[Mexican farmer plowing with team of oxen]

Share

A plowman guides a team of oxen through a field in this engraving, a scene chosen to represent Mexican agriculture. The American Bank Note Company, a firm known for printing banknotes, bonds and decorative security engravings, produced the plate, which suggests it was made as an illustration for a commercial or promotional purpose rather than as a fine-art work. The caption card gives no date, so the print's exact age is uncertain, but the subject reflects how traditional animal-drawn plowing was depicted in printed images during the era of steel engraving. Its tight, precise linework is typical of that technique.

More from the Barns & Farms collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.