An otherwise undistinguished estate sale purchase yielded an incredible archive of never-before publicly seen photographs of the Ground Zero clean-up operation, providing a haunting glimpse of 9/11’s immediate aftermath.
Discovered on a series of damaged CD’s, the some 2,400 images were captured on a Canon Powershot G1 by a currently unidentified member of the World Trade Center clean-up crew who has since died from complications related to his work on the site.
Taken from above and on the ground, the cache of pictures in large show workers and heavy machinery submerged in a deep and ominous chasm of scorched iron, folded metal and the skeletal outlines of office floors which had, just days before, brimmed and bustled with a human pulse.
Others document a desolate and apocalyptic view from overhead, showing once renowned tourist hot-spots, such as the Winter Garden Atrium, beaten, dust-clad and lifeless.
An otherwise undistinguished estate sale purchase yielded an incredible archive of never-publicly-before-seen photographs of the Twin Towers clean-up operation, providing a haunting glimpse of 9/11’s immediate aftermath
Taken from above and on the ground, the cache of pictures in large show workers and heavy machinery submerged in a deep and ominous chasm of scorched iron
Workers stand surrounded by folded metal and the skeletal outlines of office floors which had, just days before, brimmed and bustled with a human pulse
Discovered on a series of damaged CD’s, the some 2,400 image were captured on a Canon Powershot G1 by a currently unidentified member of the World Trade Center clean-up crew who has since died (pictured: the remains of WTC 6 and 7)
A higher ground photograph helps encapsulate the devastation of the terror attack, as the remnants of WTC 6 and 7 are photographed
The Woolworth building peers between two bending iron barriers which once served as the walls of the North Towier
Thick plume of dusty smoke emanates from the wreckage of the North Tower, October 16, 2001 - just over a month after the attacks shocked the world
All of the images were taken in the direct wake of the September 11 attacks, with the vast majority dating between mid-September and October, 2001 (pictured: three workers are seen breaking down a heap of rubble at the Ground Zero site
The images had been hidden away on a CD in storage until Dr. Johnathan Burgess and his wife acquired the disc recently at an estate sale
One worker, wearing a dust mask, poses along side a wrecking ball on October 17 as efforts to clear the World Trade Center wreckage entered their sixth week
But amid the devastation, the anonymous documenter was able to capture understated human moments too, with workers seen sharing a smile or jokingly gesturing towards his lens on their break.
All of the images were taken in the direct wake of the September 11 attacks, with the vast majority dating between mid-September and October, 2001.
They had been hidden away on a CD in storage until Dr. Johnathan Burgess and his wife acquired the disc recently at an estate sale.
‘My significant other acquired them at an estate sale as we collect and archive vintage media for public benefit,’ Dr. Johnathan Burgess told PetaPixel. ‘I handle a lot of the Internet and archival end of it, and she loves the fieldwork end of it.’
May of the photos document a desolate and apocalyptic view from overheard, showing once renowned tourist hot-spots, such as the Winter Garden Atrium (as shown), beaten, dust-clad and lifeless
The garden's once gleaming 10-story glass structure was bent and shattered by falling debris from the towers. The Winter Garden Atrium used to connect to the World Trade Center via a 400ft pedestrian bridge
But amid the devastation, the anonymous documenter was able to capture understated human moments too, with workers seen sharing a smile or jokingly
