Can anyone provide any context?
I found this image at a gallery exhibition. The images near it were uncle sam's sailors and synchronised swimmers. Probably pre 1950's. Link to exhibition: https://artyard.org/project/the-past-is-prologue-april-27-july-28-2019/
The image is fairly reminiscent of the way chain gang prisoners were tied together in their shared dormitories in the inter-war USA, as depicted in the 1932 film I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang. So, combined with the fact that most of the men are posing as though asleep, my best educated guess would be that they are implying that they are "chained" to their typewriters like prisoners.
