Employees Leaving Tangyes Engineering Works, Smethwick (1901)

Exuberant scenes of engineers and machinists at the famous Cornwall works near Birmingham.

In 1901, Tangyes' was a respected engineering company, specialising in hydraulic systems, having risen to fame after making the lifting-jack that launched Brunel's SS Great Eastern. In sharp close-up, the dust and grease smeared on the clothes and grinning faces of the men are almost tangible. Youthful chaos and cheeky nose-thumbing at the camera suggest a relaxed and happy workplace.