The “Bochumer Verein für Bergbau und Gussstalfabrikation” ("Bochum Association for Mining and Cast Steel Production") was once one of the largest companies in Germany. Its photographic tradition is also large, with a total of around 125,000 images. The oldest date back to the 1860s. Today the collection is in Essen in the Krupp Historical Archive. It is now being systematically presented for the first time, with the selection of 263 motifs covering the period up to 1926, when the company lost its independence. Most of the reproduced images are still unknown. The photographs report on all facets of the Bochum association and, last but not least, on the people who worked for it. With these recordings and those that were taken outside the factory gates, the past comes back to life.
In addition, the volume sheds light on the history of industrial photography: What topics were the photographers interested in? What aesthetic means do you use? With its photographs, the Bochumer Verein created an exciting narrative that appealed to the worker as well as the director, the general public as well as the specialists - and contemporaries as well as those living today. This band testifies to that.