In her 1982 introduction to a reprinted edition of The Farm Book, Barbara Bader remarks that Smith’s created “a mode of illustration calculated for reproduction and well suited to children,” which appeared at a time that had a demand for children’s libraries and lavish children’s books. She remarks that his pictures are “informatively detailed” icons, which “from corner to corner…are to pore over.” Her verb choice, pore, is suggestive of the possibilities opened up by Smith’s pictures. Not only are they images that one can examine closely with intense concentration, but they also function as a kind of porous opening into the world of dairying.
The milking scene provides many such porous openings. At this point in the book, Bob and Betty have shed their pristine urban clothing. No longer wearing gold-button jackets, Betty is down to her dress and Bob a simple white shirt and slacks. They have transitioned from passive urban spectators to active rural participants. Bob is at eye-level with the farmer on his low-wooden stool, his body hunched forward as though he’s ready to take the place of the farmer. Betty, on the other hand, stands beside her brother with her shoulders pulled back and her hands tied up in front of her. Betty’s frame is positioned at the latitudinal level of the cows, which subtly aligns her with their position. The relative stances of Bob and Betty correspond with the gendered divide between male and female duties on the farm. While milking was formerly a task delegated to women, the late 1800s shifted that role. Milking was done by men, while churning was done by women. The reprinted version of The Farm Book revises the gendered language of the 1910 edition. Instead of the original line “Betty, like a little woman, learned to churn,” the reprinted book simply says, “Betty learned to churn.” While the words of the text were susceptible to revision with subsequent publications, the images remain unchanged. The picture of the stanchions and milking reveals several aspects of milk production that offend our modern sentiments.
