An inquiry from a relative of one of the workers from Atlas Steel came in, and so we added a couple of images to the website. The American Publicity Director of Atlas Steels approached Mr. Karsh in 1950, saying “that for years I had been glorifying the great of this world… what about trying my hands at glorifying the humble ones of the earth.” Shortly afterwards, Karsh found himself in Welland, Ontario, at the Atlas Steels plant. He had never photographed in an industrial plant before. The images would become Atlas Steel’s 1951 Annual Report, and would join Karsh’s work with Ford of Canada and Sharon Steel in the book Industrial Images.
The official caption for this image read:
“When Karsh first saw George Guglielmo standing watching him with face protector uplifted he was reminded of an ancient Roman gladiator. George’s parents came, in fact, from a village near the Eternal City. In effect, he is an apprentice today following in the footsteps of his gigantic boss, ‘Tiny’ Stirtzinger, 1,000 ton headman.”
In the Atlas 1951 Annual Report Gugleilmo is described as having an almost medieval appearance, chosen by Karsh as it illustrated the “sturdy, independent character of a man who makes Atlas Steels.”
