Defectives, Feeble-minded: United States. Massachusetts. Waverly. School for Feeble-minded: Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded.: Darning Class. c. 1903

Curator: This photograph by William A. Webster bears the title "Defectives, Feeble-minded: United States. Massachusetts. Waverly. School for Feeble-minded: Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded.: Darning Class." Editor: Feeble-minded. What a chilling, almost deliberately dehumanizing description. The image itself, though, that’s gentle; a circle of girls focused intently on their needlework. Curator: Darning—mending textiles—becomes a potent symbol here. Society, perhaps, attempting to mend perceived defects. Circles are powerful symbols of unity and wholeness, but here, I wonder if it suggests constraint. Editor: It’s starkly beautiful, in a way. The light from those tall windows, the symmetry. But it’s the quiet concentration on each face that really stays with you, isn't it? Such a heavy title paired with such a domestic scene. Curator: Indeed. It's a reminder that images often carry meanings far beyond what's immediately apparent. Editor: A haunting echo from the past. I'll be thinking about them.