Collection of 24 Photographs Documenting Firsthand the Attica Rebellion from Outside

Attica, New York: np, 1971. Twenty-four (24) color polaroid photographs. Near fine. Item #10541

Unique first-hand documentation of the exterior of Attica prison during the 1971 uprising, documenting the massing of state troopers and other armed state elements, armored trucks, helicopters, and well-armed police, troopers, and corrections officers.

The Attica Prison Rebellion, which began September 9, 1971, occurred when nearly 1,300 of the 2,200 people incarcerated there rose up to protest unhealthy, unsafe, and exploitative living and working conditions, and occupied the D-Block of the prison. Then-New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller refused to negotiate; though political pressure forced the state to appoint a committee to engage in talks with the incarcerated people, he ultimately ordered the violent retaking of the prison on the morning of September 13, 1971.

State troopers entered the prison in a fog of smoke grenades and tear gas, accompanied by off-duty corrections officers and police carrying personal weapons; of the 43 men who died during the retaking, the historical record now confirms that at least 39 were killed by the state troopers, and the number may be higher.

These photographs capture the quotidian outside the prison over the four-day uprising, as well as the presence of the press, armed state forces, and the massing response. Several images appear to show individuals entering the prison with a large ladder, possibly during the violent retaking.

A remarkable primary-source record of the most-well known and influential prison uprising in modern history.

Price: $1,500.00