Stonebreaker Collection

American Sketches: Prison Life in Blackwell's Island, New York - outdoor work, 1876. Creator: Unknown
American Sketches: Prison Life in Blackwell's Island, New York - outdoor work, 1876. The outdoor employments assigned to most of the male convicts, who number above five hundred

The stonebreaker (colour litho)
5304363 The stonebreaker (colour litho) by Wallis, Henry (1830-1916); Private Collection; English, out of copyright

Stonebreakers, East Lothian, 1878 (oil on canvas)
DRB128807 Stonebreakers, East Lothian, 1878 (oil on canvas) by McKay, William Darling (1844-1923); 48.3x68.6 cm; The Drambuie Collection, Edinburgh, Scotland; Scottish, out of copyright

Bethnal-Green Employment Relief Association 1868 Bethnal-Green Employment
Labour-yard of the Bethnal-Green Employment and Relief Association, in East London. The stagnation of trade which followed on the commercial crisis of 1866

Wesleyan Chapel, Stanhope Street, Liverpool, engraved by J. Smith (engraving)
XJF497292 Wesleyan Chapel, Stanhope Street, Liverpool, engraved by J. Smith (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; English, out of copyright

Casseur de Pierre a la brouette, Le Raincy (The Stonebreaker and Wheelbarrow, Le Raincy), 1884. Georges Seurat (1859-1891) French Post-Impressionist painter

Brtish troops breaking stones, Flanders, WW1
British troops breaking stones for road making around the time of the Battle of Broodseinde, Flanders, during the First World War. circa 1917

Boys breaking stones in quarry, Mettray Colony, France
Boys at work breaking stones in a quarry at the agricultural colony for delinquent boys at Mettray, near Tours, France. In the 1840s

Labour yard, Bethnal Green Employment Association
A labour yard operated in the late 1860s by the Bethnal Green Employment Association in East London to provide work for the unemployed

The Old Labourers Last Job, picture and poem
An old man sits breaking stones while a workhouse looms behind. In the accompanying verse he bemoans his poverty, particularly at the hands of the Tories who have taxed our clothes and bread

1844 poor relief work ticket
A ticket issued in 1844 by a Relieving Officer for the parish of St Mary, Islington, north London, directing the bearer to the stone yard on Wharf Road, City Basin

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A timeless toil: From Cecil Aldin's illustration of Jack and Jill, to the color lithograph of The Stonebreaker, art has long captured the resilient spirit of those who labored to break stones. In 1878, an oil painting depicted the scene in East Lothian, Scotland. The Bethnal-Green Employment Relief Association provided employment for the unemployed, including stonebreaking, as seen in an engraving of their Liverpool workshop. The Wesleyan Chapel in Stanhope Street, Liverpool, offered solace for weary stonebreakers. The Stonebreaker and Wheelbarrow, Le Raincy, painted in 1884, portrays the grueling task with unwavering determination. British troops during World War 1 also endured this arduous labor in Flanders. At the Mettray Colony in France, boys were made to break stones as part of their rehabilitation. The 1844 poor relief work ticket attests to the long-standing tradition of this labor. Through art and history, the image of the stonebreaker remains a testament to human perseverance.