A man with an ox-drawn cart poses on an unpaved street in front of the R.L. Hicks & Co. Drug Store in Omaha, Nebraska, in this albumen print dating to 1890-1891, dated by the Nebraska State Gazetteer. No photographer's imprint is visible on the mount. The image captures a rare and vivid record of street commerce and working life in Omaha at the close of the nineteenth century.

The subject stands at the left wheel of a two-wheeled wooden cart loaded with what appears to be produce or cut vegetation, one arm resting across the wheel frame and his expression openly animated. He wears a brimmed hat, a worn vest over a collarless shirt, and work-stained trousers. Two spotted oxen are yoked to the cart by a long wooden tongue, their horns clearly visible. Several figures are visible in the recessed doorway of the brick drug store behind them.

The prominently lettered storefront signs identify R.L. Hicks & Co. Drug Store and E.M. Mallette, Real Estate and Insurance Agent, Notary Public. According to research noted on the reverse, Mallette's office was located in the "Bee" Building at 17th Street and Farnam in Omaha, confirming the precise street-corner location of this scene.

Reverse bears handwritten notations identifying the location as 17th Street and Farnam, Omaha, Nebraska, with a research note dated 8.1.2009 citing the Nebraska State Gazetteer and placing the image between 1890 and 1891. The photograph measures 4 1/2 by 8 inches.

From the collection of James Lee Soffer