[Great Depression – Dust Bowl – Farm Auctions – Resettlement Administration] Rothstein, Arthur

“Farm-Auction Blocks in Wake of Drought–”. [Supplied Title]

N.p. International News Photos, 1936. Press photograph, 8 x 10 inches, by Arthur Rothstein, distributed by International News Photos, with original caption on verso dated 1936. Minor edge wear and toning to caption, else very good. Item #Cat333

In the mid-1930s, prolonged drought across the Great Plains, combined with falling agricultural prices, forced thousands of farm families into foreclosure and displacement. The crisis, central to what would become known as the Dust Bowl, led to widespread liquidation of farms and personal property, often through public auctions held under distress conditions.

Offered here is a stark press image documenting one such sale in Nebraska. The original caption reads in part: “This farm auction shop is typical of the mid-west where farmers, driven from their land by the drought, are forced to sell at auction their farm machinery, household effects in order to procure enough money to move to more fertile spots. The government is aiding the stricken farmers through loans and relief. It is thought that not less than 100,000 families may be moved from their farms by the government.” The photograph shows the exterior of a “Sale Room,” with equipment and household goods assembled for liquidation. Rothstein, working for the Resettlement Administration, produced some of the most widely circulated images of rural dislocation during the Depression. Images such as this were distributed through press agencies to illustrate both the severity of the crisis and the federal government’s expanding role in relief and resettlement, and were reprinted later. This is an attractive original copy with fine contrast, with 1936 press markings verso.

Price: $750.00