North Carolina Cotton Mill Spinner, 1908
Entitled: "One of the spinners in Whitnel Cotton Manufacturing Company. She was 51 inches high. Had been in mill 1 year. Some at night. Runs 4 sides, 48 cents a day. When asked how old, she hesitated, then said "I don't remember." Then confidentially, "I'm not old enough to work, but I do just the same." Out of 50 employees, ten children about her size. Location: Whitnel, North Carolina." Cotton mills were designed to move cotton through a precise series of production processes that separated, straightened, and twisted cotton fibers, combined them into yarn, then wove the yarn into cloth. Workers directed four or more slivers through a series of rollers in the head of a drawing frame, where they were combined in a single strand. As bobbins on the spinning frames filled with thread, doffers replaced them with empty ones. The spinner's job was to move quickly up and down a row of machines, repairing breaks and snags. Photographed by Lewis Hine, December 1908.
Size: 3404px × 2560px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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