Arthur Rothstein - Kids

Another set from Arthur Rothstein. Pictures of children. There are so many good ones!

 Children at FSA camp, Weslaco, Texas, 1940

 Children of sharecropper, North Carolina, 1935

 Family of resettlement farmer, Skyline Farms, Alabama, 1935

 Family of sharecropper, North Carolina, 1935

 Mrs. Hallett and Mrs. Weber with their children, Tompkins County, New York, 1937

School at Skyline Farms, Alabama, 1937

Arthur Rothstein - Farmwork

Arthur Rothstein was another FSA photographer. This set is all photos of people engaged in farmwork.

 Farmer feeding hogs, Scioto Farms, Ohio, 1938

 Feeding chickens, Wabash Farms, Indiana, 1938

 George Arnold and his son inspect some of the hives on their farm
in Chaffee County, Colorado, 1939

 Girl potato picker, Rio Grande County, Colorado, 1939

Girl separating vines from potatoes, Rio Grande County, Colorado, 1939

 Women picking carrots. These women come from the Italian section of Philadelphia to work on the large truck farms in Camden County, New Jersey, 1938

 Potato pickers, Rio Grande County, Colorado, 1939

 Picking cotton, Lauderdale County, Mississippi, 1935

 Packing cut celery in the fields, Sanford, Florida, 1937

Onion field worker, Rice County, Minnesota, 1939

Editing 19th century photos

There is a large number of photos surviving from the 19th century. Most of these are portraits, which are generally very formally posed unsmiling subjects. Great historical records. Unfortunately many of these are extremely "noisy" with dust and scratches. Editing them can be a very time-consuming job.

Here is a portrait of a couple (husband and wife? who knows?) dating to around 1855. First is the unedited version (well, not entirely unedited - it was cropped and the brightness and contrast adjusted) and then the cleaned-up version. This was the work of probably 8-10 hours.

Purists may decry altering 19th century photographs like this, and experts will probably scorn my meager Photoshop skills. Still, I think the result isn't too bad.

Dorothea Lange - Kids

More pictures of children.

 Colored boys playing on top of Coca Cola stand, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1938

 Girls of Lincoln Bench School study their reading lesson. Near Ontario, Malheur County, Oregon, 1939

 Just arrived from Kansas. On highway going to potato harvest.
Near Merrill, Klamath County, Oregon, 1939

 Migrant children. Merrill, Klamath County, Oregon, 1939

Migratory children living in "Rambler's Park." They have lived on the road for three years.
Yakima Valley, Washington, 1939

 Motherless migrant children. They work in the cotton, 1936

 Oregon, Marion County, near West Stayton. Children in large private bean pickers camp.
Pickers came from many states, from Oklahoma to North Dakota, 1939

Sharecroppers' families gathering needs for their 4th of July celebration, whites and blacks together, Hill House, Mississippi, 1936

 The oldest girl seated in the doorway of the house trailer cares for the family.
Yakima Valley, Washington, 1939

Tobacco sharecropper child playing. Note burlap covered playhouse.
Person County, North Carolina, 1939

John Vachon - Kids

Here's another set of photos by John Vachon. These are all of children.

 Children in Sisseton, South Dakota, 1939

 Farm boy, Guilford County, North Carolina, 1938

 Migrant child eating in front of tent home, Berrien County, Michigan, 1940

 Migrant child in front of tent home, Berrien County, Michigan, 1940

Migrant children, Berrien County, Michigan, 1940

Migrant children, Berrien County, Michigan, 1940

 Miner's sons salvaging coal during May 1939 strike, Kempton, West Virginia

Ozark Mountains girls, Missouri, 1940

 Physical education class, Greenhills, Ohio, 1939

Schoolchildren in company-owned coal town, Kempton, West Virginia, 1939

"Company-owned coal town." Chilling words.

Good Times

It wasn't all darkness and misery during the Great Depression (though there was a lot of it). These pictures add some balance to the hard times.

 Brownsville, Texas. Charro Days fiesta. Dance at El Rancho Grande, 1942

 Charro Days fiesta, watching the children's parade, Brownsville, Texas, 1942

 Dance hall, Saturday night, Marshalltown, Iowa, 1940

 Square dance at Skyline Farms, Alabama, 1937

 At the May Day pageant in Siloam, Greene County, Georgia, 1941

 Jitterbugging in Negro juke joint, Saturday evening, outside Clarksdale, Mississippi, 1939

Negroes jitterbugging in a juke joint on Saturday afternoon. Clarksdale, Mississippi Delta, 1939

These people really look like they're having a ball! The white cop in the doorway adds a discordant note to the proceedings.

 Woodville, California. FSA farm workers' community.
Saturday night dance in the auditorium of the community house, 1941

 Crab boil, Raceland, Louisiana, 1938

[Now here's a real feast!]

 Farm women and children laughing at some antics of the menfolks, Pie Town, New Mexico, 1940

[I love the unguarded hilarity on display in this picture.]

 Men's section at fais-do-do near Crowley, Louisiana, 1938

Another picture from the fais-do-do. The band was featured in a previous set. Lots of little dramas on display in this photo. For instance, the girl on the lower right who has her face in her hands: is she upset about something or just embarrassed about being in the photo?

 Negro cabaret, Chicago, Illinois, 1941

Life is a cabaret, old chum! It appears the band is that of Boyd Atkins, who had a long career and played with such standouts as Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory and Earl Hines.