A look at Yesteryear's Fashions through Photographs
Men at Work

About this Image:
1)   The beekeeper in this photo wears a sturdy pair of suspenders, which were used in place of a belt to hold up the high-waisted pants worn in the 19th century. His shirt features a soft, turned down collar suited to ease of movement outdoors, rather than the high, stiff collar worn for business or formal occasions. The cone-shaped crown and wide brim of his straw sombrero, a style of hat that evolved in Mexico, helped to cool his head and shade his face.

  Although the clothes worn by the beekeeper and children (background) in this photo reflect a bygone era, the hives and the bee smoker used to calm the bees are tools still used for harvesting honey today.

2)   An aguador, or water seller, is seen through a doorway as he carries a large water jug down the street on his back. A rope passes around the base of the jug and across his head, which is covered by a wide-brimmed hat. He steadies the top of the jug with a strap held in his left hand and leans on a cane with his right. Notice that the man wears extra padding for his back and shoulders over the apron that covers his loose-fitting, light colored clothes. The letters "EXPR" are just visible above the doorway across the street, possibly indicating that he is passing by the Daily Express building on Commerce Street.

3)   Edgar Edmunds (1870–1948), brother of Josephine and Ernestine, was as an engineer and an inventor. In this photo, he stands just below the crew working a pile driver on a bridge construction project. This steam-powered machine drives large poles, or piles, into the wet ground to provide solid support for the bridge to be built. Several of the men are dressed in overalls, and all wear wide-brimmed hats, leather work boots and gloves for protection.

Credit:
Courtesy of the San Antonio Conservation Society Foundation
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3) 1890-19003) 1890-1900