1911 Pancoast Mine Disaster Tag Day Photo – Celluloid Button Frame PA Coal Mining.
 
Unusual original 1911 Pancoast Mine Disaster Tag Day photographic artifact displayed in an antique faux wood-grain Celluloid Button Frame.
The double portrait frame contains oval images of an unidentified man and woman. Most significantly, the man is photographed wearing a small Tag Day relief tag on his coat.
The tag displays the casualty and dependent figures associated with the catastrophic Pancoast Colliery mine fire of April 7, 1911, in Throop, Pennsylvania, near Scranton.
The disaster claimed the lives of 73 men, and contemporary accounts document the widows and dependent children left by the tragedy. Relief efforts followed almost immediately, including local Tag Day fundraising campaigns in which contributors received tags showing their support for the victims' families.
The presence of the relief tag on the man's clothing makes this much more than an ordinary period portrait. It appears to document an individual participating in the community relief effort following one of Northeastern Pennsylvania's major anthracite coal-mining disasters.
FRAME
Early 20th-century faux wood-grain Celluloid Button Frame with two permanently attached oval photographic portraits.
The frame has a stamped tin back and original-style wire easel stand. The faux wood-grain surface and rounded rectangular form are characteristic of period photographic display pieces.
Approximate overall size: 8 × 6 inches.
CONDITION
Original antique condition with surface wear, scratches, discoloration, age toning and other evidence of age and handling. The photographs exhibit age-related fading, toning and surface wear. The man's relief tag remains visible in the photograph. Stamped metal backing and wire easel are present.
The photographs are attached to the frame and have not been removed.
Please examine all photographs carefully for exact construction, contents and condition. Sold exactly as photographed.
A particularly interesting piece for collectors of Pennsylvania anthracite coal mining, Scranton and Lackawanna County history, mining disasters, labor history, early photography, Tag Day memorabilia and antique Celluloid Button Frames.