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Cottage Industry in the Ore Mountains of Saxony (1909)

A woman and five children are shown producing wooden toys. From the eighteenth to early twentieth century it was common for women, children, and the elderly to contribute to the household income through domestic manufacturing. The Ore Mountains [Erzgebirge] was one German region in which this form of labor was widespread. The ongoing advance of industrial capitalism eventually brought about the disappearance of cottage industry.

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Cottage Industry in the Ore Mountains of Saxony (1909)

© Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz