American Historical Ephemera & Photography

11 1/4 x 16 3/4 in. letterpress broadside (some wrinkling to paper, toning to edges).

The apple seller became a symbol of economic hardship in Depression-era cities. Surplus apples that farmers struggled to sell were given to unemployed men, who sold them on the street for 5 cents each, holding signs like the one featured here. This practice was common enough across US cities that it was depicted in political cartoons from the era including in the New Yorker and the Chicago Daily News.