Historical Photos To Blow Your Mind: New Release!

Lady Sweepers

We helping out where it’s needed most: these female road sweepers cleaning the streets of Liverpool as the men are away fighting in the war. The original photo was taken in 1916. Women took over many heavy labor jobs during the war, including manufacturing. Giving up jobs when men returned wasn’t so simple, and often major wars have pushed forward women’s rights movements.

Before mechanical street sweepers attached to trucks became the norm, street sweepers took a broom to work. Machines came to prominence in the 19th century, though sometimes horses were used in the job. At one time, the dirty streets throughout England’s major cities made it one of the unhealthiest places to live.