Two women are hard at work at the Aldrich Brothers brush factory. They don’t look up for the camera and their expressions are serious.  Are they deep in concentration or possibly annoyed at this interruption?

They are both wearing protective ‘drawing mittens’ as they pull out a wire which is attaching bristles to a brush head.

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These protect the palm of the hands but not the fingers, which will be constantly bending the coarse bristles into shape.

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Women, with their smaller hands, were considered to be more dextrous.  The room where the wire pulling took place was known as the ‘drawing room’ or ‘girls room’.

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The mitten was made of hardened leather fastened together with metal loops.  It was a simple cylinder open at both ends with a cut out to place thumb through. The cut out has a flap to protect the thumb and the leather is worn where the wire would have pulled against it.