African American Social Life Great Depression Era Missouri --Family Photo Album of Berry Family and Domestic Labor, 1930s

African-American family photo album

Archive

African American family photograph album, 1930s, Mt. Hope, Missouri, documents the daily life, social relationships, and labor conditions of a Black family during the Great Depression and provides direct evidence of both domestic life and employment structures in a rural Midwestern setting. Centered on the Berry family, including Helen Berry and Eugene Berry, the album records family gatherings, leisure, and personal identity alongside evidence of domestic service work within a white household. The inclusion of obituary clippings for Eugene Berry, who died at age 22, situates the album within a specific family history marked by early loss, while the broader content supports research into African American social life, rural communities, and labor patterns during the 1930s.

Approximately 66 photographs mounted in a bound album measuring approximately 7 x 11 inches, with images generally around 3.5 x 2.5 inches and accompanied by period captions. Numerous images depict Helen Berry in informal settings, including one captioned “Girls like to play ball” showing her holding a baseball bat, another reading “Just now looking fine” posed on steps, and a photograph labeled “Helen at her friend house Mable Washington” showing her seated on the hood of an automobile. Eugene Berry appears in several photographs alongside family and friends. Two clipped obituaries for Eugene Berry are mounted within the album, listing Helen Berry among survivors. Additional photographs include portraits of extended family members and community figures, including a middle aged man identified visually by attire such as a taxi driver’s cap. Approximately eleven photographs near the rear depict a white family identified as the Sanders, including images of their home and children, accompanied by an inscription reading, “I work for Sanders back in 30,” indicating employment as a caretaker.

Compiled during the Great Depression, this album documents the intersection of African American family life and domestic labor, particularly the role of Black women working within white households while maintaining their own familial and social networks. The juxtaposition of intimate family scenes with photographs of the Sanders household provides evidence of employment relationships that were common for African American women during this period, when domestic service constituted a major sector of Black labor. At the same time, the album preserves expressions of leisure, identity, and community within the Berry family, offering a layered record of resilience and daily life in a rural environment. Binding shows wear with some page loosening, photographs exhibit minor fading and light discoloration, captions occasionally faint; overall condition very good.

Item #21510

Price: $885.00