Log In or Register
Library of Congress I claim no rights other than colorizing this image if you wish to use let me know and always give due credit to The Library of Congress I have no commercial gain in publishing this image. Title Adolescent spinners in the Suffolk (Va.) Knitting Mills. One of these, fourteen years old, said she had been working here, off and on, for four years, and earns about one dollar a day now. Location: Suffolk, Virginia. Contributor Names Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940, photographer Created / Published 1911 June. Subject Headings - Girls - Textile mill workers - United States--Virginia--Suffolk Format Headings Photographic prints. Rights Advisory No known restrictions on publication.
History of children's labor for wages--As the United States industrialized, factory owners hired young workers for a variety of tasks. Especially in textile mills, children were often hired together with their parents. Children had a special disposition to working in factories and mines as their small statures were useful to fixing machinery and navigating the small areas that fully grown adults could not. Many families in mill towns depended on the children's labor to make enough money for necessities.
Another good colorization Rob. Labor laws would catch up with the greedy factory owners before it was over. I'm sure it was a way of life for those that had to go through it to survive. These girls seem to be good friends (perhaps sisters). Their hair is most likely done this way to protect them from getting caught in the machinery.
Another one that makes us think and wonder.