Scots firm recreates iconic New York girder photo

Workers from Had-Fab recreate 'Lunch Atop a Skyscraper' to promote Book Week Scotland. Picture: Rob McDougall

Using Edinburgh as a backdrop, staff from the Had-Fab steel fabrication firm based in Tranent, remade the ‘Lunch Atop a Skyscraper’ photo, originally taken during construction of the GE Building in 1932.

Depicting eleven men eating lunch on a girder suspended 840ft above New York without safety harnesses, the picture shows real construction workers but was reportedly staged by the Rockefeller Center to promote the new skyscraper.

Although the photographer’s identity is not 100 per cent clear, the picture has been attributed to Charles C. Ebbets.

Running from November 24-30, Book Week Scotland is a national celebration of reading and books.

Marc Lambert, Director of the Scottish Book Trust, has today warned of the ‘imminent threat’ to libraries in Scotland.

He said: “This Book Week Scotland I want to launch a call to action to local authorities and schools.

”Every child when they start nursery, primary and secondary school should be introduced to their local library and receive automatic membership.

“If children and young people learn early on to love their library, they will become library users for the rest of their lives.

“This relationship, between the individual and their local library, is one of the most important there is, benefitting the individual in many different and wonderful ways throughout the whole of their life.”