of the chief mine guard who was killed. Also pictured are William Hightower and Elzie Phillips.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives has no information about copyright ownership for this collection and is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from it. Materials in this collection, which were created in unitdate range, are expected to enter the public domain in year.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Kentucky Miners Defense Photographs; PHOTOS 016; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Kentucky Miners Defense Records were given to the Tamiment Library by Herbert Mahler's wife, Bessie Freiberg Mahler, in 1963. Photographs in this collection were separated from the Kentucky Miners Defense Records (TAM 032) and established as the Kentucky Miners Defense Photographs (PHOTOS 016). The accession number associated with this collection is 1963.015.
Separated Material
An 11x14 poster - "free Harlan Miners" with a photograph of the four convicted miners has been placed in the Library's poster collection .
