I was researching bootmaking for a ShopTalk! article, when I checked out the Library of Congress photograph collection and discovered a gold mine. Or rather, it was a leather mine. A collection of photos detailing the work of bootmakers in Alpine, Texas, in 1939. The collection of photos grabbed me by the heart. I read down the page and learned that the photos had been taken by one of America’s truly great photographers, Russell Lee.
Russell Lee (July 21, 1903 - August 28,1986) was born and raised in Ottawa, Illinois. He was working as a chemist, when he turned
