Piecework Collection

Girls making cartridges for Enfield rifles at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, 1862. Creator: Unknown
Girls making cartridges for Enfield rifles at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, 1862. Our illustration was taken [at]...the Royal Laboratory Department...near the Plumstead marshes

Tying carrots in Imperial Valley, near Meloland, California, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Tying carrots in Imperial Valley. Near Meloland, California

Paymaster on edge of pea fields... near Calipatria, Imperial Valley, California, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Paymaster on edge of pea fields pays a quarter for every hamper of thirty pounds brought to the scale. Near Calipatria, Imperial Valley, California

Possibly: Large scale agriculture, near Meloland, Imperial Valley, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Near Meloland, Imperial Valley. Large scale agriculture. Gang labor, Mexican and white, from the Southwest. Pull, clean, tie

Large-scale agricultural gang labor, Mexicans and... near Meloland, Imperial Valley, 1939 Creator: Dorothea Lange
Large-scale agricultural gang labor, Mexicans and whites from the Southwest pull, clean, tie and crate carrots for the eastern market for eleven cents per crate of forty-eight bunches

Large scale agriculture, near Meloland, Imperial Valley, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Near Meloland, Imperial Valley. Large scale agriculture. Gang labor, Mexican and white, from the Southwest. Pull, clean, tie

Gang of migratory carrot pullers in field, Imperial Valley, California, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Gang of migratory carrot pullers in field. Wages: fourteen cents per crate of forty eight bunches. Imperial Valley, California

Pea pickers line up on edge of field at weigh scale, near Calipatria, Imperial County, CA, 1939
Pea pickers line up on edge of field at weigh scale. Near Calipatria, Imperial County, California

Paymaster on edge of pea fields pays a... near Calipatria, Imperial Valley, CA, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Paymaster on edge of pea fields pays a quarter for every hamper of thirty pounds brought to the scale. Near Calipatria, Imperial Valley, California

Japanese Sisal Plantation on Hawaii, c. 1912 (b / w photo)
5042977 Japanese Sisal Plantation on Hawaii, c.1912 (b/w photo) by Bain, George Grantham - Bain News Service (1865-1944); Private Collection

Quilt, c. 1880 (?). Creator: Unknown
Quilt, c. 1880 (?)

Valentine Makers, 1875. Creator: H Johnson
Valentine Makers, 1875. A woman and her daughter doing piece-work making Valentines cards, applying various elaborate componenents to embossed lace paper

The Wages of Sin written by Andrew Sachs
The Wages of Sin or Perfidious Piecework written by Andrew Sachs actor and produced by the Tower Theatre Date: 1984

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1913. A mother and father and their nine-year-old daughter finishing garments in dilapidated tenement apartment in New York City. Photograph by Lewis Hine, January 1913

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1911. A family making flowers in a unsanitary tenement apartment at 302 Mott Street in New York City. Photograph by Lewis Hine, December 1911

HOME INDUSTRY, c1910. An immigrant family making mens trousers in their New York City tenement home. Oil over a photograph, by Lewis W. Hine, c1910

HOME INDUSTRY, 1910. A New York tenement family making garters. Photographed by Lewis Hine, c1910

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1912. A woman carrying a bundle of clothing for home-work on Lafayette Street in New York City. Photograph by Lewis Hine, February 1912

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1912. A woman and son carrying clothing for home-work near Astor Place in New York City. Photograph by Lewis Hine, February 1912

TENEMENT BUILDING, 1912. A tenement building in need of repair with eight families doing home-work in poor conditions at 233 East 107th Street in New York City

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1912. An Italian immigrant woman carrying a heavy bundle of clothing near Astor Place in New York City, to be finished at her tenement home

HOME INDUSTRY, 1912. A woman in a tenement in New Yorks Lower East Side, sewing mens trousers. Photograph by Lewis Hine, February 1912

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1912. Annie Fedele working on crochet in the kitchen of her tenement home in Sommerville, Massachusetts. Photograph by Lewis Hine, August 1912

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1910. Three young girls and a boy working on garments in a tenement apartment in New York City. Photograph by Lewis Hine, February 1910

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1912. A woman with a group of young girls working on garment tags on a tenement stoop in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Photograph by Lewis Hine, August 1912

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1910. A mother and daughter making embroidery in a tenement apartment on the Upper East Side in New York City. Photograph by Lewis Hine, February 1910

HOME INDUSTRY, 1910. A woman and her children making artificial flowers in their New York City tenement home. Photographed in 1910 by Lewis W. Hine

CHILD LABOR, c1910. A tenement girl carrying a bundle of garment work, to be done at home, through a park in New York City. Photographed c1910 by Lewis W. Hine

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1912. A mother and her two children finishing garments in a tiny one room tenement apartment at 214 Elizabeth Street in New York City. Photograph by Lewis Hine, December 1912

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1912. A mother and her young children doing piecework for garments, often until 9 P.M. at night in a tenement home in Worcester, Massachusetts

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1912. A woman and children sitting around a table making chains for handbags in a tenement apartment in New York City. Photograph by Lewis Hine, November 1912

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1912. A woman putting bristles into toothbrushes in the kitchen of her tenement home in Leeds, Massachusetts. Photograph by Lewis Hine, September 1912

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1912. A young girl carrying a bundle of kimonos for home-work on Thompson Street in New York City. Photograph by Lewis Hine, February 1912

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1911. A mother and her seven-year-old daughter working on lace in a tenement at 301 East 114th Street in New York City

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1911. A mother and her thirteen-year-old daughter working on pillow-lace in a dirty tenement kitchen at 213 East 111th Street in New York City

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1911. A family making willow plumes from feathers, as the unemployed truck-driver father observes the work in an unsanitary tenement apartment at 309 East 110th Street in New

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1911. A family making feathers late at night as the unemployed father observes the work in an unsanitary tenement apartment in New York City

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1911. A family including the father shelling nuts in basement with unsanitary conditions in New York City. Photograph by Lewis Hine, December 1911

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1911. Young children shelling nuts in a tenement apartment at 145 Hudson Street in New York City. Photograph by Lewis Hine, December 1911

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1912. A mother and her son and daughter finishing garments in their crowded tenement on Elizabeth Street on the Lower East Side, New York City. Photograph by Lewis Hine, 1912

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1912. Two women carrying loads of garments for piecework at home. Photographed by Lewis Hine, near Bleecker Street in New York City, 1912

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1912. A family finishing piecework in their home in Boston, Massachusetts. Photograph by Lewis Hine, 1912

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1910. Young garment workers sewing piecework in a tenement apartment in New York City. Photograph by Lewis Hine, 1910

HINE: HOME INDUSTRY, 1910. Family of garment sewers working from their tenement home in New York City. Photograph by Lewis Hine, 1910

HOME INDUSTRY, 1910. Italian immigrant woman carrying cloth to her Lower East Side New York tenement home. Photograph by Lewis Hine, 1910

HOME INDUSTRY, c1910. An immigrant family making mens trousers in their New York City tenement home. Photograph by Lewis W. Hine, c1910

HOME INDUSTRY, 1900. An immigrant family doing garment piecework in their New York City tenement home on the Lower East Side, c1900

IMMIGRANTS: PIECEWORK. An Italian immigrant family doing garment piecework in their New York City tenement home. Photograph, c1905

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Piecework, a term that evokes images of labor and the struggles faced by workers throughout history. In "The Wages of Sin" written by Andrew Sachs, we delve into the complexities of this concept. The photographs captured by Dorothea Lange in Imperial Valley, California in 1939 provide a glimpse into the harsh reality faced by those engaged in piecework. In one photograph, we see individuals tying carrots near Meloland. Their hands move swiftly as they work tirelessly under the scorching sun. Lange's lens also captures a paymaster on the edge of pea fields, his face etched with worry and exhaustion. These images depict large-scale agriculture and highlight the presence of Mexican laborers who toil alongside their counterparts. Lange's lens transports us further back in time to a Japanese Sisal Plantation on Hawaii circa 1912. This black-and-white photo reminds us that piecework is not confined to any specific region or era; it is an enduring aspect of human existence. As we explore historical records, we stumble upon an intriguing quilt from around 1880 whose creator remains unknown. Perhaps this quilt was stitched together through piecework itself – each patch representing hours spent meticulously sewing fragments into a cohesive whole. Even Valentine makers from 1875 found themselves immersed in piecework endeavors. H Johnson's depiction reveals women hunched over tables adorned with colorful paper hearts – their nimble fingers crafting tokens of love for others. Piecework encapsulates both struggle and resilience; it embodies tales untold yet deeply ingrained within our collective memory. It serves as a reminder that behind every product lies countless hours of labor often overlooked or undervalued. So let us reflect upon these glimpses into history and honor those who have dedicated their lives to piecework – whether it be tying carrots under sweltering heat or stitching together intricate quilts passed down through generations. May their stories inspire us to appreciate the intricate tapestry of human labor that weaves our world together.