Picking oranges, southern Florida, 1907

Subjects: African American History Agriculture & Farms Workers & Occupations
Card type: Lithograph
Date: c. 1907 (Golden Age)

Back of Picking oranges, southern Florida, 1907, c. 1907 lithograph postcard — Back

About this postcard

Two pickers work among heavily fruited orange trees, using step-ladders set between the rows. Filled crates rest on the sandy ground. The caption notes that Florida orange trees were grown with short trunks so the fruit could be cut from the stem with scissors rather than pulled, then left to dry and soften before grading and boxing. The laborers are African American, a common presence in Florida citrus work of the early 1900s. Southern Florida's citrus industry was expanding in this period, with groves and packing houses shipping fruit north by rail.

Postcard Details

Message · English, in pen

Fort De Soto, Fla - Dec 19 07 A Merry Merry Christmas & Happy New Year - from Mollie Burns

PublisherRaphael Tuck & Sons

IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA. Picking Oranges. --- Raphael Tuck & Sons' Post Card Series No 2466, "In Southern Florida." ART PUBLISHERS TO THEIR MAJESTIES THE KING AND QUEEN. POST CARD. THE ADDRESS TO BE WRITTEN ON THIS SIDE. PICKING ORANGES. The orange trees are grown with very short trunks, so that when ready for harvest, the individual fruit is cut off with scissors (not pulled from the stem), the men using step-ladders in the spaces between the trees. After being picked, the oranges are allowed to stand for a few days to dry and soften somewhat before being graded and boxed for shipment. Printed in Germany.

PostmarkedAmesbury, MA, December 30, 1907, 07:30

Addressed to

Charlotte Hassett

Amesbury, MA

Postcard record

Postmarked	December 30, 1907, 07:30, Amesbury, MA
Publisher	Raphael Tuck & Sons
Condition	Good
Place addressed	Charlotte Hassett, Amesbury, MA
Place depicted	Florida, FL
Place mentioned	Fort Reposo, FL
Place mentioned	Southern Florida, FL
Publisher	Raphael Tuck & Sons, London, England
Stamp	1c Benjamin Franklin, green, issued 1930, perforated on all sides
Stamp	1c Benjamin Franklin, green, issued 1906
Notes	White border; undivided-back era card with a handwritten message across the lower front; small publisher's device at lower left, illegible. Postmark: AMESBURY, MASS. DEC 30 7:30 AM 1907. Undivided back ("THE ADDRESS TO BE WRITTEN ON THIS SIDE"); Raphael Tuck & Sons' Post Card Series No. 2466, printed in Germany; white border on front; light edge/corner wear and slight toning.

Cite this card

Picking oranges, southern Florida, 1907, postcard, c. 1907. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/picking-oranges-southern-florida-1907. Accessed November 2, 2026.