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Most of the photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs, 20 to 200 megabytes in size) from the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) Many were digitized by LOC contractors using a Sinar studio back. They are adjusted by your webmaster for contrast and color in Photoshop before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here.

 
 
 
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VINTAGRAPH • POSTERS • AMAZING • GREETINGS FROM ALTOONA

A Little Spinner: 1909

A Little Spinner: 1909

January 1909. "A little spinner in Globe Cotton Mill. Augusta, Ga. The overseer admitted she was regularly employed." View full size. Lewis Wickes Hine.

 
On Shorpy:
Today's Top 5

Solemn Look

Definitely not what you should see when you look into the eyes of a child. I think I need to get the print of this to look at when I feel the need to complain about having a oh so tough day at work.

The Jungle

I just read The Jungle and I cried at the thought of a little one working the way this poor girl did. Her eyes are as close to crying without shedding a tear as I have ever seen.

I'm so thankful my daughter is able to play and be a child.

Byssinosis

Many early textile mill workers developed byssinosis from breathing cotton dust thrown off by the machines. Probably especially bad for children.

Tough life

Spend your childhood working in a factory, then live through the depression and a war. I hope she lived long enough to see prosperity and grandchildren that didn't have to live the hard life she did.

What a life for one so young....

The pain in her eyes just haunts me... I don't imagine she ever got to be a child or play with dolls. So sad.

such a haunting face

Thank God we never new that life....

She looks exactly like my niece.

And this photo breaks my heart.

 
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Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.

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