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.

Boston, January 29, 1917. "Sadie Singer, 15 years old, racking flowers at the Boston Floral Supply Co., 347-357 Cambridge Street. Said to be the only flower factory in Massachusetts." View full size. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Can someone explain what is going on here? Are they real flowers? Is that wax they're being stuck in? What is "racking." Who bought them? Poor Sadie looks bored out of her skull.
[They're roses dipped in wax for use in flower arrangements. - Dave]
Today's Top 5