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Percy Neville: 1913

November 1913. Shreveport, Louisiana. "Percy Neville, 11 years old. Messenger boy #6 for Mackay Telegraph Company. He has been messenger for different companies for four years. Goes to the Reservation [red light district] every day." View full size. Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.

November 1913. Shreveport, Louisiana. "Percy Neville, 11 years old. Messenger boy #6 for Mackay Telegraph Company. He has been messenger for different companies for four years. Goes to the Reservation [red light district] every day." View full size. Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.

 

On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5

Handlebars

This style handlebar is actually hinged in the center so you can adjust the angle.

When you see bars dropped down really low, the bikes were called "scorchers" -- really popular before WWI (possibly later too). There are a lot of bicycle photos on Shorpy showing this.

I love this photo.

Urgent business

The standard comment about these messenger boys is, "Has been to the Reservation." Can someone please tell me who is sending telegrams to cathouses and why?

[If the cathouse doesn't have a telephone, you send a telegram by messenger. - Dave]

Handlebars

Interesting; I don't believe I've seen exactly this "gull-wing" style before. These mustache bars are a modern recreation of an early 20th-century style.

Denny Gill
Chugiak, Alaska

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