Figure 1.--This American family about 1910 is involved in piece work for the garment industry. Mother is working and supervising the children. This was done to suplement the fther's income, or if the father was missing or incapciated might be the sole means of support. The children would work after school or even be made to stay home from school. Notice the boy hear is wearing a tie whileworking. This family is making elastic garters/stocking supporters.

Althoough not often thought of as a place of child labor, this was often the case for children, especially before the industrial revolution. Many families helpedmake ends meet by doing piece work in their homes and tenaments. Parents were paid by the piece for completing a wide range of work. this was epecially common in te 19th century before the advent of factories. Piece work is especially associated with the garment trade, but was not in the 19th century limited to it. As factories became increasingly important, piece work declined in importance. Even so there were many operations for which machines had not yet been invented. The fact that many families lived in desperate circumstance, meant manufactures could find people willing to perform the needed opearations at low cost. This discouraged the mnufacturers from making substntial investments in expensive machinery. Whole families were involved in piece work before the industial revolution. Gradually in the 19th century it became increasingly an activity perormed by women and children. The children might even be kept home from school to do piece work.

Reader Comments

A reader wriyes, "I'm curious about this picture. Do we know where it was taken? The boy seems to be wearing a yarmulke. Is the family Jewish?" Unfortunately, HBC has no additional information about the phorograph. I supose it could be a yarmulke. It certainly looks like a cap and we question if mother would have allowed her son to wear his cap in the home. Somehow I have it my mind that yarmulkes were knitted with patterns. This looks to be a solid color. If I was to guess, I would think that the photograph was taken in New Yorl City, but it could be a tenament in any large northern city. Of course Jewish immigrant families were heavily involved in the garment trade. Remember the Triangle Shirt Waist Fire which occurred about when this photograph ws taken. Many of the girls who died were Jewish. A reader writes, "Modern-day yarmulkes are often plain black skull caps, sometimes made out of velveteen, but sometimes also with embrodiered patterns. I have observed them at Jewish funerals, often supplied by the funeral home. I suspect that the boy in this photo is wearing a yarmulke, but I'm not sure what they looked like in 1910. I agree that the setting is probably New York City."

Created: December 31, 2003
Last updated: January 4, 2004