Just some thoughts...
I don't think that's a picket fence on the left, it's solid. It's quite like hockey rink boards, if you've ever seen those...they're a solid sheet of wood reinforced with vertical boards up the back.
The guy on the left has a carving fork, and I think a carving knife...it's not necessarily a bread knife, I've seen carving knives shaped like that...
The middle guy has one sleeve rolled up, I think that's why it looks like he's wearing a glove, but his arm is in shadow so that might be it.
The guy on the right is wearing an apron that's brand new, still got the creases from being folded at the factory. In fact all of them are in spotless pristine white aprons, and if this is 1920s you wouldn't be able to get butcher stains out of white cloth, even by boiling because heat sets blood and it wasn't until (I think) enzyme detergents were invented that you could do a decent job on bloodstains. So, I don't think they're real butchers either
I do think it's a real building...that's tarpaper on the outside and was common as an outer weatherproofing finish on buildings that weren't intended to be looked at, such as sheds and shacks etc. Some people lived in tarpaper shacks in pioneering and depression days...it was an economical way to build. SO...I think it's a real building, but hasn't had much maintenance done on it.
Still a great photo!
Cheers,
China
