Sugar Industry Collection

Barrels of molasses, West India Docks, London, 1926-1927. Artist: Langfier Photo
Barrels of molasses, West India Docks, London, 1926-1927. Illustration from Wonderful London, edited by Arthur St John Adcock, Volume I, published by Amalgamated Press, (London, 1926-1927)

The International Exhibition: the Brazilian Court..., 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: the Brazilian Court - from a photograph by the London Stereoscopic Company, 1862. 'The collection comprised diamonds, emeralds, topazes, amethysts, jasper

Interior of the sugar factory of the Vom Rath company, 1885. Creator: Ernst Witkamp
Interior of the sugar factory of the Vom Rath company, 1885

Messrs. Tuxford's Traction-Engine, exhibited at the Smithfield Club Cattle Show, 1857. Creator: Unknown
Messrs. Tuxford's Traction-Engine, exhibited at the Smithfield Club Cattle Show, [London], 1857....the Traction Engine, or Steam Horse [is] a sort of walking leviathan

A Sugar Factory (?) on Java, 1849. Creator: Herman Theodorus Hesselaar
A Sugar Factory (?) on Java, 1849

First Sale of Sugar in the Market Square of D'Urban, Port Natal, 1856. Creator: Unknown
First Sale of Sugar in the Market Square of D'Urban, Port Natal, 1856. Durban, South Africa: The waggons contain the sugar in bags; and one of the proprietors, Mr. H. Milner, J.P

Charles R. Heicke, Executive Secretary of the American Sugar Refining Company...1911. Creator: Harris & Ewing
Charles R. Heicke, Executive Secretary of the American Sugar Refining Company, In Capitol Grounds, [Washington, DC], 1911

Brazilian Sugar-Mill, 1854. Creator: Unknown
Brazilian Sugar-Mill, 1854. View of...the interior of the Mill-house on a Brazilian Sugar Estate during the time of grinding, with a Mill of an improved construction

The International Exhibition: sugar-refining apparatus of Messrs. Caile and Co. of Paris, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: sugar-refining apparatus of Messrs. Caile and Co. of Paris, 1862. European machine processing sugar cane from the colonies

The International Exhibition: Great Sugar-Mill, by Mirrlees and Tait, of Glasgow, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: Great Sugar-Mill, by Mirrlees and Tait, of Glasgow, 1862. The use of this mill is to express the juice from the cane...an endless travelling-table...carries the canes up

The International Exhibition: Tuxford's road traction-engine, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: Tuxford's road traction-engine, 1862. This firm, in fact, holds, according to the trials of the Royal Agricultural Society

The Tax on Sugar, Scenes of the Sugar Industry (b / w photo)
1593599 The Tax on Sugar, Scenes of the Sugar Industry (b/w photo) by English Photographer, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Tax on Sugar, Scenes of the Sugar Industry)

Town and harbour of Havannah, 1844. Creator: Unknown
Town and harbour of Havannah, 1844. Ships at the port of Havana: Havannah, the capital of the island of Cuba, and the whole of its northern and southern shores

The five-year plan of the sugar industry, 1931. Artist: Bulanov, Dmitry Anatolyevich (1898-1942)
The five-year plan of the sugar industry, 1931. Found in the collection of the Russian State Library, Moscow

Sugar refinery in Leman Street, Stepney, London, 1851. Artist: Vincent Brooks
Fireproof Sugar Refinery, Leman Street, Stepney, London, 1851. From Vintage London by John Betjeman. [William Collins, 1942]

Sugar, 3. Crushing the Canes, Java, 1928. From Players Cigarettes - Products of the World: A Series of 50 [John Player & Sons, London, 1928]

Sugar beet pulp and juice flowing from tank to tank, Montreal, Canada, early 20th century(?). Stereoscopic card. Detail

Preparing irrigation channels at a sugar plantation, Java, Dutch East Indies, 1927. Stereoscope Camerascope card detail, from a series titled Peeps into many Lands. Issued with Army Club Cigarettes

On La Union sugar plantation, San Luis, Santiago Province, Cuba, 1899. Artist: Underwood & Underwood
On La Union sugar plantation, San Luis, Santiago Province, Cuba, 1899. Detail from a stereoscopic card

Loading cane, sugar plantation, Louisiana, USA. Artist: Underwood & Underwood
Loading cane, sugar plantation, Louisiana, USA. Stereoscopic card detail

Sugar cane cutters, Jamaica, c1905. Artist: Adolphe Duperly & Son
Sugar cane cutters, Jamaica, c1905. Illustration from Picturesque Jamaica, by Adolphe Duperly & Son, (England, c1905)

Tree growing out old sugar estate chimney, Jamaica, c1905. Artist: Adolphe Duperly & Son
Tree growing out old sugar estate chimney, Jamaica, c1905. Illustration from Picturesque Jamaica, by Adolphe Duperly & Son, (England, c1905)

Sugar making at the Counterslip refinery, Bristol, 1873. Artist: WB Murray
Sugar making at the Counterslip refinery, Bristol, 1873. A print from the Illustrated London News, (29 November 1873)

The sugar industry, Richmond River, New South Wales, Australia, 1886. Artist: JR Ashton
The sugar industry, Richmond River, New South Wales, Australia, 1886. Wood engraving from Picturesque Atlas of Australasia, Vol I, by Andrew Garran

Primitive sugar mill, Santo Domingo, 1873. From Santo Domingo: past and present, with a glance at Hayti, by Samuel Hazard, 1873

Machinery for processing sugar cane in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia) late 19th century. After a photograph possibly by Turkish born photographer Ohannes Kurkdjian, 1851 - 1903

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The sugar industry has a rich and complex history that spans across continents and centuries. From the bustling West India Docks in London, where barrels of molasses were transported in 1926-1927, to the thought-provoking chart depicting the impolicy of slavery published around 1820, these hints provide glimpses into this influential trade. In scenes captured by black and white photographs, we witness the taxing realities faced by those involved in the sugar industry. The Tax on Sugar becomes palpable as workers toil away in refineries like Leman Street in Stepney, London back in 1851. Meanwhile, on plantations such as La Union in Cuba or Louisiana's sugarcane fields, laborers load canes onto ships or cut them with precision. As we delve deeper into this captivating world, we encounter artists like Dmitry Anatolyevich Bulanov who envisioned a five-year plan for the sugar industry during tumultuous times in 1931. Their creations remind us of both progress and challenges faced by this vital sector. From Java's irrigation channels being prepared for cultivation to Montreal's tanks flowing with sugar beet pulp and juice at an unknown date early last century - each image tells its own story within this vast narrative. Journeying through time brings us face-to-face with historical moments; be it Havana's town and harbor frozen forevermore in 1844 or Jamaica's vibrant cane cutters captured around 1905 by Adolphe Duperly & Son. These snapshots invite contemplation about how societies have evolved alongside their sweetest commodity. The sugar industry is not just about companies but also encompasses human stories intertwined with economic forces, and is a tale of resilience, exploitation, innovation, and cultural exchange that continues to shape our global landscape today.