This cyanotype postcard mailed to Washington D.C. from Sweetwater Texas shows a proud Mexican family in front of their Texas & Pacific Railroad section house.

Besides being built with the hard labor of Mexican and other nationalities in the later 19th Century, continued maintenance of American railroads like the “T & P” in places like Texas in the early 20th was often performed by them, with the rail line providing section houses along the track for temporary quarters to live in. Writing to a Mrs. Burnside on the card’s verso, an unknown author-perhaps the photographer- writes the following in neat script:

“This man came up and asked me to come and take a picture of his baby, “just borned”-When I got there, the whole family wanted to be taken-so here they are the sweet-faced little mother and the baby, not quite 2 weeks old. They are such a happy-hearted class of people.”

Details, recto: written in ink at bottom: The “new shoes” are scarlet bottoms + white uppers!!!

Details, verso: postmarked April 15, 1911 from Sweetwater, Texas to:
Mrs. Burnside
1764 Corcoran
Washington, D.C.