Trained as a banker, E.O. Hoppé became increasingly enamored with photography, and in 1907 jettisoned his commercial career and opened a portrait studio. Within a few years, Hoppé was the undisputed leader of pictorial portraiture in Europe. To say that someone has a "household name" has become a cliché, yet in Hoppé’s case the phrase is apt. Rarely in the history of the medium has a photographer been so famous in his own lifetime among the general public. It is difficult to think of a prominent name in the fields of politics, art, literature, and the theatre who did not pose for his camera."

While Hoppé produced at least one title in hand-pulled photogravure (Taken From Life) most of his books were printed in the rotogravure process, this being a beautiful example. A rare volume by one of the most important photographers of his era. Homage to Germany’s industrial workers and their contribution to Germany’s "rebirth" after WWI.