Richard Thomas : continuous strip mill at Ebbw Vale Works, South Wales : advert from The Illustrated London News, 19 April 1939 : artwork by Lawrence Sterne Stevens
I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to "industrial art" and this, from 1939, is a corker of one. Prior to the widespread introduction of successful reproduction of color photographs many advertisers commissioned an artist to capture a scene such as this of the Ebbw Vale continuous strip mill at the works of Richard Thomas. Baldwin's had only taken over the Ebbw Vale Steel Iron and Coal Company in 1936 and they made a massive investment in the plant as seen here. They would merge with Baldwin's in 1948, another company with an English background who had moved into the South Wales metals industries, in this case specialising in tin plating.
The artist is also of interest. It is by the American Lawrence Sterne Stevens (1884 - 1960) who had been working in the UK and on the Continent since 1914 but who would return to the US at about the time this advert was issued. Back in the States he would become known as one of the greatest illustrators and cartoonists working in the field of science fiction. The advert appears as the back cover of the Illustrated London News for 29 April 1939.
Richard Thomas : continuous strip mill at Ebbw Vale Works, South Wales : advert from The Illustrated London News, 19 April 1939 : artwork by Lawrence Sterne Stevens
I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to "industrial art" and this, from 1939, is a corker of one. Prior to the widespread introduction of successful reproduction of color photographs many advertisers commissioned an artist to capture a scene such as this of the Ebbw Vale continuous strip mill at the works of Richard Thomas. Baldwin's had only taken over the Ebbw Vale Steel Iron and Coal Company in 1936 and they made a massive investment in the plant as seen here. They would merge with Baldwin's in 1948, another company with an English background who had moved into the South Wales metals industries, in this case specialising in tin plating.
The artist is also of interest. It is by the American Lawrence Sterne Stevens (1884 - 1960) who had been working in the UK and on the Continent since 1914 but who would return to the US at about the time this advert was issued. Back in the States he would become known as one of the greatest illustrators and cartoonists working in the field of science fiction. The advert appears as the back cover of the Illustrated London News for 29 April 1939.