The Mussel Gatherers

Two young girls are pictured along with their full baskets of mussels. The girl on the right holds a mussel stick in her hand. The stick would be placed into the shallows or a tide pool, and the mussels would naturally cling to the stick. The fisher would then lift the stick and collect the mussels in a basket. Oysters and mussels are culinary mainstays on the European Atlantic Coast.