Artist Captures History of Brass City in Stunning Images

Photographer Emery Roth II of Washington Depot, keeps a photo journal on his website, capturing some remarkable imagery around the state of Connecticut. Wednesday’s snapshot is of a clock in Waterbury. On his blog he writes:

“Time is everywhere, but the manufacturing of time was a Brass Valley specialty. Clock and watch companies spanned the entire Naugatuck River Valley from the “still place,” where the Naugatuck empties into the Housatonic, and the Derby Silver Company made clocks in Shelton, to just north and east of the Naugatuck’s headwaters where the Gilbert Clock Company made clocks in Winsted. From the wooden clocks of Eli Terry to Timex “keeps on ticking,” Brass Valley was always busy with time. The Naugatuck flowed from sundial time and church bell time to timetable and punch-clock punctuality. Nothing could be more central to Brass Valley than the four faces of Union Station tower in Waterbury where the eight hands of Seth Thomas still tell Brass Valley Time.”

Roth has spent years photographing old abandoned factories in towns throughout the ”Brass Valley,” stretching from Shelton to Winsted and has documented his journey in a book entitled, “Brass Valley: The Fall of an American Industry.”

The book is a compilation of images full of factories, brass mills and the history of the brass industry in the Naugatuck River Valley. Roth shares his experiences and discoveries made while writing the book and how the brass valley changed Connecticut. Below is a list of dates to hear more about his work.

Four More Slide Talks before Thanksgiving

• Friday, Nov. 13, 2 PM: Southbury Public Library
• Saturday, Nov. 14, 11 AM: Danbury Public Library
• Monday, Nov. 16, 5:30 PM: Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury
• Thursday, Nov. 19, 2 PM: Oliver Wolcott Library, Litchfield