Material Matters
This Project documents the ledgers from the Cranes Paper Museum, meticulously recording every business transaction, payroll, and seconds rags exchange related to Cranes Paper for bonds and paper currency production. The history of Cranes Paper Mill in Western Massachusetts dates back to the Pre-Revolutionary War, representing a crucial chapter in American history regarding the origins of paper currency.
The Cranes archive serves as a record for Antebellum Civil War state-issued currency and mark the transition to post-Civil War Federal Currency designated ‘United States of America.’ The series illuminates the advent of photography in relation to counterfeiting. Includes watermark plates that served as deterrents against forgery in Confederate States.
This body of photographs connect to broader themes surrounding income inequality, access to equitable education, employment, housing, and healthcare. The historical symbology of currency examines our shared legacies of genocide against The Americas Indigenous and Slavery: we uncover complex truths embedded in paper currency production.