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July 1865. Alexandria, Virginia. Cooks in the kitchen of Soldiers' Rest. Wet collodion glass plate negative, photographer unknown. View full size.
I wonder if the Blacks in the pic ... was being used as salves...I doubt it.
[Maybe they was being used as ointments. - Dave]
Yessir, they have hot running water! You can follow the line from the tank over the stove in the middle of the room to the sink on the right hand side of the picture. Modern sanitation - ain't it wonderful?
I see they had a big stove in the middle of the room, and each cauldron has its own firebox underneath, with a flue that directs the smoke into the large chimney. Is that a hot water tank in the center, that can fill pots underneath it? Also, are those little pipes coming down from the ceiling gaslights or sprinklers? I would assume gaslights. On the far right, isn't that a large basin with running water? And it looks like those ropes or cables hanging from the ceiling are used to open vents or skylights in the ceiling. And lots of ladles hanging in the walls.
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