Gathering China Tung Tree Nuts, Pearl River County, Mississippi — Photograph by Anthony V. Ragusin, 1946

Item #1510

Original 8” x 10” silver gelatin photograph by Anthony V. Ragusin (Biloxi, Mississippi), depicting two young boys crouched in a field, carefully emptying a sack of tung tree nuts. The scene is set against tall grasses and bare branches, evoking the rural landscape of southern Mississippi in the mid-20th century.

Verso bears typed caption slip: “Youngsters gather nuts from China Tung Trees in Pearl River County, Miss. Photo by Anthony V. Ragusin. Bought 2/14/46.” With photographer’s ink stamp: “Photograph by Anthony V. Ragusin, Biloxi, Mississippi.”

The China Tung Tree (Aleurites fordii), introduced to the Gulf South in the early 20th century, produced nuts processed into tung oil—an important industrial commodity used in paints, varnishes, and linoleum. During the 1940s, Mississippi was one of the largest centers of tung oil production in the United States.

A documentary image of agricultural labor and resource production, taken by a significant Mississippi Gulf Coast photographer.

Price: $200.00