Snapshots of the Past

[Richmond Steam Laundry, Richmond Virginia] – Vintage Print

[Richmond Steam Laundry, Richmond Virginia], [1899?] — historic photograph
[Richmond Steam Laundry, Richmond Virginia], [1899?]. Historic photograph from the Richmond collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This historic photograph of [Richmond Steam Laundry, Richmond Virginia] brings a moment of history to your wall. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

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[Richmond Steam Laundry, Richmond Virginia]

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The Richmond Steam Laundry, shown here with its delivery carts and wagons, is catalogued with a date of about 1899 and a focus on African American commerce in the city. By the 1890s, steam laundries were replacing hand washing in American cities, using boilers and mangles and relying on horse-drawn routes to collect and return customers' linens. In Richmond, where Jim Crow segregation was hardening, Black workers and entrepreneurs were prominent in service trades like this one, which gave many people steady wages. The photograph is as much about the wagons and the streets they traveled as the building itself.

Created / published[1899?]
Medium1 photographic print.
GenrePhotographic prints 1890-1900.
SubjectsAfrican Americans--Commerce--Virginia--Richmond--1890-1900. Cleaning establishments--Virginia--Richmond--1890-1900. Carts & wagons--Virginia--Richmond--1890-1900.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 1,121 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-169950

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