"Littlefoot" Chinese Girls, Chinatown, San Francisco

Description - a historical card of the early 1900's, showing two young girls in coloured silk pijamas, possibly belonging to a family of the early Chinese immigration to San Francisco, whose Chinatown was entry for immigrants from the southern Guangdong province of China from the 1850s to the 1900s. The card's title, "Littlefoot" refers to the ancient custom of foot binding, which was banned in 1911 by the new Chinese republic. The practice had begun under the Sung dynasty in the 10th century AD, since little feet were deemed an element of great beauty, but resulted in serious disabilities throughout life.