Percy Chester Armitage
1907
Hot Number Tunnel, 1200 Foot Section

Gelatin silver print
17 3/4 x 21 3/4 in (45.1 x 55.2 cm)
 
Swann Galleries - New York
Sale 2208 Lot 41
 
With Armitage's copyright and title in the negative.
 
This tunnel was dug to extract copper, gold, and silver from the De Soto Mine between Prescott and Phoenix, Arizona. The small town of Middletown sprung up around the mine during its heyday, but the ore ran out in the 1920s, and it is now a ghost town. Like many of the Southwestern mines, the Hot Number Tunnel now sits flooded and abandoned.
 
In addition to taking photographs, Armitage sold picture frames, art goods, stationary and office supplies from his shop in Prescott. He relocated to California soon after 1907.
 
LL/35592