Shortage Collection

Blouse made from a silk escape map, 1940s. Creator: Unknown
Blouse made from a silk escape map, 1940s. During World War II many materials were unavailable to the public because of government rationing

The Cotton Famine: box at Bristol for subscriptions to the distressed operatives fund, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: box at Bristol for subscriptions to the distressed operatives fund, 1862. Donations for unemployed Lancashire textiles workers

The Cotton Famine: operatives waiting for their breakfast in Mr. Chapman's courtyard..., 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: operatives waiting for their breakfast in Mr. Chapman's courtyard, Mottram, near Manchester, 1862. Unemployed mill workers. Engraving of a photograph by Mr. Gothard

The Cotton Famine: working men's dining-hall, Gaythorn cooking-depot, Manchester, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: working men's dining-hall, Gaythorn cooking-depot, Manchester, 1862. Meals for unemployed Lancashire mill workers

The Cotton Famine: distributing tickets for bread, soup, meat, meal, coal etc, Manchester, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: distributing tickets for bread, soup, meat, meal, coal etc, at the office of a district provident society, Manchester, 1862. From "Illustrated London News", 1862

The Cotton Famine: school for mill operatives at Mr. Stirling's mill...Manchester, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: school for mill operatives at Mr. Stirling's mill, Lower Mosley-street, Manchester, 1862. Literacy classes for unemployed Lancashire textiles workers

The Cotton Famine: provision-shop...Manchester and Salford Provident Society, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: provision-shop where goods are obtained for tickets issued by the Manchester and Salford Provident Society, 1862. Unemployment in Lancashire

The Cotton Famine: the Manchester and Salford Provident Society distributing clothing, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: the Manchester and Salford Provident Society distributing clothing, 1862. Charitable donations for unemployed Lancashire textiles workers

The Cotton Famine: operatives reading the latest news from America in Camp-field free library, 1862 Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: operatives reading the latest news from America in Camp-field free library, Manchester, 1862. Unemployed Lancashire textiles workers reading newspaper accounts of the American

The Cotton Famine: the Society of Friends' soup-kitchen...Lower Moseley-street, Manchester, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: the Society of Friends' soup-kitchen, Ball-street, Lower Moseley-street, Manchester, 1862. Unemployed Lancashire textiles workers queue for food

The Cotton Famine: group of mill operatives at Manchester, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: group of mill operatives at Manchester, 1862. Lancashire Textile workers. 'The Carder's business is to see that machinery is kept in perfect working order...The Jack Tenter

The Cotton Famine: meeting of the central relief committee...Manchester townhall..., 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: meeting of the central relief committee in the mayor's parlour at the Manchester townhall - Earl Derby in the chair, 1862

The Cotton Famine: waiting-room at the district provident institution, Manchester, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: waiting-room at the district provident institution, Manchester, 1862. View of '...the antechamber to the kitchen...Here the distribution [of soup to unemployed Lancashire

The Cotton Famine: making up parcels of clothing at the industrial institution, Manchester, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: making up parcels of clothing at the industrial institution, Manchester, 1862. 'Our Artist has made a sketch of that portion of the building where the bales are received in

The Cotton Famine: receiving clothes at Bridewell Hospital...for the distressed operatives, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: receiving clothes at Bridewell Hospital, London, for the distressed operatives, 1862. '[In Lancashire]

The Cotton Famine: distributing coal at the Castle-field old coal-wharf, Manchester, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: distributing coal at the Castle-field old coal-wharf, Manchester, 1862. Charity for unemployed Lancashire textiles workers

The Cotton Famine: shop for mill-hands at Mr. Birley's mill, Manchester, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: shop for mill-hands at Mr. Birley's mill, Manchester, 1862. Charity for unemployed Lancashire textiles workers. 'Mr

The Cotton Famine: dwellings of Manchester operatives, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: dwellings of Manchester operatives, 1862. Starvation and destitution among unemployed Lancashire textiles workers. 'No

The Cotton Famine: the sewing-class at the Manchester...Provident Society's rooms, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Cotton Famine: the sewing-class at the Manchester and Salford Provident Society's rooms, 1862. Unemployed Lancashire textiles workers

German women after second grade meat, 1914. Creator: Bain News Service
German women after second grade meat, 1914. German women in line for meat during the beginning of World War I.

Christmas-Day in the Crimea - Dinner of Captain Brown's Company, 57th Regiment - sketched by J. A. Crowe, 1856....the mess-tables of the regiments more resembled those of England than

Usant jusqu'a son dernier homme et son dernier mousquet, 19th century. Creator: Honore Daumier
Usant jusqu'a son dernier homme et son dernier mousquet, 19th century. Amputee and soldier with gun: Down to his last man and his last musket

Food Garden Commission, between 1910 and 1920. Creator: Harris & Ewing. Food Garden Commission, between 1910 and 1920
Food Garden Commission, between 1910 and 1920. USA. Farmer ploughing with a Case tractor

Food Garden Commission, between 1910 and 1920. Creator: Harris & Ewing. Food Garden Commission, between 1910 and 1920
Food Garden Commission, between 1910 and 1920. Fresh and preserved vegetables, USA. Sign reads: Be a Soldier of the Soil; Produce Food - Conserve Food - Dry and Can Food

National Emergency Food Garden, between 1910 and 1920. Creator: Harris & Ewing
National Emergency Food Garden, between 1910 and 1920. USA

National Emergency Food Garden, between 1910 and 1920. Creator: Harris & Ewing
National Emergency Food Garden, between 1910 and 1920. USA. Vegetable garden

Food Garden Commission, between 1910 and 1920. Creator: Harris & Ewing. Food Garden Commission, between 1910 and 1920
Food Garden Commission, between 1910 and 1920. USA. Cabbages in vegetable garden

Esquisse pour l'Hôtel de Ville de Paris. Queues à la porte d'une boucherie municipale... 1889
Esquisse pour l'Hotel de Ville de Paris. Queues a la porte d'une boucherie municipale. Le siege de Paris en 1870, 1889. Sketch for the town hall (prefect's office), Hotel de Ville, Paris

Queue in the butcher's shop in 1871, c1871. Creator: Clement-Auguste Andrieux
Queue in the butcher's shop in 1871, c1871

Price's Patent Candle Company - the Bromborough Pool Candle-Works - interior view... 1854. Creator: Unknown
The Bromborough Pool Candle-Works - interior view under three spans of roof - from a photograph, 1854. Candle factory on Merseyside

Her Majesty's Visit to Hull - the Procession in the Market-Place, 1854. Creator: Unknown
Her Majesty's Visit to Hull - the Procession in the Market-Place, 1854. Queen Victoria visits Yorkshire. The inhabitants testified their loyal devotion by an illumination so general, that

The Grocer's Shop at Christmas - drawn by Foster, 1850. Creator: Edmund Evans
The Grocer's Shop at Christmas - drawn by Foster, 1850. Shoppers queuing to buy dried fruit to make plum puddings. Illustration to a story by John Oxenford

Thrift rug, 1943. Creator: Unknown
Thrift rug, 1943. Made from vegetable dyed woollen scraps by a member of a Shropshire Institute. Woven rug made from recycled materials during the Second World War

London in Peril of Starvation, 1912, (1933). Creator: T E Joy
London in Peril of Starvation, 1912, (1933). London dockers went on strike when Lord Devonport, head of the Port of London Authority, refused to agree to their demands

Hay box cooking, World War I, c1914-c1918. Artist:s and G
Hay box cooking, World War I, c1914-c1918. Fuel economies led to the adoption of hay box cookers for completing the cooking of partially cooked foods

The copper shortage in Germany, 1915. A schoolmaster collecting copper household articles from his pupils. From The Manchester Guardian History of the War Vol. III - 1915

Facsimile of a declaration about the scarcity of food in America, 1779 (c1880). Documentary evidence of food shortages during the American Revolutionary War, then entering its fifth year

Giving out corn to the people, during a season of scarcity, 1847. Artist: Evans
Giving out corn to the people, during a season of scarcity, 1847. Chinese people receiving food. Illustration from The History of China and India, by Miss Corner, (Dean and Co, London, 1847)

Food shortages during the First World War, 1914-1918 (1935). During the ever increasing food shortage the King and Queen kept firmly to the rule of plain fare

Horse-drawn cart carrying crates of drink, German-occupied Paris, July 1940. Under the German occupation, petrol was unobtainable

Parisians travelling by bicycle, German-occupied Paris, July 1940. Under the German occupation, petrol was unobtainable. Only police cars and vehicles carrying food supplies were allowed to travel

Making wooden shoe soles, German-occupied Paris, February 1941. Like most things, leather was scarce during the occupation

German supply depot, occupied Paris, February 1941

Food store in occupied Paris, c1941(?)

Horse-drawn cabs on a street during the German occupation, Paris, 1944. By the last year of the occupation there were few cars left on the streets of Paris due to the shortage of petrol

People queuing outside a dairy shop, German-occupied Paris, 26 July 1940. Shortages and rationing were a feature of everyday life for Parisians during the occupation and would last until 1949

Queue of women outside a dairy shop, German-occupied Paris, 28 June 1940. Shortages and rationing were a feature of everyday life for Parisians during the occupation and would last until 1949

Le Chauffage, Siege of Paris, 1870-1871. Print from a series titled Paris Assiege showing people queueing up to obtain rationed coal and firewood for heating

All Professionally Made to Order for Quick Shipping