Antique photograph of a mine entrance in Sawahlunto, West Sumatra by C. Nieuwenhuis ca. 1900.
The high mountains of West Sumatra is rich in resources and Sawahlunto was once a key coal mining operation during Dutch times. In the picture, workers of various ethnicities can be seen from likely Minang natives to Chinese coolies and European overseers.
Nieuwenhuis was a Padang based photographer who captured many images of Sumatra, from industry to portraiture to anthropological photos of Nias Island and other places.