Slaughterhouse redux

By Chris Cosentino

To most folks, the thought of collecting photos of old slaughterhouses is a little odd, but to me it's keeping a bit of history. I received a phone call from a friend who said that his place of employment had a lot of great, old meat photos. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to get them. There are so many cool pictures, but I've chosen a few selects that are both politically correct and unique. Check 'em out:


This photo of a rural slaughterhouse shows how simple and easy it used to be. This is an inspected facility, but you can see the surroundings are beautiful and rural, and it's a farm-direct slaughterhouse.


The Jacobs Bros. packing plant is one of my favorite photos. Look in the corner and see the proud owner and butcher standing outside. The old cars and six-digit telephone number help give it a date around the 1940s. The left side of the photo is where the animals would be brought in. Then, under the awning, the processed animals would be packed up and shipped away.


The basic tools necessary: a gramble, cleavers, and a saw. Behind the hinged door is where the animal would be killed. The butcher would then open the door and the animal would be dropped through, then attached to the gramble, hoisted up, and processed.


A processed hog hangs on a gramble waiting to be put into the cooler. It's simple and austere, but very effective. It's amazing that we can't make more of this simple style of abattoir to slaughter locally.


The inspector reviews the hogs while they're still alive. Notice the white suit and badge.


The same hogs from the previous photo are taken to harvest. The great thing about this photo is that there are two sets of inspectors in one plant: one reviewing the animals and the other reviewing its corresponding offal.

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