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

Umbrella Repair

A man repairs an umbrella in Baltimore, Maryland. 1943.

Photo by John Vachon. [American Memory link]

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

Measles Quarantine

A quarantined trailer in North Carolina. 1941.

Photo by Jack Delano. [American Memory link]

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

California Date Palms

This fabulous shot was taken by Dorothea Lange in 1937.

[American Memory link]

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

Criss-Cross

Spinach-basket lids. Texas, 1939.

Photo by Russell Lee. [American Memory link]


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]