On behalf of the American Museum of Natural History, Berthold Laufer (1874–1934) undertook the Jacob H. Schiff expedition (1901–1904), sending him to China to “carry out scientific investigations in Eastern Asia” (Berthold Laufer to Franz Boas, 7 January 1900) and to make “collections which illustrate the popular customs and beliefs of the Chinese, their industries, and their mode of life” (Franz Boas to Morris Ketchum Jesup, 27 December 1902). Along with amassing a collection of Chinese objects, Laufer acquired approximately 143 photographic prints and a list of associated captions. There is no record where or when Laufer acquired these photographs. There is also no record of Laufer having taken any himself and several photographs are known to be widely-distributed images available for purchase at the time.

Also, “not provably false” isn’t a thing that should ever be a metric for any claim.

It’s an interesting story, and I more or less agree with the premise. The subject’s clothing is WAY TOO FINE for a rural farmer.