Bindle Stiff Collection

M. Dupin dans ses petits souliers, 19th century. Creator: Honore Daumier
M. Dupin dans ses petits souliers, 19th century. Mr. Dupin in his little shoes

Itinerant worker on U.S. 101 near San Luis Obispo, California, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
On U.S. 101 near San Luis Obispo, California. Itinerant worker. Not the old "Bindle-Stiff" type

One of the roads leading into Calipatria, Imperial County, California, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
One of the roads leading into Calipatria, Imperial County, California

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms. The type that formed the backbone of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Napa Valley, California. More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Napa Valley, California. More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Napa Valley, California. More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Napa Valley, California. More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Napa Valley, California. More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Napa Valley, California. More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Napa Valley, California. More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms

Bindle stiffs in town three weeks before opening of Klamath... Tule Lake, Siskiyou County, CA
Bindle stiffs in town three weeks before opening of Klamath Basin potato harvest. California, Siskiyou County, Tule Lake

One of the roads leading into Calipatria, Imperial County, California, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
One of the roads leading into Calipatria, Imperial County, California

Migrant man shaving by roadside, on U. S. 99 between Bakersfield and the Ridge, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
On U.S. 99 between Bakersfield and the Ridge, en route to San Diego. Migrant man shaving by roadside

Bindles on shady side of Pastime Cafe, Tulelake, Siskiyou County, California, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Bindles on shady side of Pastime Cafe. California, Siskiyou County, Tulelake

Bindle stiff, used to be logger, Side of Pastime Cafe, Tulelake, Siskiyou County, California, 1939
Bindle stiff, used to be logger. Side of Pastime Cafe. Idle three weeks before opening of the Klamath Basin potato harvest. California, Siskiyou County, Tulelake

Car on siding across tracks from pea packing plant, Calipatria, Imperial Valley, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Car on siding across tracks from pea packing plant. Twenty-five year old itinerant, originally from Oregon. " On the road eight years, all over the country, every state in the union

Looking east down the railroad track, near Calipatria, California, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Looking east down the railroad track, near Calipatria, California. Single men, itinerants with " bindles" waiting for the freight

On U. S. 99 between Bakersfield and the Ridge, en route to San Diego, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
On U.S. 99 between Bakersfield and the Ridge, en route to San Diego. Migrant man shaving by roadside

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In the summer of 1939, as the opening of Klamath approached, bindle stiffs arrived in town, seeking refuge and a chance at a better life. These wanderers, with their humble belongings wrapped in knotted cloth bundles known as bindles, found themselves in Tule Lake, Siskiyou County. Dorothea Lange captured their presence through her lens, immortalizing their struggles and resilience. On one of the roads leading into Calipatria, Imperial County, Lange's camera revealed a scene that spoke volumes about the bindle stiffs' nomadic existence. A migrant man was caught shaving by the roadside on U. S. 99 between Bakersfield and the Ridge. His weary face reflected years spent traversing vast distances in search of work and stability. The Pastime Cafe became a temporary sanctuary for these itinerant souls. In Tulelake's shady side streets, Lange documented bindles scattered near its walls - silent witnesses to countless stories untold. Among them stood an ex-logger turned bindle stiff; his weathered features told tales of hard labor now replaced by uncertainty. Further south in Calipatria's Imperial Valley lay another glimpse into this transient world: a car parked on siding across tracks from a pea packing plant. The juxtaposition between industry and transience painted an evocative picture - dreams halted momentarily amidst fields ripe with produce. Lange also captured moments along railroad tracks near Calipatria; her lens capturing both desolation and hope stretching towards distant horizons. And on U. S. 99 between Bakersfield and San Diego - en route to new possibilities - she encountered more travelers carrying their lives upon their backs. These photographs serve as reminders that behind every image lies human struggle and perseverance against adversity. The bindle stiffs may have been forgotten by history but not by Dorothea Lange's compassionate lens which sought to immortalize their stories.