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Automated salmon cleaner, "Iron Chink," made by Smith Cannery Machine Company in Seattle, 1909
The "Iron Chink" was named after the Chinese laborers it was invented to replace. Racist terms like this were painfully common in the 1900s, a time marked by anti-Chinese violence throughout the Northwest. Although much of the salmon canning process was mechanised in the early years of the 20th century, the butchering process was done by hand by laborors who migrated up and down the North Pacific coast every year. The machine could perform the work of 50 butchers. It was displayed at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE) in 1909.
ID Number: 1970.4992
Date: 1909
Creator(s):
Smith Cannery Machine Company, Manufacturer
Physical Description: 1 Slicer, Meat; iron; 8 ft.H x 5 ft.W x 7 ft.D, estimated 2,000 lbs.
Place Made: United States of America, WASHINGTON, Seattle
Credit: MOHAI, 1970.4992