The Work of Yesterday
Historical photographs from the Chiolini Archive: work in the factories, rice paddies and countryside of Pavia and the Lomellina, from the early 20th century to the post-war years.
19 itemsRice-weeders at work in the Lomellina
The paddy field as an open-air factory
Farmworkers in a Lomellina rice paddy
Bent backs, knee-deep in water
Worker at the welt-stitcher — Vigevano shoe factory
One machine, one shoe at a time
Stitching department — Vigevano shoe factory
The army of stitchers, in window light
Necchi, packing department
Pavia, c. 1950 — destination New York
Carding department — Pavia-area hat factory
The fibre that becomes felt
Necchi, assembly line
The Pavia plant, c. 1950
Necchi, foundry workers
The heat at the base of the chain
Precision assembly department — Pavia
Women's hands on the components
Old workshop — Necchi, Pavia, 1949
Machines lined up, before the shift
Countryside around Codevilla, 1956
A column of labourers among the Oltrepò vineyards
Cascami Seta, view of the plant in 1904
The start of industrial life, before the workers' village grew up
Cascami Seta, panoramic view of the plant
A city within a city, at the edge of Vigevano
Women workers at textile spinning frames
Four hands, eight spindles, an entire factory
Textile spinning hall
An early 20th-century Po Valley spinning mill
Cascami Seta, the cocoon racks
The raw material, before it becomes thread
Cascami Seta, the sorting
Hands on the raw material
Hay cart, Po Valley countryside
A haymaking scene, early-to-mid 20th century
3rd Silk-Waste Spinning Mill — Circular Machines Department
The official photograph of the department's workforce