San Francisco Chinatown Postcard circa 1900

Much was written in the San Francisco press about the "slave girls" of Chinatown. Many women were brought over from China by the tongs to work as prostitutes, and the details of such stories scandalized and titillated readers -- who clamored to read more. Postcards were sometimes labeled erroneously in order to capitalize on the public's fascination with this aspect of Chinatown. The girl pictured was almost certainly not a prostitute but could have been a servant for a wealthy merchant family. Her pigtail has been extended with strands of raw silk to give it extra thickness and length.