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What has happened to their hands?
I actually know a bit of backstory about this photo - it was a series on child labor in the south, and these are photos of oyster shuckers for the Maggioni Canning Co. around 1912.
I'm assuming shucking oysters are rough on the hands, so it could be wounds, but it also looks like crusted-on dirt, so I'm not sure.
Here's another photo where you can see their hands a bit better:
I just wanted to add about the stares. Photos back then required the target to be very still ao they are just probably trying their best to keep still.
Most photos of children failed because they moved. These were very still, hence the tension in their eyes, or just a lucky shot. Anyways, photos from way back always look like death for this reason.
Reminds me of the grim (or beautiful, depending on how you look at it) practice of photographing the deceased, especially children, during the Victorian era. Dressed up and posed, sometimes with living family in the same photo. Part of the reason being the exact fact that they wouldn't move during the shot.
Thank you for the context and source! Definitely mud and dirt...
This is a hilarious photo of they weren't in such conditions.
If it isn't AI (geeze have to question everything now), I would hazard a guess that it could be various injuries from textile machines or something.
It could also be just standard "major ouchies incurred as children" but grew back oddly due to lack of access to medical care.
This image has been around a long time, it’s not AI. The girls are (IIRC) oyster shuckers. So hand injuries are gonna be a thing.
Enlightening! Thanks for taking the time and sharing what you found! I'll be sure to give that a read. Very much appreciated. :)
Didn't even notice that at first. All I could see were the thousand-yard stares
Unsure if AI image, or product of horrific work environment....
not a.i. ... check the comment from @hoch