""A Shoemaker's Story" is a brilliant book that fully conveys the
richness of historical meaning common photographs can bring to
light in the hands of a skillful interpreter. Anthony Lee's tale of
multiple encounters among Yankee townspeople and factory owners,
Chinese and French Canadian migrant laborers, and itinerant and
studio photographers in North Adams, Massachusetts, is full of
insight into the confluence of United States labor history, ethnic
studies, and visual culture. Beautifully written as well, it will
be required, desired, and inspired reading for anyone's
list."--Laura Wexler, Yale University
"Combining extraordinary archival work, an acute eye for the
visual and social logic of photographs, and knowledge of the
experiential history of their subjects, Anthony Lee offers a
riveting account of the complex uses of nineteenth-century
photography. In his readings, the power of images becomes a matter
of complex cultural transactions and negotiations, as images
themselves are viewed as critical objects for histories of labor,
economic life, racial community, and self-representation. This
groundbreaking study will influence scholarship for a considerable
time to come."--Sara Blair, author of "Harlem Crossroads"
"This book is a pleasure. Lee weaves together the many stories
that run through these extraordinary photographs with exemplary
deftness. Having dug deep in the archives, he cogently reconstructs
the social dynamics of a forgotten community and a fascinating
historical moment. His vivid tale should appeal to scholars and
general readers alike."--Robin Kelsey, Harvard University
"Wonderfully innovative and original. Anthony Lee offers a
fascinating story thatweaves together the history of manufacturing,
labor, immigration, and photography. The photograph here becomes a
new kind of historical evidence to be mined and untangled, a
constellation of competing forces and desires. Beautifully written
in remarkably lucid, playful prose. A real pleasure to
read."--Shawn Michelle Smith, School of the Art Institute of
Chicago
"Through his reading of a single photograph taken of Chinese
strikebreakers acquired to work in a shoe factory, Lee leads us on
a fascinating exploration of the historical circumstances and
social relations that gave rise to that photograph. The book shows
an exemplary ambition in its methodological attempts to bring
together close reading of visual texts, historical analysis, and
archival research. An unflaggingly pleasurable read."--Gary Y.
Okihiro, Columbia University
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