The collection consists of letterpress printer blocks, half-tone photo engravings, and a carved wooden stamp, many attributed to Walter Steinhilber, depicting political, labor, and social themes from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The imagery includes satirical and allegorical representations of industrial labor, class relations, economic crises, and socialist movements. The half-tone photo engravings depict Vladimir Lenin and Karl Marx, unidentified people, and buildings and offices, as well as references to labor publications such as the Daily People.
While these items are assumed to be in the public domain due to their presumed age, researchers are advised to contact Rhode Island College Special Collections for questions regarding permissions to reproduce, distribute, or otherwise publish material from this collection. Although Rhode Island College has physical ownership of the collection, it does not necessarily hold literary rights. It is the researcher's responsibility to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
The collection is open for research.
Socialist printing block collection, MSS-0173, Special Collections, James P. Adams Library, Rhode Island College.
The collection is not arranged in any discernible order.
The collection was in the holdings of Special Collections prior to 2019.
The collection was described by Special Collections student worker Sparrow Seabury under the direction of the Digital Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, Veronica L. Denison, in 2026.
RIC Special Collections also holds the collection Alternative and Underground Press collection, MSS-0037, which includes publications from the Socialist Labor Party.
The collection has not been digitized and is not available online.
A man in a suit with a hat and three medals on his chest riding an armored man on his hands and feet, who is saddled and harnessed like a horse. First man is gripping a roll of paper with “conscr….ption” [conscription] written on it. A dialogue bubble says, “Hi-Ho! Sucker!”
Death appears as a skeletal figure in a cloak with a scythe in one hand and a bony-feathered bird in the other. Behind it is a sign titled “Cholera Prevention” with an illegible description underneath.
Image taken outside of a building with a sign that says “Daily People” and a symbol of a bicep and arm holding a hammer. Another sign reads, “New York Labor News Company.”
Portrait of an unidentified man.
An angel with feathered wings, holding a torch in one hand, a laurel/wreath in the other with a ribbon wrapped around the other. The ribbon reads, “to the memory of the Paris Commune 1871.”
Image of a 5-story building viewed from the street and a car out front.
Figures of a woman and child holding hands and walking. Both are holding plants and dressed in robes. Sunbeams surround the pair. On the other side of the image are five men's heads and hands emerging from smoke or clouds. The men are looking towards the woman and child.
Side profile image of Vladimir Lenin
Image of Karl Marx.
Image of an office with two chairs, a desk, and organizing shelving.
Portrait of an unidentified man.
Image of the corner of an unidentified building where two roads converge.
Image of a man with two rolled-up papers labeled “plans” and “schemes” respectively. He’s standing on small cars strapped to his feet like skates, and a speech bubble next to his head says, “1934 out of the depression by Christmas.” In the background is the same man on the bow of a ship named “Oscar III” with sailors on it. A speech bubble next to the man says, “1916. Out of the trenches by Christmas.”
Depiction of a worker atop a machinery structure. Between the structure and a large plaque stands a man with longer hair and a beard. The plaque reads a quote by Lewis H. Morgan, “The time will come when human intelligence will rise to the mastery of property…” On the other side of the structure, a harnessed horse and a buffalo are shown. An Indigenous man wearing a feathered headdress and carrying a bow and arrow stands nearby. Two other figures sit nearby.
A large figure with his bare back and the side of his face visible. He looks toward an industrial landscape of buildings and factories. A woman holds what appears to be a cornucopia. Three large circular frames surround the landscape. Below and behind the large male figure, various examples of laborers are depicted. A few figures work with machinery. Other workers are pointed at and chastised by a man in a suit and hat with the letters “A.F.L.” (American Federation of Labor). Directly below the large figure is another man, blindfolded and reaching his hands out in front. Additional imagery shows workers being towered over by a boss.
A man in work attire, wearing a pinned ribbon and a hat, sits in a large chair. “Labor Day By The Grace of Capital” is carved underneath.