The Railway Station: A Social History by Jeffrey Richards, John M. Mackenzie

Abstract

464 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE only when the strength of the American worker came to symbolize the strength of the nation. The remainder of Dabakis’s article addresses representations in the 1920s of unskilled laborers, principally women, blacks, and recent immigrants who had neither union nor political representation. These workers could not be symbols of national power or strength and were therefore the subject of few artistic representations. Saul Baizerman’s series of bronze statuettes acknowledging and memorializing the con­ tributions of unskilled labor and his vision of a “new workers’ society” are rare exceptions. These miniatures were produced as models for a monumental sculpture project never executed. Abstracted to their simplest geometric forms, these faceless figures could only symbolize the worker community and commemorate their collective efforts. In her introduction, Fahlman acknowledges the lack of any Amer­ ican equivalent to Francis D. Klingender’s Art and the Industrial Rev­ olution (1947). The articles in this IA volume add specifics on the relationship between art and American industry but do not provide the historical overview found in Klingender’s book. Although infor­ mative in discussing the way art served to advance industry, there is little here concerning where these works and their artists are situated within the broader context of American art history. With the exception of Pennell, they are outside the mainstream of American art. Without diminishing their documentary or historical importance, it is safe to say that they are not important as works of art. Commercial art pro­ duced as advertisements for developing industrial cities or for the westward advancement of the railroad is treated equally with “high” art without regard to issues of connoisseurship. Except for Wright’s article, there is little discussion of patronage or why, and for whom, these images were produced. It is not enough to discuss what representations of industry and technology were produced; some pertinent artistic issues need to be raised as well. While IA in Art is certainly a valuable contribution, future considerations of this subject should include discussion of the aesthetic, as well as historical, significance of the art represented. D. Scott Atkinson Mr. Atkinson is curator of collections at the Terra Museum of American Art in Chicago. Previously he was curator at the Queens Museum and assistant curator of collections at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. He was curator of the show' “The New Society of American Artists in Paris, 1908—1912.” The Railway Station: A Social History. By Jeffrey Richards and John M. Mackenzie. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. Pp. xix + 440; illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $22.50. One of the most characteristic physical features of the industrial and technological revolution of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 465 railway station (or railroad passenger depot, to use the American terminology) served many functions. There is a prolific literature on railway stations as structures, as characteristic architectural landmarks, and as part of the local, regional, national, and international trans­ portation infrastructure. This book treats all these aspects, but the emphasis is on the station as a reflection of the society that created it and that, in many regions of the world, still regards it as a symbol of its aspirations and a focus of its activities. In some ways, the station was the Industrial Revolution’s counterpart of the medieval cathedral and central urban square. Although they include much description of station architecture, with emphasis on styles as reflections of the locales’ cultures, Jeffrey Richards and John Mackenzie emphasize the multitude of roles per­ formed by railway stations in their respective societies and economic systems. Historical events often have taken place within and around the stations; many are mentioned and briefly discussed. The strategic roles of stations in wartime constitute two chapters. Ofequal or greater significance are the discussions of railway stations as stages for the human dramas enacted around arrivals and departures: the emo­ tional, social, economic, and political associations at and around the stations. Regional and societal differences are brought out throughout the book. The authors show how these differences are evidenced in station designs, spatial arrangements, and facilities. Especially signif­ icant is the chapter on “Class, Race...