General Industrial Scenes German miners, c 1851

General Industrial Scenes German miners, c 1851. A group of miners, some with pipes, chatting outside a building. One man holds a length of timber, possibly intended as a pit-prop. Illustration from 'Album fur Freunde des Bergbaus: vierzehn Bilder aus dem Leben des Freiberger Berg-und Huttenmannes' by Eduard Heuchler (1801-1879), possibly published in 1851-1852, in Freiberg. The lithographs in this book, made from drawings by Heuchler, provide an insight into the lives of German miners and metalworkers in the 19th century. The German town of Freiberg is an important mining centre and the area is rich in silver deposits. ©SSPL/Science Museum