Inclined Plane F, Delaware and Hudson Canal Co.

About the Artwork

This engaging industrial scene is from a small, rare group of large-format photographs taken in the eastern United States during the Civil War era. Thomas H. Johnson operated a studio in Scranton, Pennsylvania, from 1861 until at least 1865. He made a series of images documenting the Delaware & Hudson Canal and Gravity Railroad operations—primarily views of the Gravity Railroad's route through northeastern Pennsylvania. For this image, one of only a few the photographer made of inclined tracks, company employees stood on the railroad ties while Johnson set up his camera, coated, and then exposed his large glass negative in the early morning light. Seen from afar, the unidentified men provide a sense of scale for the large building and the expansive landscape in which the facility was located.

Inscriptions

imprinted in black type on recto of mount; "INCLINED PLANE F, / DEL. AND HUDSON CANAL CO." "Johnson, Photographer, Scranton, Pa"; written in pencil: "N 1336"

Exhibition history

Charles Isaacs and Carol Nigro Collection of American Photography. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 26-September 10, 2003). Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24-September 16, 2007); Frick Art and Historical Center, Pittsburgh, PA (October 3, 2009-January 3, 2010).

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.

Quick Overview

Artist: Thomas H. Johnson (American, c. 1821-)
Date: c. 1860
Medium: albumen print from wet collodion negative
Dimensions: Image: 30.5 x 38.5 cm (12 x 15 3/16 in.); Mounted: 45.4 x 55.7 cm (17 7/8 x 21 15/16 in.); Matted: 55.9 x 71.1 cm (22 x 28 in.)
Type: Photograph
Classification: Photograph
Department: Photography
Credit line: John L. Severance Fund
Accession no.: 2002.42

Open-access museum record · AT-00012999