Margaret Bourke-White
The Making of Ball Jars in Muncie, Indiana
1936
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Margaret Bourke-White
The Making of Ball Jars in Muncie, Indiana
1936
Physical Qualities
Gelatin silver print, Sheet: 350 x 275 mm. (13 3/4 x 10 13/16 in.)
Image: 340 x 252 mm. (13 3/8 x 9 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Life Magazine, 1938
Object Number
1977.29.1
In 1929, the sociologists Robert S. and Helen Merrell Lynd published the bestselling Middletown: A Study of Contemporary Culture, a lengthy study of Muncie, Indiana, as an “average” American city that represented the United States in microcosm. Margaret Bourke-White was sent to Muncie in April 1937 to create what was touted as a “vital document” of this now-famous community. The inclusion of her eleven-page “Muncie-Middletown” photo essay in the May 10, 1937 issue of Life coincided with the release of the Lynds’ follow-up study of Muncie, entitled Middletown in Transition.
Looking through the Lens: Photography 1900-1960
"Middletown-Muncie [Muncie, Indiana]," Life, Vol. 2, No. 19, May 10, 1937, pp. 15-25
Inscribed: Verso: at upper left, in graphite: "#140-1 / 10 [10 circled]"; at lower center, in graphite: "5.10.37 Muncie"; at bottom center, in graphite: "the Making of Ball Mason Jars in Muncie"
Markings: Verso: at center, stamped in red ink: "PHOTO BY / MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE"; at lower center, stamped in red ink: "LIFE"
![CZECHOSLOVAKIAN FASCIST HENLEIN SPEAKS TO THE PEOPLE. [PUBLISHED IN 'NORTH OF THE DANUBE,' 1939?]](https://artbmadevsite.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/3992_25002653-3.jpg)
