womenatworkwwius

I love this photo! It's like the early 20th century comic strip, Gasoline Alley, only all women! www.drawnandquarterly.com/walt-and-skeezix-1

See www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2006/fall/yeoman-f... "On March 19, 1917, the Bureau of Navigation sent letters to the commanders of the naval districts informing them they could recruit women into the Naval Coast Defense Reserve to be "utilized as radio operators, stenographers, nurses, messengers, chauffeurs, etc. and in many other capacities in the industrial line." The new enlisted women were able to become yeomen, electricians (radio operators), or any other ratings necessary to the naval district operations. The majority became yeomen and were designated as yeomen (F) for female yeomen."

Calendar is showing the month of March 1918 and appears to be printed by Baker Printing, Newark, NJ. See "Newark, the City of Industry: Facts and Figures Concerning the Metropolis of Newark, New Jersey," published in 1912, books.google.com/books?id=l1goAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA178&d... for a piece on Baker Printing. This suggests that the pictures of the Navy "yeowomen" were taken in the northeastern U.S.

Congrats on Explore! ⭐ March 24, 2021

Excellent image!

✨🌟★❤✯♥♡✨ Very beautiful ✨♡♥✯❤★🌟✨

The dungarees/overalls are surprisingly close-fitting for the era. But then, they probably weren't preshrunk! See "War puts overalls in style" in The Chicago Day Book., February 28, 1917, LAST EDITION, Image 13 chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045487/1917-02-28/ed-...

Could be a date at the bottom 12/26/17. Note their hair is tied up to prevent it catching in the machinery, and protective cover over the foot control.

More on overalls for women in 1917: As Seen in Vogue: A Century of American Fashion in Advertising, page 32. books.google.com/books?id=MvilOZhaRkAC&pg=PR43&lp... One ad is from Finck's which was a Detroit company. See www.sweetjuniperinspiration.com/2010/02/fincks-overalls.html for a piece by someone who chased down the history of the company and deduced that it was taken over by Carhartt.

Thank you swanq and Retired at last for noting the date on the negative and for tracking down the interesting history of how World War I influenced women's clothing. We will add more details when we update.