Earl Dotter photographs and papers, 1967-2023
Navigate the Collection
Summary
- Creator:
- Dotter, Earl, Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, and Archive of Documentary Arts (Duke University)
- Abstract:
- Earl Dotter is a documentarian, photojournalist, and labor activist based in Maryland. Collection comprises 818 mounted black-and-white and color photographs documenting hazardous occupations, conditions for workers, and labor activism in the United States, and related materials such as photography subject files, work prints, digital image files, exhibit items, a large series of publications, and ephemera. A few historical photographs of coal mining settings by Russell Lee are also present. Specific occupations and topics represented by collection materials spanning many decades include: working conditions in the coal mining, garment, auto, poultry, public safety, logging, and fishery industries; child labor in the U.S.; conditions for migrant and Native American workers; the labor behind hand-harvested crops; medical care for workers; U.S. occupational safety standards and labor laws; and labor activism in support of people in hazardous occupations. There is also a series on the 9/11 Ground Zero site and first responders. Mount sizes range from 8x10 to 22x28 inches; most are 11x14 and 16x20. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
- Extent:
- 62 Linear Feet (86 boxes; 2 oversize folders)
6.45 Gigabytes (1052 files) - Physical description:
- The 818 finished prints are all mounted and some are matted. The proof prints are unmounted. Of the 818 finished prints, 101 form matted groups of diptychs, triptychs, and quadriptychs (2, 3, and 4 prints). There are also single prints in the Life's Work series composed of multiple images in one or multiple mat windows. Mount sizes range from 8x10 to 22x28 inches, with most measuring approximately 11x14 and 16x20 inches. Most of the prints are titled and signed by the photographer. The Photography Subject Files contain unmatted and unsleeved 8x10 inch silver gelatin and color prints, as well as 35mm film slides (both color and black/white).
- Language:
- English
- Collection ID:
- RL.12047
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection consists of photograph prints, both finished prints and work prints, captured and printed by Earl Dotter, as well as publications and subject files featuring Dotter's photography and work. Dotter's career began in the late 1960s with photographic projects documenting the hazards of working in the Appalachian coalfields; these were followed by projects focused on the victims of brown lung, a disease of textile and cotton production; child labor in the U.S.; conditions faced by workers in the auto, poultry, dairy, logging, garment, and commercial fishery industries; health conditions for migrant farm workers; the labor behind hand-harvested crops such as cranberries, blueberries, apples, and broccoli; and conditions for 9/11 first responders in New York City.
Locations in the images range across the U.S., with a concentration in Appalachia and New England. There are also some images from Dotter's travels to Nicaragua, Mexico, and South Korea. In addition to documenting work settings, some photographs focus on medical workers, health facilities, and workers with chronic, work-related health problems such as the diseases known as brown lung and black lung, and repetitive motion injuries. Some photographs feature family members and communities gathered in grief or protest. Some images document unionization and labor rights activism and protest, including organizations such as United Auto Workers, United Mine Workers of America, AFL-CIO, and garment workers' unions such as ILGWU. There are also several historic photographs of coal mining settings taken in the 1940s by Russell Lee.
The 818 finished photographs in this collection form part of the archive of documentarian and photojournalist Earl Dotter, whose career has been dedicated to documenting hazardous labor, conditions for workers, and labor activism in the United States. Many of them were featured in a large retrospective exhibit of Dotter's 50-year career, touring from 2018 to 2023.
The finished prints are accompanied by over 200 work prints (proofs); over 1000 digital files, chiefly image files; a large chronological file of publications featuring Dotter's photographs and documenting his career (1970-2021); Dotter's photography subject files, featuring silver gelatin prints he sorted by topic or location, used in his photojournalism career; exhibit materials; ephemera such as press badges; a group of 20 posters; and publication proofs with Dotter's images.
Throughout his career, Dotter was commissioned to create photographic documentation on labor conditions for entities such as labor unions, federal safety agencies, non-profit organizations, and news organizations; when known, this information is noted in the image entry in this collection guide. Examples of this kind of work is extensively documented in journals, newsletters, reports, and other printed materials in the Publications series, as well as in a small group of posters and printed proofs.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Earl Dotter (1943- ) is an American photographer who has spent much of his career documenting people and communities engaged in hazardous, dangerous, or unhealthy occupations. His work includes photography of coal miners, mill workers, logging, commercial fisheries, and first responders, including those at Ground Zero following Sept. 11, 2001. Dotter has sought to photograph and document a wide array of occupational subjects to fulfill his objective of personalizing the worker's life on the job, at home, and in the community. He has also participated in labor activism and has contributed many of his photo illustrations to non-profit organizations, labor publications, and outreach.
Dotter was born in Philadelphia and graduated San Jose State College in 1967. He entered New York's School of Visual Arts in 1968, and then joined VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), where he was assigned to a post in East Tennessee and started his long relationship with photographing coal miners. He later worked with organizations such as the United Mine Workers of America, and his work has been used in union literature as well as by the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
In 2018, Dotter launched a retrospective exhibit accompanied by a photobook, "LIFE'S WORK: A Fifty-Year Photographic Chronicle of Working in the U.S.A." ; the exhibit toured across the U.S. from 2018 to April 2023.
Dotter and his wife, Deborah Stern, live in Maryland and have four children.
[Source includes: Earl Dotter website, viewed October 26, 2023; https://earldotter.com/about/]
- Acquisition information:
- The Earl Dotter photographs and papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library from Earl Dotter as a purchase in 2022-2024.
- Processing information:
-
Processed and described by Zoe Finiasz, Paula Jeannet, Caitlin Margaret Kelly, and Meghan Lyon, August-November, 2022.
2023 additions processed and described by Lou Bennett, Zoe Finiasz, and Paula Jeannet, 2023.
Publications file processed and described by Zoe Finiasz and Paula Jeannet, July-September 2023.
Accessions described in this collection guide: 2022-0132, 2023-0026, and 2023-0192.
Titles for the projects, photographs, subject files, and identifiers for the images in this collection were created by the photographer. Enhanced description in the form of collection and series notes, and other descriptive work, was performed by library staff.
- Arrangement:
-
The finished prints are organized within the Photographs Series's Projects Subseries in 15 projects: Appalachia; Cotton; Auto Workers; A Quiet Sickness; Garment Workers; Loggers; Poultry; Child Labor; Industrial Age Mills; When Duty Calls (9/11); Farmworkers Feed Us All: Labor and Healthcare of Migrant Farmworkers in Maine; Dairy Farmers; The Price of Fish; In the Jaws of the Winch; and School of Visual Arts, New York City; and Life's Work. There are three additional subseries in the Photographs series: Work Prints (topical order), Digital Image Files; and Other Digital Files. Finished prints within each project subseries are arranged in numerical identifier order or in original order by size as received from the photographer. The Life's Work exhibit prints are arranged in the order in which they were displayed.
Three additional series round out the collection: Photography Subject Files (arranged alphabetically by format), Printed Materials, and Publication Files (arranged chronologically).
- Physical facet:
- 818 finished photographs in 713 mounts or mats; 202 work prints; subject files (slides and prints); papers and print materials
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.
- Subjects:
- Agricultural laborers -- Health
Automobile industry -- United States -- Health aspects
Child labor -- United States
Coal mines and mining -- Appalachian region -- Health aspects
Coal mines and mining -- Photographs
Dairy farming -- United States -- Health aspects
Documentary Photography -- United States
Fishing industry -- United States -- Health aspects
Hazardous occupations -- Employees -- Photographs
Hazardous occupations -- United States -- Environmental aspects
Hazardous occupations -- United States -- Photographs
Health facilities -- Employees -- Photographs
Labor -- United States -- Health aspects
Labor movement -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Labor movement -- United States -- Periodicals
Labor union members -- United States -- Photographs
Lungs -- Dust diseases
Migrant agricultural laborers -- Labor unions.
Migrant workers -- United States -- Photographs
Occupational diseases -- Reporting -- United States
Poultry industry -- Health aspects
September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 -- Photographs
Textile industry -- Health aspects - Format:
- Black-and-white photographs
Chromogenic color prints
Digital prints
Gelatin silver prints
Inkjet prints
Posters
Proofs (prints by function) - Names:
- Archive of Documentary Arts (Duke University)
United Mine Workers of America
International Union, United Automobile Workers of America (CIO) - Places:
- United States -- Economic conditions -- 20th century
Contents
Using These Materials
- Using These Materials Links:
-
Using These Materials
- Restrictions:
-
Access note. Some materials in this collection are electronic records that require special equipment. Contact Research Services with questions.
- Terms of access:
-
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. Images may only be used for educational, non-commercial use. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
- Before you visit:
- Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Earl Dotter photographs and papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
- Permalink:
- https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1615c