International photographer (Jan-Dec 1934)

Two The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER March, 1934 From Pics To Pictures ( The Story of David Horsley) By William Horsley Part N order to get the true perspective for the story I of David Horsley it is necessary to go some Igga what into the background and begin with his very early surroundings. He was born on March 11, 1873, in a small coal mine village called West Stanley, County of Durham, England. This village was owned and operated by the West Stanley Coal Compam and consisted of three coal mines, called the Kettle Drum, the Busty, and the Lizzie. The output of coal from the three mines averaged 1500 tons per day. The miners' houses, which comprised the village, were all owned by the coal company. His grandfather, William Horsley, was until his death general manager of the company. His father, Robert Horsley, was master mechanic and boss blacksmith over the three mines. His grandfather on his mother's side was John Chaytor, who was the saddler and harness maker for the same company and took care of the harness for some three hundred horses and ponies used for hauling the coal both below and above ground. Now in order to get the proper idea of an English coal mine village as it was sixty-five years ago you must look back before the days of motion pictures, automobiles, and trolley cars, electric lights and inside plumbing. There were none of these things then. The average coal mining community consisted of three things. First was the coal mine where the miners were employed during the day ; second, the long rows of socalled houses where the miners lived and which were owned by the coal companies. The typical coal miner's home consisted of one room on the first floor, which had an open fireplace where the meals were cooked, and this room was used as a kitchen, a living room, dining room, and at night the Centaur Film Co. 900 e In this building tit «<ttti I'.rmehi a\ Ur.i.ime, New .! long;, on a lot one hundred feet lonii hy twenty-five motion pictures in 1907 under the name of Centaur Patents Company was fuinu-d in Uwlo even --hi ■;< m-i fite Centaur Co. "They .(iu h,i,i a wash tub and a ni This then became the birth-place of ih, u.!.^ ,,.i,iit < and in five year* time it be ante so big that it killed t place where it was horn. i ..; ■t wide, fifty-two feet ■ r-ley -tailed making ■a tin Motion Picture allowed to join except ''a' refusing a license I -Mil I ntted State.-.. to tiannk It in the William Horsley master's bedroom. Over this room was an attic with a ladder or stair to reach it, and this attic was used as a bedroom for the children, and there were always lots of children. On the rear of the one-room mansion was built on a small room usually about six by six feet, which was called a pantry, and this is where the food was kept. At the rear of the miner's home all nicely fenced off was a garden where he could raise vegetables and at the end of the garden was the toilet and last but not least the pig sty. No home could be considered complete without at least one pig. The third and most important thing in a coal mine community was the public house, or in plain United States, the beer saloon, where the miners drank. When a miner had been down in the coal mines working hard all day and he came home in the evening and ate his supper there were just exactly two things he could do. He could either go to bed or go down to the saloon. His wife had already taken care of the pig, so that didn't worry him. He had no daily newspapers nor magazines to read, and if he did have them all he had for light was tallow candles. In this environment David Horsley was born and lived until he was eleven years old. One day, to be exact, on January 18, 1884, he was sent by his mother to the store to purchase some meal to feed the pig. Even though his dad was a blacksmith he had to have a pig. On his way to get this meal for the pig David had to cross the railroad and was struck by the locomotive on a coal train and knocked down and fell with his left hand on the rails. The locomotive cut off three fingers and when the train had passed he picked up the severed fingers, put them in the bag, and ran home. When his mother saw the mangled hand and arm she screamed and Dave said: "Never mind, mother, there's only one wheel went over it." This accident caused his arm to be amputated about two inches below the elbow. Thus, the reader will see, that a pig was the indirect cause of Dave Horsley making motion pictures. The struggle to make a living fifty years ago in an English coal mine village for a man with two hands was a tough one and no joke. His mother saw that if he was to become self-supporting something must be done and done soon. He was nearly twelve years old and that was the age when boys had to go to work and earn their living in those days. So, mother sold off the furniture and bought tickets and nine months from the day of the accident, or on October 17, 1884, the Horsley family arrived at old Castle Garden, which was then the emigrant landing station in New York. After living in New Jersey for two months the family Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers.