The 1910 photo above shows a Russian peasant operating a flax break in Perm Province, about 700 miles (1100 km) northeast of Moscow. Flax fibers, the raw material for linen fabrics, come from the stalk of the plant. Bast is the name for all the natural fibers that come from woody stalks and inner bark.

Photo by Sergeĭ Mikhaĭlovich Prokudin-Gorskiĭ in the Library of Congress. Call number: LC-P87- 4314