"Made in America": Stunning Photo Essay Celebrates Manufacturing Skills

Erin Holohan Haskell

The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen is hosting a seminar that you may be interested in attending in person or online.

Made In America: The Industrial Photography of Christopher Payne
with Christopher Payne

Thursday, February 1st, 6:00 pm

20 West 44th Street
New York, NY 10036

General Admission: $10
Advance registration is required.

All registrants will receive a link to the recording approximately 10 days after the lecture.

Register for in-person tickets.

Register for online tickets.


For the past ten years, Christopher Payne has embarked on a photographic journey to learn more about American manufacturing and the industries that built this country. He has gained access to a world that continues to thrive, but is often hidden from view. The result is encapsulated in a series of stunning photographs in his new book, Made in America.


Ford F-150 Lightning Body Lowered onto its Frame (Rouge Electrical Vehicle Center, Michigan)

In this presentation, Mr. Payne will show an astonishing range of how things are made and will share some of the images from the 67 factories he visited. He will explore both old-school factories, such as New England’s textile mills, proudly producing on vintage equipment, and newer factories that embrace the evolution of technology—for example, Corning’s bendable glass or GE’s next-generation wind turbines, or a rocket made with a 3-D printer.


American Flags in Production (Annin Flagmakers, Virginia)

Also included as some examples of manufacturing on a smaller scale are: jelly beans, roller skates, golf balls, records and flags. New York manufacturers featured include: Steinway & Sons pianos, and The New York Times printing plant.


Wool Carders (S&D Spinning Mill, Massachusetts)

From the tip of a pencil to the sleek lines of an airplane, or from a classical guitar to a communications satellite, these diverse forms of manufacturing are revealed as beautiful examples of American ingenuity. Made in America is a celebration of the making of things, the transformation of raw materials into useful objects, and the human skill and mechanical precision brought to bear on these materials that give them form and purpose.


PEEPS Marshmallow Chicks Cooling on a Conveyor Belt (Just Born Quality Confections, Pennsylvania)

Christopher Payne specializes in architectural and industrial photography. Trained as an architect, he is fascinated by design, assembly, and the built form. He is the author of New York’s Forgotten Substations: The Power Behind the Subway; Asylum: Inside the Closed World of State Mental Hospitals; North Brother Island: The Last Unknown Place in New York City; and Making Steinway: An American Workplace. His work has been featured in publications around the world, with frequent special presentations by The New York Times Magazine.


Piano Rims (Steinway & Sons, New York)

Made in America can be purchased online here and will be available for purchase at this program. Only books purchased at the event will be available for signing.

Sal Santamaura

If not three thousand miles away, I'd certainly be attending this event. For no other reason than to see the Steinway photos. Reflecting on a career in electrical engineering, culminating with retirement from Boeing (no, I had nothing to do with the 737 fiascos), I've often thought a more satisfying path 52 years ago would have been to apprentice at Steinway's factory rather than enrolling in Manhattan College. One can't change past decisions, but it's nice to dream.

Erin Holohan Haskell

@Sal Santamaura, you can attend online. Just sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/made-in-america-stunning-photos-celebrate-manufacturing-skills-online-tickets-800372544827

Jamie Hall

Love the shot of the Steinway frames. I am the proud owner of three of those beasts... and while pianists may debate which is the best piano in the world -- and trust me, the debate can be vigorous! -- Steinway is always one of the three or four makes which were, and are, regarded as the best. Not to say -- and perhaps reinforcing the Made in America -- that there wasn't a lost decade, when the company had been purchased by CBS and then a Japanese firm, but the men and women of Steinway bought out the bean counters and got things back on track (it took almost another decade to undo the damage the bean counters had done) and once again, they are absolutely superb.

By the way... they aren't cheap.

Mad Dog_2

Wow...outstanding!   Just what America 🇺🇸 needs about now. Pride & Rebirth of Manufacturing here.  Mad Dog 🐕 

Sal Santamaura

Erin Holohan Haskell said:

@Sal Santamaura, you can attend online. Just sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/made-in-america-stunning-photos-celebrate-manufacturing-skills-online-tickets-800372544827

Thank you, Erin. I hadn't noticed that.

Jamie Hall said:

...Steinway is always one of the three or four makes which were, and are, regarded as the best. Not to say -- and perhaps reinforcing the Made in America -- that there wasn't a lost decade, when the company had been purchased by CBS and then a Japanese firm, but the men and women of Steinway bought out the bean counters and got things back on track (it took almost another decade to undo the damage the bean counters had done) and once again, they are absolutely superb...

I was fully aware of the company's history, but, in retrospect (while dreaming about re-writing history), concluded that the rewards of being on that team would likely have outweighed those trials/tribulations. At one point I even went to Google Maps and checked out what my commute to 1 Steinway Place in Queens would have been like.

Intplm.

Such a great visual representation. Excellent.

Im wondering? What if all of those peeps were to go through an assembly line microwave?
If you know, you know.