Documenting the Homefront

Marjory Collins (1912-1985)
Verona, New Jersey.
Sewing stripes on an American flag
at the Annin Flag Company,
March 1943
Contemporary print made
from original negative
Prints & Photographs Division
O.W.I. transfer, 1946 (4.10)

Between 1935 and 1943, top-caliber photographers such as Marjory Collins, Gordon Parks, Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, and Jack Delano, working under the direction of Roy Stryker produced the well-known photographic survey of America during the Depression for the Farm Security Administration (FSA), which became the Office of War Information (OWI). During WWII the OWI recorded homefront activities that supported the war effort. In this image, photographer Collins documented workers trying to keep up with orders at the Annin Flag Company in Verona, New Jersey. And like many of the photographs produced under government auspices, Collins's series at the Annin Flag Company promoted the story of nation-wide mobilization.