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About the Photos
Most of the photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs, 20 to 200 megabytes in size) from the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) Most were digitized by LOC contractors using a Sinar studio back. They are adjusted by your webmaster for contrast and color in Photoshop before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here.
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Shorpy and His Friends
Submitted by Dave on Sun, 02/18/2007 - 3:12pm.
Shorpy Higginbotham, an oiler on the tipple at Bessie Mine near Dora in Jefferson County, Alabama. December 1910. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. Entire uncropped image.
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It's that time of year again...
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Mon, 11/23/2009 - 11:08am.
Shorpy's birthday is today! Happy 113th birthday, Shorpy!
Records of the Past
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Sun, 12/07/2008 - 11:16pm.
I love this quote by Lewis Hine:
"Perhaps you are weary of child labor pictures. Well, so are the rest of us, but we propose to make you and the whole country so sick and tired of the whole business that when the time for action comes, child labor pictures will be records of the past."
Which is what his pictures ended up being.
[I wonder if he'd be surprised at all he accomplished. - Dave]
Happy Birthday!
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Mon, 11/24/2008 - 12:55am.
Today is Shorpy's birthday! 112 years old today! Happy birthday!
[OMG. Thank you for remembering! And Happy Birthday, Shorp! - Dave]
He Cannot Tell a Lie
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Tue, 11/11/2008 - 2:12pm.
Before reading "What We Think We Know" about Shorpy, I assumed, from Hine's caption, that Shorpy was younger than 14, and lying in order to work. But he was born in 1896, so at the time of this picture he WAS 14! I am very glad to know that Shorpy was telling the truth.
Shorpy
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Sun, 03/02/2008 - 1:58am.
What is he holding?
[An oil can. - Dave]
Shorpy's Arms
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Tue, 02/19/2008 - 11:45pm.
I don't think his arms are "permanently out away from his body." I think that the thing he's counterbalancing the weight of that thing he's holding. His arms do look weird though.
Fate and time . . .
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 1:40pm.
We sons of coal miners can only reflect on what might have been if born a 100 years ago. Now I know why my parents were stalwart Democrats . . : >)
What an amazing site.
Submitted by Blinkings on Tue, 06/12/2007 - 6:36am.
And what an amazing bunch of young fellows.
Awesome
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Sun, 05/27/2007 - 7:00pm.
I found your site via Thomas Hawk's blog and I love it. This one is my favorite photo of Shorpy.
[Thanks! And thanks to Thomas Hawk. - Dave]
Carlton
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Sat, 05/19/2007 - 12:53am.
Your site is perfect!
[Aw shucks. You are most perceptive! - Dave]
Caps
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Mon, 04/23/2007 - 12:07am.
Any idea what the cards or ?? are on the front of the caps?
[Lamp holders - Dave]
Shorpy
Submitted by Jen on Wed, 04/18/2007 - 11:47pm.
They all look set with grim determination. It's a character asset that not many of today's youth share. Considering what people went through back then I would wonder if it's even appropriate to call them "kids". Pictures like this really make me consider that ... Thanks for posting these!
Shorpy's Posse
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Thu, 04/05/2007 - 1:35pm.
The crop looks good. The other boys look like Shorpy's posse, and Shorpy is the greasiest of them all.
[The white kid on the far right is Dave, also pictured here. - Other Dave]
Oiler? or Oilee.
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Mon, 04/02/2007 - 1:17pm.
Sure looks like he got more oil on him than on or in the equipment. Good quality on the resolution.
shorpy's arms
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Mon, 03/26/2007 - 9:43am.
Notice how even in the photos where he's not carrying buckets his arms are permanently out away from his body?
How sad for those kids back then.
But sadder today that kids have gone so far the other direction that they consider setting the table & cleaning their rooms a form of child abuse!!
Crop
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Wed, 03/21/2007 - 10:25am.
Can I ask why you cropped the photo?
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THE 100-YEAR-OLD PHOTO BLOG
Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photography blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Site contents © 2010 shorpy.com
