Visit the new online exhibit “Photography and Corporate Public Relations: The Case of U.S. Steel, 1930 – 1960” on the Baker Library, Bloomberg Center, Harvard Business School, website: https://www.library.hbs.edu/us-steel
From 1930 to 1960, the United States Steel Corporation commissioned photographers around the
country to document the inner workings of the company and its subsidiaries as part of a national
public relations campaign. These efforts occurred at a time when the steel industry, like today’s
technology behemoths, reigned central in the world economy. From the Great Depression to the
war years to the post-war boom, photography served as a persuasive tool in PR campaigns focused
on promoting good will and a favorable attitude about policies concerning the corporation’s size,
labor practices, and profit margins. Drawing from the United States Steel Corporation Photographs
collection at Baker Library, the exhibition features striking images of steel workers, blast furnaces,
and company plants that appeared in national magazines, company publications, and exhibitions that
reached large audiences. This stunning body of work represents the talents of noted artists,
photographers from the corporation’s engineering corps, and local studios near company plants. In
the current age of converging public relations, marketing, and social media, the collection provides a
window into the corporation’s innovative use of photography and the emerging field of PR to
galvanize public opinion.
Open through October 6, 2020, at the Baker Library, Bloomberg Center, Harvard Business School.
Baker Library Special Collections. Contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for more information or call 617-4956411