Picking Cotton, postmarked Kansas City, MO, 1908

About this postcard

The image shows a cotton harvest in progress: men, women, and children work through the rows, some carrying baskets, while a horse-drawn wagon sits loaded with cotton under a sunset sky. The caption gives no location, so the scene stands as a typical harvest view. In the early 20th century, cotton was still picked by hand, and whole families often worked the fields during harvest. The crop remained central to the southern economy and demanded long days of seasonal labor.