The Research Archive
Photo-essays on women’s work
Research Archive
Young Women Performing Unconventional Tasks
Margareta Lagerman sits high atop a load of hay and holds the reins, ready to drive the wagon into the
Women Farm Servants and Their Employers
Women servants who lived in farm households were often photographed working alongside their mistress and her daughters outdoors. When those
Tenant Farmers and Landless Laborers
Carl Johan Olson, his wife Maria Sofia Jansdotter, and their children Ester Maria and Josef Hilding in front of the
Statare Women
Two women milkers, Ester Olsson and Nancy Persson, on the way to the barn on Stureholm estate. Vällinge, Skåne. Taken
Professional and Amateur Photographers
Ida Häckner and Gunnar Lundh were consummate professionals. At the other end of the spectrum are skilled amateurs who photographed
Portraying Women Engaged in Dairying
Woman pouring milk from a pail into a milk can. Stockholm county (now in Uppland). Taken by Gunnar Lundh in
Men and Women Sharing Labor
Doing Laundry John Alinder and others doing laundry at the Alinders’ farm. Sävasta, Altuna parish, Västmanland (now in Uppland). Taken
Landowning Families and Their Farms
Family outside their farmhouse. Near Skövde, Skaraborg (now Västergötland). Taken by Anders Karlsson in 1936. Västergötlands museum, Skara. Conventional photographs
How do we see gender in these photographs?
The large and varied body of photographs of women performing physical labor on Swedish farms during the early twentieth century
Gender-Mixed Work Groups
Seasonal operations such as making hay and harvesting grain required larger work crews composed of men and women from neighboring households
Family-Centered Groups and Gangs of Hired Laborers
Digging potatoes on the Alinders’ farm. Sävasta, Altuna parish, Västmanland (now in Uppland). Taken by John Alinder in 1920. Upplandsmuseet,
Dairymaids in Centralized Mechanized Dairies
Lisa Larsson in the dairy on Mackmyra estate, Gävleborg. Taken by an unknown photographer in the early 1920s. Länsmuseet Gävleborg,