Brooklyn Rapid Transit conductorettes group snapshot
Creation: 1918 February 3Abstract
The International Film Service (IFS) was a motion picture production company and subsidiary of multinational media conglomerate Hearst Communications. IFS also included commercial and journalistic still photographers. This image depicts a group of women conductors of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company standing in a line at the pay window; a man at the window is barely visable. In December 1917, Brooklyn Rapid Transit, among other rail lines, began to hire and train women to be conductors during World War I. The photograph was published in Washington D.C. newspaper the Sunday Star (formerly the Evening Star) on February 3, 1918.
Dates
- Creation: 1918 February 3
Creator
- International News Service (Organization)
Extent
1 item(s)
Physical Description
1 photographic print : b&w ; 8 x 10 in.
Historical Note
The International Film Service (IFS) was a motion picture production company and subsidiary of multinational media conglomerate Hearst Communications, founded in 1887 by William Randolph Hearst Sr. (1863–1951), a newspaper publisher and politician. IFS was established in 1914 as an expansion of Hearst's International News Service, which was founded in 1909 and headquartered in New York.
The IFS motion picture production segment of the business began as an animation studio, capitalizing on the popularity of the comic strips that appeared in Hearst's newspapers. The business expanded beyond cartoons to include newsreels, serials, and feature films.
IFS also included commercial and journalistic still photographers.
During World War I, Hearst was pro-German and anti-British; he opposed the war against Germany. His newspapers' war coverage reflected his views, which led to financial instability. On July 6, 1918, the entire staff at IFS was let go, the animation was licensed to another studio, which folded a year later, and the animation was licensed yet again.
Scope and Contents
This image depicts a group of women conductors of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company standing in a line at the pay window; a man at the window is barely visable. In December 1917, Brooklyn Rapid Transit, among other rail lines, began to hire and train women to be conductors during World War I.
The photograph was published in Washington D.C. the Sunday Star (formerly the Evening Star) on February 3, 1918. It appeared on page 5 of the Planogravure Section. The image is titled "Conductorettes Smile on First Pay Day." The rest of the caption reads: "Smiling? Well why shouldn't they? It's the first pay day for the fair conductorettes who are taking the places of men called to the colors. The photo shows women conductors on the Brooklyn, N.Y. street car lines lined up at the pay window reaping the fruits of their labor. Many of them are wives and sisters of former conductors who are now in Uncle Sam's service."
Access Restrictions
No restrictions on access; this collection is open for research.
Language of Materials
English
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- Brooklyn Rapid Transit conductorettes group snapshot
- Author:
- Laurie Sather
- Date:
- 2024
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository
