A day laborer repapers his roof. His house was in such poor condition that such repairs were necessary after every rainfall. Oklahoma, 1939.Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]
May 31, 2009
Recovering from the Rain (Two)
A day laborer repapers his roof. His house was in such poor condition that such repairs were necessary after every rainfall. Oklahoma, 1939.Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]
May 30, 2009
Recovering from the Rain (One)
The caption accompanying this photo is succinct: "West Texas farmer replanting cotton. Had three inches of rain which washed out the first crop."In an agriculture-based economy, too little rain is disastrous. Too much is also bad news. More seed must be purchased and time must be spent re-planting. Not to mention the costs associated with an abbreviated growing season.
Photo by Dorothea Lange, 1937. [American Memory link]
May 29, 2009
Keeping Dry
Workers seek refuge from the rain in Louisiana, 1938. (Click the image for a larger view.) The man on the far-right has a stump rather than a foot.Taken by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]
May 28, 2009
Pittsburgh in the Rain
Rain, like sunshine, is life-giving and vital. Too bad we humans have no control over how much of it falls - or at what speed or intensity.Photo by John Vachon, July 1941. [American Memory link]
May 27, 2009
Detroit in the Rain
As automakers slide into bankruptcy, in Michigan rain is a blessing, a curse - and a metaphor.Taken in July 1942 by Arthur S. Siegel. [American Memory link]
May 26, 2009
May 25, 2009
Soldiers Buried Here
The National Cemetery in Cairo, Illinois - where more than 5,600 servicemen are buried.Photo taken in 1940 by John Vachon. [American Memory link]
May 24, 2009
Praying for Rain
The caption accompanying this July 1936 image reads: "Going to church to pray for rain. Grassy Butte, North Dakota." The sign on the building reads: Methodist Church. [click image for a larger view]Photo by Arthur Rothstein. [American Memory link]
May 23, 2009
Looking For Rain
An awesome shot taken in North Dakota in 1936. The 30s are associated with the dustbowl - as well as America's hottest temperatures of the century. This gent's name is Mike Sullinger.Photo by Arthur Rothstein. [American Memory link]
May 21, 2009
News & Potatoes For Sale
Click the image for a larger view. The caption accompanying this photo reads: "Potato peddler and newsboy, market, San Antonio, Texas." The newspaper is a Spanish-language one.Taken by Russell Lee, 1939. [American Memory link]
May 20, 2009
May 19, 2009
Chicken Pox Quarantine
The children of George Carrell peer out at the world from their quarantined home in New Jersey in 1942. Captions accompanying this series of images explain that war-related work continued nonetheless in the family's home workshop.Photo by Howard Liberman. [American Memory link]
May 18, 2009
Wooly
Sheep at an agricultural college in Texas. January 1942.Photo by Arthur Rothstein. [American Memory link]
May 17, 2009
Baby Bull
A male cow - also called a bull calf - at a college in Texas. 1942.Photo by Arthur Rothstein. [American Memory link]
May 16, 2009
Flat Tire
The family to which these younsters belonged had just arrived in Oregon from Kansas, hoping to get work harvesting potatoes. Other photos in the series show a flat tire being replaced on their trailer/wagon - thus providing Dorothea Lange with this photo opportunity.Sept. 1939. [American Memory link]
May 15, 2009
May 14, 2009
Looking for Work
Laborers in Memphis, Tennessee. I love their reflections in the window.The photo caption explains that men would congregate each morning, hoping for seasonal work on cotton plantations, but that jobs were scarce due to "reduced cotton acreage."
Taken by Dorothea Lange in 1938. [American Memory link]
May 13, 2009
Vintage Tobacco
Click the image for a larger view of these tobacco packages. They're great examples of vintage graphic design.Ohio, 1938. Photographer unknown.
May 12, 2009
Mothering 3
Mrs. Arnold, age 32, and her children. Washington state, 1939. (See a larger version by clicking the image.)Photo by Dorothea Lange. [American Memory link]
May 11, 2009
Mothering 2
The caption accompanying this photo reads: "Sergeant George Camblair and his mother." Taken in Washington, D.C. in 1942.Photo by Jack Delano. [American Memory link]
May 10, 2009
Mothering
Today is Mother's Day in Canada. This mother and daughter were photographed in California, in 1937.Photo by Dorothea Lange. [American Memory link]
May 9, 2009
Cheap Eats
Hot dogs costing 5 cents and platefuls of food for 25 cents. Wonder what the cowboy stew was made of. Texas, 1939.Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]
May 8, 2009
Spinach Fields
These empty baskets were filled with spinach harvested by migrant workers under the hot Texas sun. 1939.Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]
May 7, 2009
May 6, 2009
Thoughts and Moments
The caption accompanying this image tells us this gent is a farmer - and that he's resting in a car in 1938 Ohio.Yet his body language suggests more than a mundane moment. What were his thoughts at that instant? If he had been shown this photo a year later, would he have recalled them?
Photo by Ben Shahn. [American Memory link]
May 4, 2009
Oil Storage
Oil storage tanks in a Oklahoma community called Slick (no joke). 1940.Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]
May 3, 2009
Union Meeting
A mother and child rest during a chapter meeting of a union representing workers in the agriculture, canning, and packing industries. Oklahoma, 1940.Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]
May 2, 2009
Hallway
A hallway in a rooming house/apartment building in the Bronx. 1936.Photo by Arthur Rothstein. [American Memory link]
May 1, 2009
Sad Story
This photo tells a poignant tale all on its own, but the details contained in the caption are heartbreaking. Apparently this family was receiving government aid, but was then "dropped" from the program.According to the photographer, a nurse's report indicates that the children have hookworm and that the mother suffers from "pellagra and milk leg." Hookworm can stunt intellectual development. Pellagra is a B vitamin deficiency which, if untreated, can kill a person in five years. It's associated with dizziness and dementia. Milk leg is connected to childbirth and involves dangerous blood clots. Apparently modern treatment for this condition involves resting in bed with one's leg elevated.
Alabama, 1939. Photo by Marion Wolcott Post. [American Memory link]
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