Rare early flash photography images of Cornish miners digging for tin in 1890s reveal the perilous conditions in which they toiled

Photographs taken by J.C. Burrow use early flash techniques to capture life underground

Mr Burrow was commissioned by mine owners to capture the once-thriving industry

But the frank photographs show the precarious constructions of the mines - which were prone to collapse

The collection of photographs will go on sale at auction this weekend and could fetch £2,000




These rare photographs show the hard labour of Victorian miners digging for tin deep below the earth in extremely dangerous conditions.

The images, taken in the darkness of four separate mines in Cornwall, were captured with the help of very early flash technology, which allowed photographer J.C. Burrow to bring the underground world to life.

Published in 1893, Mr Burrow's photographs show the miners clambering through the warren of tunnels, held up by precarious wooden beams, as they dug out tin and copper and to fuel industrial Britain.

Toil: A bare-chested miner can be seen pushed a cart through Cook's Kitchen Mine in Cornwall, as fellow miners operate the machinery

Illuminated: Photographer J.C. Burrow used rudimentary flash technology to light up the underground scenes

Precarious: Miners climb rickety ladders in the image to the left, while, right, a man prepared to load a mine cart with ore



The workers toiled in very harsh conditions - often for little pay - all the while breathing in filthy air under the ground. Accidents were common - indeed at Dolcoath, one of the mines pictured, seven men were crushed after timber supports gave way around the same time the photographs were published.



Some frames show the miners hard at work, drilling bore holes into the rock and setting up heavy machinery - while another shows them at rest, eating traditional Cornish pasties.

Mr Burrow was commissioned to take the photographs by local mine owners, who wanted to showcase the technology used in their underground enterprise. The illustrated guide which he produced - 'Mongst Mines and Miners: Underground Scenes by Flash-Light - was later used as a teaching aid.

At least four separate mines were featured in his book - Dolcoath, a copper and tin mine in Camborne; East Pool in Redruth; Blue Hills tin mine in St Agnes, and Cook's Kitchen mine in Pool.



Hard at it: In this frame the miners can be seen boring into the rock. The tin and copper from Cornish mines sold for millions across the nation

Cramped: Mines would often have to scrambled between the beams in claustrophobic conditions

At ease: In this more relaxed picture the miners are seen at rest, as many of them eat Cornish pasties

Digging for victory: Here workers in East Pool Mine start work on a bore hole headed towards the surface

In order to illuminate his photographs Mr Burrow rigged up a system of lamps filled with highly flammable magnesium powder. He then instructed teams of miners to light the powder, creating a bright flash which allowed him to capture the scene.

The process was difficult, time-consuming and often didn't work - of the 100 images only 24 were deemed printable, and Mr Burrow wrote of how a whole day's work would often turn out to be useless.

In a text describing his efforts, he wrote: 'It is a rather disheartening experience to find the results of a whole days work with an energetic band of helpers are not "printable", but such experience was mine on more than one occasion.



'The work, however is so full of interest, and its performance so productive of welcome enlightenment on many critical points, that I have no intention of allowing it to remain where it is. I hope that at no distant date, the present attempt may be followed by another and more successful one.'

Technology: J.C. Burrows was commissioned to take the series of photographs to showcase the mines' advances

Widespread: At its peak, the mining industry employed as many as 25 per cent of Cornwall's working men

Heritage: Mr Burrow was commissioned to photograph the mines by their owners, and compiled the results in 'Mongst Mines and Miners: Underground Scenes by Flash-Light, right



Locations: JC Burrows took his photographs in several mines, including East Pool, left, and Blue Hills, right. They are pictured above as they are today



A copy of the book is for sale in an upcoming auction, and is expected to fetch £2,250. It goes under the hammer at this year's PBFA London International Antiquarian Book Fair, on May 23 and 24.



Bookseller Michael Kemp said: 'Mr Burrow was attempting to showcase the mining technology of his age, but in doing so he devised some pretty groundbreaking methods of his own.



'Using explosive materials in the open air would be challenging enough back in 1893, but to do it in the pitch dark confines of an underground mine shaft seems unthinkable.



'Evidently our late Victorian counterparts did not share our modern day obsession with health and safety.'