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- Making Pansies: 1912
- ... domestic scene; to the eye (and lens) of social reformer Lewis Hine, however, it is a diorama of decadence and moral decay, with peril ... and flowers likewise." Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. (NB: Growler = beer pitcher.)
Pansy Makers The glasses look ... Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 10:09am -
![January 1912, New York City. View full size. To the untrained observer this might be a pleasant domestic scene; to the eye (and lens) of social reformer Lewis Hine, however, it is a diorama of decadence and moral decay, with peril lurking in every detail. The object of his ire here is the use of child labor in tenement home work, specifically the assembly of artificial flowers: "Julin, a 6-year-old child, making pansies for her neighbors on top floor (Gatto), 106 Thompson St. They said she does this every day, 'but not all day.' A growler and dirty beer glasses in the window, unwashed dishes on the stove, clothes everywhere, and flowers likewise." Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. (NB: Growler = beer pitcher.)
Pansy MakersThe glasses look clean and put away (upside down) to me. These people may have had it better than some in the garment industry did during this time. Hardly the drama being described.
Foy
Razor StropNotice the razor strop hanging on the widow frame ... You kids get to making posies or you get the strap.
21st Century Rent100 years later the rent on this apartment in West Soho, NYC is probably hovering around $2000 per month. That's a lot of paper pansies.
[I visited the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side a few weeks ago and part of the exhibit is an actual tenement flat in a century-old building. And everyone's first reaction seemed to be "Wow, these are pretty nice!" Special notice taken of high ceilings, plank floors, interior windows, etc. - Dave]
Is that a map on the wall?The old country? What was it?
The MapThe map is of the Mediterranean, but the part in dark - presumably the focus of the family interest - is Italy and its newly acquired (in 1912 as a matter of fact) colonies of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. In 1934 the two would be united as Libya.
I hate to say it, but Hine sort of comes across as a sanctimonious complainer. He gives us a picture of these people but then complains about their cleanliness and their supposed drunkenness, at a time and circumstance where the safest thing to drink might have been the beer. (As for the razor strop near the window, the man undoubtedly shaved using a straight razor near the only dependable source of light in the whole place, the window.)
Hine's MotivesOh I do agree that Hine was a propagandist for his cause, and that it was a good and noble cause. I guess that any problem I have is with his attitude in this case. The family in this photo (with little Julin, the neighbour girl) are almost made to seem like villains of the piece when in all likelihood they were being exploited almost as much as the child. It is doubtful that they were small entrepreneurs who paid the little girl a pittance and far more likely that they were piece-workers who were paid a pittance by a company. Child labour was and is an evil thing but the real blame didn't lie with these people who are being painted as the height of moral decay (a growler for beer, dirty dishes, clothes everywhere).
Family TogethernessThe father is talking, they must be having a nice conversation, this almost seems like a nice family hobby. I know that in my home if myself, my wife and mother-in-law sat around the table chatting and making paper flowers, you can bet my two young boys would be begging us to let them make some. And in keeping with other comments as to conditions, I see clean laundry hung up to dry, some folded towels on the bureau, and roughly folded clothes on the chair. Let's face it, these guys didn't have Maytags. I also agree that Hines comes across as a crabby nit picker in his narrative here.
Re: Family TogethernessYou have to remember that Lewis Hine had a goal (ending child labor) and an audience he was trying to sway to achieve it (members of Congress, who would see these photos as part of the report of the National Child Labor Committee). So he may have painted things as being bleaker than most people might feel is warranted. Also note that little Julin is not part of this family; she's a neighbor child. We don't know if she was being paid to help out.
GrowlerGlad I read the whole thing. In Yorkshire, UK, Growler = Pork Pie.
(The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine, NYC)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/05485u1.thumbnail.jpg "Making Pansies: 1912")
- Our Baby Doffer: 1910
- ... 'He can't work unless he's twelve'." Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine for the National Child Labor Committee. View full size.
... Posted by Dave - 06/01/2023 - 12:56pm -
- 143 Hudson Street: 1911
- ... dark inner bedroom (three yrs. old)." Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
re: Paper Things I think they're ... Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 6:17pm -
![New York, December 1911. "143 Hudson Street, ground floor. Mrs. Salvia; Joe, 10 years old; Josephine, 14 years old; Camille, 7 years old. Picking nuts in a dirty tenement home. The bag of cracked nuts (on chair) had been standing open all day waiting for the children to get home from school. The mangy cat (under table) roamed about over everything. Baby is sleeping in the dark inner bedroom (three yrs. old)." Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
re: Paper ThingsI think they're Victorian Christmas tree decorations which are usually filled with nuts or candy. I would guess that the family is shelling walnuts to put into the paper containers (cone and slit-sided).
143 Hudson Street:This is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. I found the sons of Joe and Camille last year and interviewed both of them. This is quite a story, but I haven't posted it on my website yet. This tenement burned down a few years later, and the family lost everything, including their family pictures. When I sent the Hine photo to Joe's son, he was very excited, because it was the first photo he had seen of his father as a boy, his grandmother at a younger age, and the inside of the tenement where they lived. Joe became a New York City policeman and moved to California when he retired. Camille married and had a long and successful life. The story will be posted on my site some time this year. www.morningsonmaplestreet.com/lewishine.html
ExaggerationHines sure likes to breathe fire into every scene. Place doesn't look dirty to me -- just messy, like any kitchen where work is being done. Cat doesn't look mangy and cats always roam all over everything. All seem to have shoes (a good sign in those days). So, the nut bag was open all day -- so what. They have protective shells. Hines certainly did an admirable job of depicting poverty but I don't think this is one of those times based solely on the photo. They all look pretty happy to me.
[Hine's motive, as we have pointed out many times, was the elimination of child labor. So his captions, which accompanied these photos in the National Child Labor Committee's report to Congress, tended to paint as bleak a picture as possible. As for the cat, his point was that fur, fleas etc. could have gotten into the nuts, which were already cracked and would go back to the wholesaler to be sold to the public after the kids had removed the shells. Communicable disease and adulteration or contamination of foodstuffs and fabric were among the health issues attached to tenement homework. - Dave]
The CatSorry, but I must once again take exception to Mr. Hine's description, even though I know his intentions. The family looks happy, and I would hardly describe the apartment as "dirty." My 3 cats "roam about over everything," as all cats are wont to do, and this one is no more mangy than I am. Cats really have a bad rap, considering they are one of the cleanest creatures on earth AND they keep vermin populations down.
[His point was that cat hair, fleas etc. could have gotten into the nuts, which were already cracked and would be sold at market after they were hulled. - Dave]
Judgy?The caption seems a big judgmental to me...the place may be a bit messy but it's not as bad as the caption says is it? They all seem to be happy. The furniture looks pretty nice.
Josh
Radio?Anyone know what the "thing" is hanging on the wall next to the calendar? Looks like a box of some sort.
[It's a gas meter. There was no radio in 1911. - Dave]
Nut PickersIt doesn't look that horrible, at least they're smiling. The way Hine describes this scene, he would have had a stroke seeing the people in the Elm Grove picture.
The WallsIn this photo and in a lot of other photos of tenements, there always seems to be a lot of pictures hanging on the walls. I've always wondered why this is.
Also in this photo the wallpaper is unusual. Can anyone make out what the pattern is?
Items on lineThere's a line/cord running from the doorway to the gas meter and it has items hanging from it. Can anyone tell what they are? The look like little paper lanterns to me.
Christmas ornaments perhaps?
[Are they papillotes? Those paper cutlet frills you'd put on the bones of a crown roast. Maybe another branch of this family's cottage industry. - Dave]
Paper thingsI don't know about the slit-sided ones (can't tell for sure if they have a bottom or liner in them) but to this day you can buy nuts at Christmas in those cone-shaped bags like that, so maybe they are all nut-containers of some kind.
Shell GameFrom their smiles, it does appear they are trying to make a game of this tedious task. That looks like a sewing machine at far right. If so, it would seem Mrs. Salvia could earn more by stitching piece goods for the garment industry than shelling nuts. But maybe not. I don't think any of the home workers earned much, whatever the task.
[According to Lewis Hine's notes, "nut-picking" brought in about $4 a week. - Dave]
Nuts to DollarsOut of curiosity, I went to a dollar buying power historic conversion site. According to their calcs, one dollar in 1911 would equate to $23.64 in today's economy. So, their nut enterprise would garner the equivalent of something like $88 per week now.
The thing on the wallIn the tenements, each apartment had a gas meter installed on the interior wall. If you wanted gas, you put money in the slot like a vending machine, and you could run your stove, lamps, what have you till the money ran out.
TB WindowThose windows commonly seen in old tenement photos like these were called "Tuberculosis Windows". The idea behind them was to facilitate air circulation in those stuffy tenements, thus helping to alleviate the TB that was rampant at the time.
143 Hudson StreetThis is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. The link to my story of this family has been changed. It is now:
http://morningsonmaplestreet.com/2014/11/26/camille-and-joseph-salvia-pa...
(The Gallery, Kids, Kitchens etc., Lewis Hine, NYC)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/05479u.thumbnail.jpg "143 Hudson Street: 1911")
- Brooklyn Pin Boys: 1910
- ... by Boss." View full size. Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
notice the gas lights notice the gas lights
Slave ... Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 6:37pm -
![April 1910. "1 a.m. Pin boys working in Subway Bowling Alleys, 65 South Street, Brooklyn, N.Y., every night. Three smaller boys were kept out of the photo by Boss." View full size. Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
notice the gas lightsnotice the gas lights
Slave DriverNot only did he hide all the nine year old kids when he saw the photographer, but I'll bet he also made sure his whip wasn't visible either.
muralI like the hint of the sailing mural on the back wall.Touch of class.
Bogotá 2006Reminds me of a bowling hall I visited in downtown Bogotá last year - pin boys and a musty basement smell
my dad was a pin boy. :]my dad was a pin boy. :]
Is that.......the dude from "Deadwood"?
The boss looks like......Al Swearengen from Deadwood
Pin Boy (Retired)I'm 78 now. I used to be a pin boy, part time nights in Hartford, Ct. from 1944 to 1947. The pay was much better than working on the tobacco farms after school.
man that job must haveman that job must have sucked did anyone ever throw the ball b4 u were done setting them??
Patrons intentionally bowling before pins were set.It happened routinely, especially later at night when the patrons were inebriated. However, you could usually expect a better tip from the drunk bowlers, especially if you would "help them along" by discreetly knocking over a few extra pins. We would occasionally taunt them and quickly jump over the safety wall as the ball was approaching.
One of only a handful remaining, there is still a public manual alley in Shohola, PA at Rohman's Hotel, It is cheap (1$ per frame) if you set your own pins or bring you own pin boy, (or girl).
http://www.riverreporter.com/issues/05-07-14/LR-wanda.html
73,
Tom
Good ole daysI worked lanes like these in the basement of a school attached to our church in Illinois. First time I ever saw a cork ball. And yes, they have thrown the ball down the lane before you had all pins set up, you just had to be quick enough to jump out of the way.
Then & NowPeople think they have it ruff now. Nice photo.
Got paid a nickel a line.I was a pinboy at age 12 in New Jersey in the fifties. Eight alleys no air conditioning, no breaks, no dental plan. But with tips you made a couple of bucks a night. Enough for a movie, comic books, a coke, and a pack of smokes. Today most folks have to work 8 hours to get all that stuff.
My First JobMy first job was as a pinboy at our local country club in New Jersey. Seven cents a game plus tips. I lasted about 4 hours.
ChicagoStill have pinboys in Chicago at Southports Lanes on the northside.
Former Pin BoyMy husband was a pin boy in 1953 at the Yonkers Jewish Center. He said your picture is exactly the way it was.
(The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine, NYC, Sports)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/04636u.thumbnail.jpg "Brooklyn Pin Boys: 1910")
- Shorpy and His Friends
- ... Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. Entire uncropped image .
Crop Can I ask why you cropped ... Posted by Dave - 04/28/2019 - 3:00pm -
![December 1910. "Shorpy Higginbotham, an oiler on the tipple at Bessie Mine" -- near Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. Entire uncropped image.
CropCan I ask why you cropped the photo?
CropTo make Shorpy stand out more.
shorpy's armsNotice 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!!
Oiler? or Oilee.Sure looks like he got more oil on him than on or in the equipment. Good quality on the resolution.
Shorpy's PosseThe 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]
ShorpyThey 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!
CapsThanks for that.
CapsAny idea what the cards or ?? are on the front of the caps?
[Lamp holders - Dave]
Miners' capsThose are lamp holders.
https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/01076u.jpg
CarltonYour site is perfect!
[Aw shucks. You are most perceptive! - Dave]
AwesomeI 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]
What an amazing site.And what an amazing bunch of young fellows.
Fate and time . . .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 . . : >)
Shorpy's ArmsI 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.
ShorpyWhat is he holding?
[An oil can. - Dave]
He Cannot Tell a LieBefore 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.
Happy Birthday!Today is Shorpy's birthday! 112 years old today! Happy birthday!
[OMG. Thank you for remembering! And Happy Birthday, Shorp! - Dave]
Records of the PastI 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]
It's that time of year again...Shorpy's birthday is today! Happy 113th birthday, Shorpy!
I have never seen thisI have never seen this picture by Hine. This is brilliant, everything about this picture just captures me! The look of pure disgust and determination on the boys faces just kills me! There is something about the way the way Hine decided the capture them in this triangular formation with the point coming at the viewer. The dirt and grime that covers the boys as well adds another dimension to the work. The position and the way Shorpy is holding his harms along with his gang of followers behind him make it seem as if they are going to come out of the picture and attack. They are ready for anything that anyone throws at them, on moment away from strike! Once again this is fabulous!
Happy birthday ShorpyGlad to know about Shorpy, this worked kid, who served to his nation at the First War World, today in his birthday I give my sincere greetings to him.
[Thank you very much! - Dave]
(The Gallery, Birmingham, Lewis Hine, Mining)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY_01099u2_812.thumbnail.jpg "Shorpy and His Friends")
- The Shining: 1908
- ... it before it closes. View full size. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine.
How about a double exposure? ....since there's no streaks ... Posted by Dave - 12/19/2015 - 12:27pm -
- Skeeters Branch Newsies: 1910
- ... Branch, Jefferson near Franklin, St. Louis." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
Album art This image was used on the ... Posted by Dave - 02/05/2016 - 11:44pm -
![11 a.m. Monday, May 9, 1910. "Newsies at Skeeter’s Branch, Jefferson near Franklin, St. Louis." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
Album artThis image was used on the album "Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone" by The Walkmen. Just in case anyone finds this interesting.
Great images btw!
md
[Yes, Shorpy finds this very interesting. Thanks! - Dave]
Wow!These boys were cool, when this expression wouldn't have been used for anything else but temperature...
Could that be Papa Muzevich?Gee, one of these kids could be my relatives. My Grandmother grew up on Franklin Avenue in St. Louis. And yes...the proclivity for smoking continues in the gene line...sigh.
Great site.
History repeats itself100 years later and we STILL haven't learned that smoking KILLS!
BTW - These kids don't even look like they're past 10 years old!
Also a book cover?I think this image was also used as the book cover image for a book about how "teenager" came to be a cultural category. Alas, I forget the name of the book and the author...
He Looks 40That middle kid looks closer to 40 than to 10. I guess hard living and squinting through smoke will do that for you.
Songstress Sade tells us:
"The secret of their fear and their suspicion
Standing there looking like an angel
In his brown shoes, his short suit
His white shirt and his cuffs a little frayed"
My Kid BrotherThis picture was a real eye opener. The kid in the middle is a dead ringer for my kid brother Kevin...right down to the cigarette, the cocked head, the smirk and looking thru the smoke. Wow what a shock it was to run accross this. Wait till Mom finds out!!!
Skeeters Branch Newsies: 1910This is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. I have identified the boy in the middle. I interviewed his niece today, and will let Shorpy know when my story is posted. The boy died in 1964 at the age of 67. For many years, he was a streetcar conductor.
Skeeter's Branch Newsies: 1910This is Joe Manning again. I have completed my story of Raymond Klose, who was the boy in the middle of the picture.
http://morningsonmaplestreet.com/2015/01/01/raymond-klose/
A fast crowdThough this appears shocking to us today, kids like these grew up real fast. My father drove a Model T at 11 years old.
The 3 Bruisers Meet Moe, Larry & Burly.
Thanks Shorpy!Thanks for moving this entry up so we didn't miss Joe Manning's update. I always enjoy and find his research very interesting.
Got the printOrdered this in 11x17-ish size, hangs in my guest bathroom. I highly recommend ordering prints from Shorpy. Top quality, fast delivery, friendly service.
(The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine, St. Louis)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY_05319.thumbnail.jpg "Skeeters Branch Newsies: 1910")
- Working Boys: 1910
- ... before 1 p.m. Photo at 12:30." Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
Re: Why they're smiling It's ... Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 1:40pm -
![May 17, 1910. Alton, Illinois, "Noon hour. These boys are all working in the Illinois Glass Company. Smallest boy, Frank Dwyer, 1009½ E. Sixth Street, says he has been working here three months. Joe Dwyer (brother) has been working here over two years. Henry Maul, 513 Central Avenue. Frank Schenk, lives with uncle, 611 Central Avenue. Emil Ohley, 1012 E. Sixth Street. William Jarett, 825 E. Fifth Street. Fred Metz, 707 Bloomfield Street. In addition to their telling me they worked, I saw them beginning work just before 1 p.m. Photo at 12:30." Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
Re: Why they're smilingIt's because they have jobs!
What did he say?This is the smilingist group of workers that I have seen on Shorpy. The photographer must have instigated this playfulness.
[That Lewis Hine was a notorious cutup. - Dave]
Why they're smilingThey realize it's only three and a half months away, and they're expressing their appreciation to Canadians for inventing Labor Day.
Not Following the Narrative"Noon hour. These boys are all working in the Illinois Glass Company. All refused to scowl, frown and look exploited, even after being told they were 'child laborers.'"
I wonderhow many of them went off to WW2.
[Probably zero, seeing as how they'd all be at least 40 years old. - Dave]
Unemployed TipsterYou got that right! Both my husband and I got laid off and he is JUST now starting a new job, but having a job is a reason to smile! Darn economy!!!
That Ol' Gang O' MineI love the "smooshed hat" kid and the kid doing the smooshing. Plus, the one on the far left next to the old fellow has a face for the cover of an oatmeal box or some such commercial advertisement.
Working boys in Alton: 1910This is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. The boy on the left in the front row was Frank Dwyer. The third boy from the left was his brother Joseph. I just interviewed his daughter. The cute little boy near the middle with his right leg crossed in front of his left leg was Henry "Happy" Maul. I just located his daughter, and will be calling her today. More on this later.
Skinny, Flunkie, and Happy, Alton, Illinois, 1910This is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. I have posted my stories about three boys in this photo: Joseph & Frank Dwyer, and Henry Maul. I interviewed the daughters of both Joseph and Henry. Joseph was called "Skinny," Frank was called "Flunkie," and Henry was called "Happy." See the stories at:
http://morningsonmaplestreet.com/2015/01/18/joseph-and-frank-dwyer-henry...
(The Gallery, Factories, Kids, Lewis Hine)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/01289u.thumbnail.jpg "Working Boys: 1910")
- Indiana Janes: 1908
- ... Clopper." View full size. Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Satisfied? As another commenter mentioned, here's another ... Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 12:12pm -
![August 1908. "Noon hour in an Indianapolis cotton mill. Witness, E.N. Clopper." View full size. Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Satisfied?As another commenter mentioned, here's another Lewis Hine photo where the subjects are not glaring angrily at the photographer. Could it be that the workers were actually satisfied with their worksite? That doesn't fit in well with Hine's agenda that workers were abused by their employer. So, Hine could be balanced in the way he shows his subjects.
BTW, it looks like one could get pretty dirty working in a cotton mill (in Indianapolis, of all places!). Surprising, but what do I know.
Probably a FridayThey're Hoosiers. It's probably a Friday. Payday. Basketball game this evening. Life is good.
IndianapolisIndianapolis didn't get the nickname "Crossroads of America" for nothing. It was a good halfway point between Chicago & Cincinnati, and lots of other places. So it's not surprising to me that cotton would be shipped here for working.
Mill GirlsMy great-grandmother worked in a Virginia cotton mill as a teenager in the 1910s. In 1975 I interviewed her as part of my graduate thesis. One thing she kept repeating was what a "wonderful" job it was, and how "blessed" she was to be able to work there. When I asked about workplace conditions she said the only "workplace" the girls had before that was in the fields. "Crawling though [poop]." Maybe that's why they all look so happy.
Indiana Janes: 1908Hine didn't create those awful working conditions to fit his "agenda," he took the pictures to point out the awful working conditions. Perhaps these people are smiling because it's what's expected when someone points a camera at you, especially as this might be the only photograph that would be taken of you.
[ Conditions were not "awful." No one was making these girls work here. Lewis Hine took these pictures because that's what he was paid to do. His goal was ending child labor, not the employment of people these girls' age. - Dave]
South Carolina cotton millsI worked in 2 cotton mills in Greenville, SC in the 1970's. I worked pretty much every job in the Draper and Sulzer weave rooms. This was past the era when the mills built mill villages with houses, schools,baseball fields, and gyms for the employees but the people I worked with were happy, hard working people who liked their jobs. The biggest problem was the lack of a good retirement plan in the mills but then the employees were expected to plan and be prepared for their own retirement. I look back on my experience as a good one overall. The mill employees were like an extended family and took care of each other.
Who?I would love to know who these women and girls are. I have lived in Indianapolis my whole life, and have a lot of family history here.
(The Gallery, Factories, Indianapolis, Lewis Hine)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/01327u.thumbnail.jpg "Indiana Janes: 1908")
- Rhea Quintin: 1916
- ... other purpose." View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Rhea Quintin This is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine ... Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 10:34am -
- Carnival Ride From Hell: 1911
- ... the utmost recesses of the boys' lungs." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
From the 1906 book The Bitter Cry of the ... Posted by Dave - 06/24/2021 - 11:31pm -
![January 1911. South Pittston, Pennsylvania. "A view of the Pennsylvania Breaker. 'Breaker boys' remove rocks and other debris from the coal by hand as it passes beneath them. The dust is so dense at times as to obscure the view and penetrates the utmost recesses of the boys' lungs." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
From the 1906 book The Bitter Cry of the Children by labor reformer John Spargo:
Work in the coal breakers is exceedingly hard and dangerous. Crouched over the chutes, the boys sit hour after hour, picking out the pieces of slate and other refuse from the coal as it rushes past to the washers. From the cramped position they have to assume, most of them become more or less deformed and bent-backed like old men. When a boy has been working for some time and begins to get round-shouldered, his fellows say that “He’s got his boy to carry round wherever he goes.”
The coal is hard, and accidents to the hands, such as cut, broken, or crushed fingers, are common among the boys. Sometimes there is a worse accident: a terrified shriek is heard, and a boy is mangled and torn in the machinery, or disappears in the chute to be picked out later smothered and dead. Clouds of dust fill the breakers and are inhaled by the boys, laying the foundations for asthma and miners’ consumption.
I once stood in a breaker for half an hour and tried to do the work a 12-year-old boy was doing day after day, for 10 hours at a stretch, for 60 cents a day. The gloom of the breaker appalled me. Outside the sun shone brightly, the air was pellucid, and the birds sang in chorus with the trees and the rivers. Within the breaker there was blackness, clouds of deadly dust enfolded everything, the harsh, grinding roar of the machinery and the ceaseless rushing of coal through the chutes filled the ears. I tried to pick out the pieces of slate from the hurrying stream of coal, often missing them; my hands were bruised and cut in a few minutes; I was covered from head to foot with coal dust, and for many hours afterwards I was expectorating some of the small particles of anthracite I had swallowed.
I could not do that work and live, but there were boys of 10 and 12 years of age doing it for 50 and 60 cents a day. Some of them had never been inside of a school; few of them could read a child’s primer. True, some of them attended the night schools, but after working 10 hours in the breaker the educational results from attending school were practically nil. “We goes fer a good time, an’ we keeps de guys wot’s dere hoppin’ all de time,” said little Owen Jones, whose work I had been trying to do.
From the breakers the boys graduate to the mine depths, where they become door tenders, switch boys, or mule drivers. Here, far below the surface, work is still more dangerous. At 14 or 15 the boys assume the same risks as the men, and are surrounded by the same perils. Nor is it in Pennsylvania only that these conditions exist. In the bituminous mines of West Virginia, boys of 9 or 10 are frequently employed. I met one little fellow 10 years old in Mount Carbon, West Virginia, last year, who was employed as a “trap boy.” Think of what it means to be a trap boy at 10 years of age. It means to sit alone in a dark mine passage hour after hour, with no human soul near; to see no living creature except the mules as they pass with their loads, or a rat or two seeking to share one’s meal; to stand in water or mud that covers the ankles, chilled to the marrow by the cold draughts that rush in when you open the trap door for the mules to pass through; to work for 14 hours — waiting — opening and shutting a door — then waiting again for 60 cents; to reach the surface when all is wrapped in the mantle of night, and to fall to the earth exhausted and have to be carried away to the nearest “shack” to be revived before it is possible to walk to the farther shack called “home.”
Boys 12 years of age may be legally employed in the mines of West Virginia, by day or by night, and for as many hours as the employers care to make them toil or their bodies will stand the strain. Where the disregard of child life is such that this may be done openly and with legal sanction, it is easy to believe what miners have again and again told me — that there are hundreds of little boys of 9 and 10 years of age employed in the coal mines of this state.
-- John Spargo, The Bitter Cry of the Children (New York: Macmillan, 1906)
A little researchOne little search on google answers the question of if this is still allowed to exist.
http://hrw.org/children/labor.htm
Think Outside the USIt may not be happening here, in the US of A but that doesn't mean it isn't happening...
http://hrw.org/children/labor.htm
how trueI agree totally with the previous comment. But serious, this is a fantastic photo-- how incredible that this was (and probably still is) allowed to exist!
Breaker BoysThere haven't been any kids in American coal mines since the child labor laws were passed around 80 years ago. Plus of course coal-sorting is automated and done by machines now.
Breaking..The little boy in the center of the photo looks to be about my son's age. Thinking about my son living that life tears me up. I can't fathom what it would be like to send your child off to that, much less having to work it.
That dangerous line of work made for some amazing photos, and some serious thought...
This picture has me wondering..I realize that children had to work hard to survive back then, but even my generation had to help our parents as soon as we were able to. Aren't we now raising a bunch of lazy kids that will never grow up. First you worked when you turned 6, then 9 or 10. It's getting so that we are letting children stay children way too long today, and parents are spoiling them to the point that often they are still living at home as adults. There has to be a happy medium here somewhere. I expect that in coming years we will still be taking care of our "children" well into their twenties! Don't get me wrong, my heart breaks to see these tiny children in these photos having to do the things they did to survive!
Required School SubjectPerhaps a required course about child labor should be taught in schools. Maybe today's children would gain an appreciation of what they have rather than lamenting what they do not have.
Children staying children....Quote "...we are letting children stay children way too long today, ....." Unquote.
Pray tell....at what age should a child cease to be a child?
BK
Canberra
Children staying children...At what age should a child cease to be a child? That's easy. The answer in America is 18. If you're old enough to go to war or vote, you're an adult and it's time to get with it.
I started working part time (with a work permit) at 15, and my father made it clear I had to be self sufficient or in college at 18, after graduating high school. It worked out pretty well, and I think that vast bulk of children today would benefit from a few deadlines.
Children staying children....I remember my US Marine son saying "I'm old enough to vote and to die for my country, but I can't legally drink a beer." He was age 20 when he said this.
Coal Miner's DollarThis may be a foolish question, but where did the boys put the rocks and debris they retrieved? Was there some kind of separate "trash" channel within the chute? Did they just toss it somewhere to the side?
The text description of the work is chilling. And these children endured this hellhole for less than Loretta Lynn's "miner's dollar" - 60-70 cents a day.
Maybe not in Americabut people who aren't Americans are still human beings, right? Still people with souls and hearts and, as Neil Gaiman wrote, entire lives inside every one of them.
And we all tend to think of them as lesser beings, or their troubles as less important to us, because they were born on the other side of an artificial border.
Mine Owners BurdenDo you believe that any of the folks who profited from the work of these children every set foot in one of these mines? Do you believe THEIR children ever had to even lift a finger to get whatever they needed or wanted ? Just the same old story, the elites living on the backs of the majority. Don't think it isn't going on right now, and that it couldn't happen here if the moneyed elite (left and right) could just get their way! Ah, the good old days!
[Yes, they did set foot on the premises. They also provided a livelihood for the thousands of people who chose to work there. - Dave]
What beyond bare subsistence is a livelihood?Directed to Dave's response to "Mine Owner's Burden":
Perhaps the owners did set foot in the mines, perhaps they did support "the thousands who chose to work there"; but what choice did many of these kids have? Many were either orphaned or born into families without the means to survive if their children did not go to work in the mines. The fact is that the mine owners DID NOT pay a wage that allowed for the families to live above poverty level, even with their sons working beginning work at age 7 or so.
[As Lewis Hine documented in his report to the National Child Labor Committee, hardly any of these children were orphans (back when orphans were usually committed to orphanages). Most of them came from two-parent households that, as Hine took pains to point out, didn't need the extra income. And there were other employment opportunities for boys their age -- work in agriculture, fabric mills, markets, etc. - Dave]
From Bad to WorseJust when I thought Tobacco Tim had it bad, Shorpy's comes up with this. Unfortunately I'm quite sure that things have been even worse for some kids.
Something to ponderBehind every "endowment for the arts", "trusts" that built museums and public venues and all originating from the money made in that era there are proverbial hunched shoulders of the boys as on the photo.
AirI feel honored to join a line of comments that stretches back over 14 years to the time of the original posting of this photo. This is a piteous sight indeed, these children performing appalling work in such cramped and hunched-over positions. The text by Spargo documents the numerous horrible features of the job, not the least of which was the dust in the air. Which makes me wonder: couldn’t the overlords at least have opened that window? Sure, it was January, but wouldn’t the chill have been worth it for the sake of fresh air?
Constant reminderI live in Northeast Pennsylvania not far from old coal breakers, plus the mountains of culm and coal waste. I was told that the probably the hundreds of thousands tons of this stuff was picked by boys just like these.
110 years laterThis photo is heartbreaking. However, it struck me that today a group of children would have the same posture - all bent over their phones. That is heartbreaking, too, in a different way.
Gramps Survived ThisMy granddaddy (1891-1969) was a breaker boy in Pennsylvania. He had to help support a large family. I remember hearing that he got $2 a week and a box of groceries. Then he went off to Europe and fought in WWI in France. He must've been a tough guy but never showed it. He lived a long life but finally black lung disease and a heart attack did him in.
(The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine, Mining)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY-05473u.thumbnail.jpg "Carnival Ride From Hell: 1911")
- Re-Becca: 1909
- ... is 12. Next, Rebecca Kirwin, is 14." Glass negative by Lewis Wickes Hine for the National Child Labor Committee. View full size.
... Posted by Dave - 02/26/2023 - 3:12pm -
- Happy Birthday Shorpy!
- ... danger of being run over by the coal cars." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
Shorpy was born 114 years ago on November ... Posted by Dave - 08/15/2012 - 9:56am -
![December 1910. "Shorpy Higginbotham, a 'greaser' on the tipple at Bessie Mine, Alabama, of the Sloss-Sheffield Steel and Iron Co. Said he was 14 years old, but it is doubtful. Carries two heavy pails of grease, and is often in danger of being run over by the coal cars." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
Shorpy was born 114 years ago on November 23, 1896. After this photo was taken, he lived 17 more years until he died in a mining accident at the age of 31. This Thanksgiving, let's raise a toast to his too-short but memorable life.
Happy birthday ShorpyHappy birthday!!! You are not forgotten
Shorpy rememberedWhat a singular thing it is for an otherwise forgotten life to be remembered, even memorialized, this way, via Shorpy, the site. Combined with that, the poignant story of Shorpy the person, his childhood and abruptly shortened life - I gotta say, it brings a tear to my eye.
Happy Birthday Shorpy!Shorpy is one day older than my Dad who was born 11-24-96 and died on 1-24-64.
Another milestoneNext month will mark the 100th anniversary of this picture and the other photos of Shorpy taken by Lewis Hine.
I wonderif Shorpy was related somehow to my 6th grade teacher Mr. Higginbotham, because I remember thinking what an unusual name he had and had NEVER met anyone who had a name like that ... until now!
You do honor to his memory.And thank you for running an important historical site.
Shorpy, we celebrate your birthday,Yet we are the ones who receive the gifts, not just once a year, but every day that we visit this always interesting and sometimes incredibly moving blog that Dave created and named for you.
Thanks to you both and here's to another year.
Here's to Shorpy - The hard-working young man, and the fascinating website. Cheers!
Happy Birthday and Cheers Shorpy I think it's great that Shorpy Higginbotham (by the way, I know a Higginbotham) is remembered presently as the name and face behind this site that shares our history through "family photographs" for us to enjoy and enrich each other with our posted comments.
I hope any one of us has this remembrance decades after our passing.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Remembering ShorpyDown here in the southern hemisphere we are mourning the loss of 29 miners in a mine explosion in New Zealand. I think it is fitting we remember Shorpy and all the nameless ones like him.
www.rwyoung.com.au
Possible genealogyI think I've found the 1900 Census record for Shorpy:
His real name was Henry.
Unfortunately the name has an inkblot over it but all the details work out. His father was a miner. He would have been about 3 years old in 1900, and lived in Graysville, Jefferson Co., which is where Bessie Mine is.
[His birth name was Henry Sharpe Higginbotham. The basic facts of his life are recounted on Shorpy's Page. Scroll down for the genealogical details. - Dave]
Thank You ShorpyFor being there every day ... Thank you Dave for this fantastic website. I wish we had one like this in the Netherlands. Very pity we don't. May you live on forever and ever. It would be nice if Shorpy H. could see these beautiful photos on his own PC up there in Heaven!
Happy Birthday ShorpyThanking God today that children don't have to endure what Shorpy did. Yes, I realize children were tougher then, but life was so dangerous. Thanks Shorpy for your legacy.
A toast from meRaise your glass to Shorpy
Who worked at Bessie Mine
He lives on in our memory
Because of Lewis Hine
Happy Thanksgiving, Shorpsters
A glass for ShorpyAnd I don't even drink.
There is much that is haunting about many of the photos that you post, but especially Shorpy's. I'd like to think that somewhere, somehow he's aware of this site and marvels that people know and remember him a hundred years later.
Happy Birthday Shorpy!And many thanks to Dave for always providing a great way to start each Morning with visions from the past!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Recognitionof Shorpy's lot in life serves to enlighten all of us of with unvarnished looks at the way this country developed. Thanks to Shorpy (who might be a relative) and all who make this site the success it's become.
No Joy in MudvilleIt is true that the future of these innocents was inevitable if they were born into the mineworkers' families in small towns and hollers in which mining was the only work available. There were few choices and to earn a living, they just had to 'man up', take the high risk jobs of (literally) backbreaking labor, accept that any day could be their last and were glad to have any job. These strong and courageous men and boys were not seeking fame and admiration, just struggling to support their families and do their jobs well. Like many people, even today, they were probably considered "nobodies" by the upper crust of society but to their families they were saints and saviors. My mom told me that when her father finished his day at the mines and walked home, his wife had a warm bath ready (with hand-carried, stove-heated water), then started every meal with soup (to clear out the throat and lungs of soot) and made it clear that he was appreciated by his kids all helping and serving him. I can't speak for everyone but in his case, they never got wealthy (owed their soul to the company store), suffered many family tragedies and his work-related injuries stayed with him for life. Things were so different then, it is hard to believe it was just about 100 years ago, but people truly struggled to survive. We don't know how lucky we are today. Happy birthday Shorpy, we hardly knew ye.
I never realizedin all the time I've spent here, that the site was named for a real person. Thanks so much for giving us this great place to visit and expand our views of history, and special thanks to Shorpy himself.
One for ShorpyI will raise a glass high and take a long drink in his honor.
A question for Dave or Ken. What prompted you to choose Shorpy's name and face for this site?
[The three photos of him just reached out and grabbed me for some reason. Poignant, I suppose. And the name "Shorpy" was appealing -- unique as far as Google was concerned (just one hit), and available as a domain name. - Dave]
Daily remindersEvery day, without fail, includes a visit here.
Young Henry Sharpe, aka "Shorpy," looks out at me every time as a reminder of my blessings. I do hope he had some in his short life.
Another lowly worker, of a different kind, Green Cottenham, brought through exploration of his life a detailed look at oppression, in Douglas A. Blackmon's unforgettable book, "Slavery by Another Name."
I am grateful for the images I see here each day, which serve to reinforce the great faith and effort to achieve true freedom and justice in this country.
I am more grateful for the support which makes this site continue its important contribution to the understanding of what we had, what we have, and what we still must achieve; and for authors such as Mr. Blackmon, who "keep going," to bestow honor on the lowly heroes of our past.
Happy Birthday ShorpyGotta say, when i was 20, I was out partying, now that I'm 50 I've found a better way to spend my nights, and that's with you dave, and especially SHORPY.
Shorpy Higginbotham's story This is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. For Shorpy readers who haven't seen it, here is the sad story of Shorpy Higginbotham.
http://morningsonmaplestreet.com/2014/11/26/henry-s-higginbotham-page-on...
Little MenThere's a heartbreaking lot of little men in this picture. Look at those expressions. It was a different world, and we have it way too easy, now--for which I am thankful!
Thanks for the site, Dave. It was an inspired idea.
Happy Birthday Shorpy!I love the great history of the U.S. Thanks for the site.
Land of Equality Who says that America isn't integrated???
Glad to know nowthat this excellent website is named after someone who would have otherwise been forgotten by history. I find Shorpy's story fascinating and the website a great part of my every day. Thanks for this site and keeping Shorpy's memory alive. A guy who worked hard and served his country.
Lunch is on meShorpy is my lunchtime friend. When the the boss comes around, invariably when I'm eating al desko and asks what are you doing, I answer either "a BLT" or "Shorpy."
Salute!All my respect goes to the hardworking miners of the world.
Always center stage.I can't help but think that although he was short of stature, he was someone to reckon with. Everytime he's in a picture somewhere, he is in the middle of the picture.
A real handful. The strange things you deduct from pictures.
Happy birthday Shorp!
Happy Birthday, Shorpy!This was a rather poignant entry, Dave; thanks for all your fine work on here. Shorpy and I share the same birthday, and had his luck been better he probably would have been alive when I was born in 1959 on what would have been his 65th birthday. I think it is wonderful that an ordinary hard-working guy is memorialized on this site, and I hope he's is aware of it, somehow, somewhere, and is amused by it. I also hope that short and hard as his life was, that Shorpy had moments of joy and laughter that outshone the tough times. Happy 114th, Shorpy!!
Training, sort of?Not trying to justify the working conditions that Shorpy and his pals had to work in, but I guess it was good training for the trenches of France where many of these guys would be a few years later. Heck, one might say that Army life was a vacation compared to day-to-day at the Bessie Mine.
Thanks to Shorpy for his inspiration and to Dave for taking the ball and running with it.
(The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine, Mining)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/01099u1.thumbnail.jpg "Happy Birthday Shorpy!")
- Our Gang: 1916
- ... Margaret and Water streets -- 4:30 p.m." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
Knickers, and rifles, and guns -- Oh my! ... Posted by Dave - 10/06/2010 - 6:08am -
- Night Shift: 1911
- ... work side by side with the white workers." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
"Side by side with the white ... Posted by Dave - 08/04/2011 - 7:51am -
![June 1911. Alexandria, Virginia. "Old Dominion Glass Co. A few of the young boys working on the night shift at the Alexandria glass factory. Negroes work side by side with the white workers." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
"Side by side with the white workers"It seems as if Mr. Hine wants to say that that is a shame apart from young boys working.
Perspectives Do ChangeWhen Mr. Hine noted that "Negroes work side by side with the white workers," I don't think he thought that was a good thing.
How times have changedAnd kids these days think they have it hard when the internet goes down for an hour.
Just the factsI'm not getting any kind of point of view from reading the associated statement. Sounded like the writer was stating a simple fact. Maybe the writer felt he needed to explain why the black kid was in the photo.
Those poor children. My heart is heavy just looking at that photo. They should be in school or playing. And yet, from their expressions I get the feeling that these kids ended up okay. I wish I could say the same thing about of lot of the young boys around today.
Working togetherAt a time when blacks and whites weren't always seen working together, even if they did. It is a plain statement of fact by the photographer that they work together at the mines.
Huh?Actually, I thought Mr. Hine's note was taking pains to point out that at lower class levels the races were mixing - over the dual issue of working to pay rent and provide food for a family. Nowhere does Hine apply a pejorative sense. He had been a crusader who used his art to help end child labor. So I don't think he would have minded at all.
Two things come to mind1. The boy on the far right seems to think he's a pretty tough guy.
2. The variety of the facial features show how unique we all are. I'm glad God didn't make us all from the same mold. It would have been pretty boring by now.
Hey you - photog!Kid on the right appears to be saying: "here, hold my jacket while I give that photog a bunch in the nose!"
Expressions on their facesI see Apprehension, Anger, Fear, Indifference, not much Joy though.
Glass Could Be Half FullWhy must Hine's comment be interpreted in the negative? As he was documenting child labor, it may have struck him as a pleasant surprise that the boys worked together regardless of race. Encountering such comraderie in Virginia a mere 46 years after the end of the Civil War might have had a lot to do with it.
[The caption information comes from more than one photo. Hine took several pictures of just the black workers. - Dave]
Called OutThe boy with half a jacket on (2nd from right in front) looks like he's scared enough to pee his pants. My imagination tells me that the boys to either side of him (especially the one with his hand against his shoulder) plan to beat him up on his way home from work, and they've been letting him know that all day.
Night Shift: 1911 Almost all the workers in factories and mills at this time were white. The country was segregated - remember? That's why it is very rare to see an African-American in Hine's child labor photos, especially in a state like Virginia. The fact that this situation is an exception is the only reason Hine mentioned it. That's all there is to it. Hine was not a racist. He believed deeply that everyone had dignity and should be treated with respect. But he was not a 1960s-style civil rights worker. Had he been a photojournalist in the days of the bus boycotts and the Selma marches, his camera would have been right there on the front lines.
Old Dominion Glass
Washington Post, Feb 24, 1907.
Mammoth Bottle Plant.
Old Dominion Glass Company One of Alexandria's Big Industrial Concerns.
…
The factory is the largest south of New Jersey. Its daily output is in the neighborhood of two carloads. The number of bottles varies, as it takes a much longer time to make the large bottles than it does to make the small vials. A team, however, turns out from five to six thousand bottles a day. The Old Dominion Glass Company makes a specialty of beer and soda bottles, which are not only guaranteed to stand the highest pressure from within, but also the hottest steaming. Not less than 2,000 molds are kept by the firm. These vary in size and style from the one dram druggist vial to a fifteen-gallon carboy.
This plant covers four or five acres and employs not less than two hundred and fifty blowers and molders. Here everything in the manufacture of the glass bottle may be seen. First the visitor is carried to the enormous sand pits, where hundreds of tons of glistening white sand is being hauled away to be mixed with soda, ash and lime in chemically exact proportions. This mixture, which has to be carried out with great accuracy in order to secure the best results, requires the employment of a special chemist for that purpose. It is then placed in an enormous furnace or retort. Here it is subjected to a temperature that is almost inconceivable. The foreman will tell that this mass has to be brought to a temperature of 2,800 degrees before it will fuse. This intense heat is obtained by burning unrefined coal gas under heavy pressure. At this plant there is a separate manufacturing department for this gas, and here many tons of coal are consumed daily in order to get the necessary amount of gas.
As the sand, lime and soda ash fuse into a liquid mass, it flows to the end of the furnace, where swarthy workmen, scantily clad, stand with long iron pipes. They dip the ends of the pipes into the white-hot mass and draw out a small bulb of it. This they roll on slabs until it cools to an orange color. It is then thrust into a mold and the glass blower inflates the bulb, making it fill the recess. The bottle is then taken out of the mold with pincers and placed upon a pair of scales. Here one must stop to marvel. Every bottle tips the scale and makes it balance absolutely. It is this feature that enables the glass blower to make from eight to ten dollars a day. If he should get the fraction of an ounce more of the liquid mass on the end of the iron pipe, the thickness of the bottle would vary and of course the weight would be a variable quantity.
…
(The Gallery, Factories, Lewis Hine)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/01301u.thumbnail.jpg "Night Shift: 1911")
- Break Time: 1909
- ... time at machine if they wish." Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
Temptation "In this hardscrabble life I ... Posted by Dave - 07/21/2009 - 1:32am -
- Harry McShane: 1908
- ... View full size. Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
wow. wow.
Harry Yeah, wow. In today's world he would've ... Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 6:59pm -
![Harry McShane, 134 Broadway, Cincinnati. Sixteen years of age on June 29, 1908. Had his left arm pulled off near shoulder, and right leg broken through kneecap by being caught on belt of a machine in Spring Works factory [below] in May 1908. Had been working there more than 2 years. Was on his feet for first time after the accident the day this photo was taken. No attention was paid by employers to the boy either at hospital or home according to statement of boy's father. No compensation. View full size. Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
wow.wow.
HarryYeah, wow. In today's world he would've gotten a crapload of money from the employers.
failure of capitalismNow THERE is a failure of capitalism. Someone was saying the other day here that a kid working as a messenger boy was a failure of capitalism. No, this here is a failure.
Geez. I suppose there are kids we'll never see pictures of because they were killed and not merely injured.
capitalism failure?OK, well today the same thing happens, except the kids so injured are working in Red China. Is that a failure of Communism, then?
There are child workers allThere are child workers all over the world in factories, mines and other types of exploitaion exist also. And we continue to support this by buying stuff from those countries. Look at your monitor/mouse/keyboard tag. Does it read 'Made in China'?
This Harry McShane?I wonder if it's the Harry McShane that was born Dec 12, 1891 (the age would be right) and died April 1986 at the age of 94 in Dallas, TX.
Oh, I hope it's THAT Harry McShane......because it would mean he lived a long life (94!), and it was a happy one, too (got to live in Texas!).
:-)
P.S. Don't get any ideas of moving here like Harry. We're full...
Harry McShaneAfter seeing the photo on this site, I added it to my Lewis Hine Project and did some quick research. I found him in the 1910 census, and then found some other stuff. He's not the Harry McShane in Texas. He lived nearly all his life in Ohio, and he died in Ohio in 1982, at the age of 88. He got married and had at least one child. More on this later.
OK, well today the sameOK, well today the same thing happens, except the kids so injured are working in Red China. Is that a failure of Communism, then?
The Chinese gave up on Communism years ago, in all but name. They're now authoritarian capitalists. So it's just another failure of way-too-laissez-faire capitalism, to be added to the list of poisoned cat food, toys with lead paint, etc.
We used to think that democracy and capitalism were opposite sides of the same coin. No longer. It'll be mighty interesting to see what happens now.
Capitalism failure?The company I work for opened a factory in china last year. I have heard so many stories of how bad things are there for the average factory worker. We have it made here compared to the Chinese. The country is filthy and the air is dirty. The water is not suitable for drinking in many areas. We have had several employees come back sick. Be thankful for living in the USA. We need to be careful to protect what we have earned.
Horrible & sadHow sad and terrible it is to think that the employees didn't even care for the boy. I'm glad I work in a good caring company as all other companies and their employees care and watch out for each other. Good old days? I think not.
Not Capitalism, Unrestricted CapitalismIf you want an explanation of why this sort of thing doesn't happen in North America today thank unions that fought for better working conditions and legislators who pushed through laws that restricted child labour and unsafe conditions. And oh yeah, wages for workers that meant that children didn't have to go to work at 14 or younger so that the family wasn't out on the streets. It isn't a failure of capitalism; what it is is a hallmark of unrestricted capitalism.
Horrible...What a horrible tragedy. Without wading into the capitalism/communist debate, I'll just say that it is very telling that the employers wanted nothing to do with him after the accident. I wonder if he or his father ever pursued a legal course of action against the employer...
Also, after enduring such an injury in 1908, it's amazing that he is up the next month. Even today, such an injury could be fatal because of blood loss.
Ralph
sadsad, but how brave the boy was! such bravery. i want to be like him, unafraid to take a picture after such an incident. we also know the exact time the picture was taken: 2:20
Brave smileThat brave smile inclines me to think he had the resources for a happy life. I hope it was a long life, too.
Thank youFor letting us know. It's odd, but I worry about some of the people I see on here.
I know exactly how you feel, Anonymous Tipster.I thought maybe it was just because I was a history major in college or because my grandmother was Irish and sentimental, but the people I see on Shorpy often cross my mind during the day at work!
Often, it's thankfulness that the 11-14 year-olds I see are on my school campus, not working in a mine or on a loom or on an Ohio machine that could rip an arm off.
And more recently, it's been a reality check on how tough life was for my grandparents and how I'm going to come through these tough times (am currently in the middle of a divorce) just fine as long as I have my church and the love of my friends and family. Material stuff just does NOT matter if you *make up your mind* to be happy...
Isn't it wonderful how we're all connected? :-)
Fate of these peopleI sometimes wonder about the fate of some of these people in the pictures. They are/were real people with real lives, loves, happiness, and sadness. They are not just old pictures but windows into the past. It does me good to know that this man lived on and had a life after his misfortune. I love this site!
Attn: Joe Manning Re: Harry McShaneI'd just like to thank Joe for all the hard work he's putting into the Lewis Hine Project and for keeping us Shorpy viewers informed about these kids.
Harry McShaneIt looks like I spoke too soon, and the mystery deepens. This is Joe Manning again from the Lewis Hine Project. I talked to the granddaughter of the McShane who I appeared to identify as the boy in the photo. She said her grandfather had two arms and it couldn't be him. Well, it looks like she was correct. Looking further, there were two McShane boys who would have been 16 years old in 1908, who lived at 134 Broadway, Cincinnati. One was Henry (Harry?) in the 1900 census, father Peter. The other was William in the 1910 census, also father Peter. Both disappear into thin air after that. Could William and Henry (Harry?) have been the same person, or could they have been twins? If twins, could Henry (Harry?) have died between 1908 and 1910? I am going to try to get information from the Cincinnati death records to see if Henry (Harry?) died in the early 1900s. I live in Massachusetts. Anyone out there live near Cincinnati who could go to the vital records office and look it up? The search goes on.
Thanks JoeThank you we really do care
Amen to that!Thanks, Joe!
Harry McShaneThis is Joe Manning again, from the Lewis Hine Project. I finally caught up with Harry. He died in Cincinnati one month short of his 86th birthday. Despite his injuries and disability, he worked for the railroad for many years. See the details at http://www.morningsonmaplestreet.com/harrymcshane1.html
134 Broadway134 Broadway is right next to the river, now basically a parking area for the ballpark. An "underpass" as it were. Back then it was probably shantytown or tenements.
Thanks.Joe, your info is amazing. I'm glad he lived a long life.
Thanks, JoeYour research makes this website even more powerful than it would otherwise be.
Cincinnati BottomsThere's an article in today's Cincinnati Enquirer that gives some detail about the history of this area, known as the Bottoms ...
Harry McShaneThis is Joe Manning. The link to my story about Harry has been changed. It is now:
http://morningsonmaplestreet.com/2014/11/26/harry-mcshane-page-one/
(The Gallery, Cincinnati Photos, Kids, Lewis Hine)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/05350u.thumbnail.jpg "Harry McShane: 1908")
- Celery Cola: 1908
- ... St. August 1908. View full size. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. This is as close to a Hine self-portrait as we've seen. Who can ... Posted by Dave - 07/10/2011 - 1:37pm -
![John Howell, an Indianapolis newsboy. Makes 75 cents some days. Begins at 6 A.M., Sundays. Lives at 215 W. Michigan St. August 1908. View full size. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. This is as close to a Hine self-portrait as we've seen. Who can tell us about Celery Cola?
Celery ColaMy guess is that is was similar to Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray, a celery flavored soft drink.
http://www.bevnet.com/reviews/drbrowns/
Celery flavored ?Yuk!
Celery SodaYou can find it in any deli in New York; I believe it's a regional treat. Dr. Brown's is the most famous. Here's the Wikipedia entry on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cel-Ray
Celery Colasounds to me like blow cola
i found this little paragraph at: http://www.greenparty.org/coke.html
The birth of Coca-Cola can not be properly understood without knowledge of its broader historical-pharmacological background. With the coming of capitalism, workers were forced into long hours of hard and tedious employment. As a reaction, various stimulants and narcotics began to find a mass market; tobacco, coffee and tea first and then in the 19th century opium, morphine and cocaine. By the 1880s, many cocaine laced soft drinks had become popular, drinks with names such as Celery Cola, Pillsbury Koke, Kola-Ade, Kos-Kola, Cafe-Cola, and Koke. The reason Coca-Cola rose to national and than international prominence out of this ocean of syrupy stimulation may in part have been due to Pemberton's special "secret recipe, but more likely it was superior marketing; a job done by others who followed him.
Another interesting one:
http://www.sodamuseum.bigstep.com/generic.jhtml?pid=10
-cheers
www.donkeyrunner.com/blog
VeggieApparently, like many colas back in the late 1800s, it had cocaine in it. The USDA filed suit against the company because the company did not label that it had both cocaine and caffeine in it.
You can read about the USDA's interesting cocaine crackdown in soda (circa 1910) here - http://www.bottlebooks.com/Cocastory/coca_mariani.htm
Celery Cola Cont'dA couple CC newspaper ads I found from 1926. Click here and here for the full-size versions.
Celery ColaGoogle produced a number of results for " celery cola" "formula" - here are the two most relevant results from the first few pages:
www.southernbottles.com/Pages/Mayfield/Mayfield.html
(lots of info, but no recipe or formula...)
www.sodamuseum.bigstep.com (only a passing reference, in the history of Coca Cola)
There may be more but my library time is up.
Enjoy! :-)
Celery Cola origin...Uh, why not just Google :Celery Cola Bottling Co., Danville, Virginia" and see what comes up? That's what Google is for after all. (You'll find it on the Danville site.) Happy Sunday. E=Mcee-flared...Richard Laurence Baron, www.signalwriter.blogspot.com
[The page you're referring to is about Porter Brewing in Danville, and how it switched from beer to Celery Cola. But it doesn't have anything to say about the origins of Celery Cola. This was just the local bottler for that part of Virginia. - Dave]
Celery ColaI have nothing to add to the above, but notice how similar the branding (font) is to later Cola-Cola.
[True. Although Coca-Cola was earlier, not later. This photo was taken in 1908; Coca-Cola got its start in 1885. - Dave]
Celery ColaCelery Cola was invented by James C. Mayfield in the early 1890's and first sold at the Atlanta Cotton States Exposition in 1895 in Hutchinson stoppered bottles. Mayfield was a partner with Coca-Cola inventor John Pemberton in the 1880's and became president of the Pemberton Medicine Company on the old doctor's death.
Mayfield was involved with the Wine-Coca Company of Atlanta and Boston in the early 1890's before venturing out solo with Celery Cola and Koke. He opened a factory in Birmingham in 1899 and soon had branches at St. Louis, Nashville, Richmond, Denver, Dallas and Los Angeles. Celery Cola was sold across the US, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, and as far away as Australia by 1906. Mexican General Pancho Villa was a fan of the drink bottled by a local franchisee in Vera Cruz.
In 1909 Mayfield formed the Koke Company in Louisiana. By 1911 it was reorganized as the Koke Company of America and Mayfield's Cola was sold extensively under the trade names Koke and Dope. Coca-Cola claimed ownership of both Koke and Dope even though Mayfield owned both registered trademarks. The two rivals wound up in the US Supreme Court in 1920 and Koke was declared an invalid trademark.
Mayfield continued to sell Celery=Cola and Dope and introduced other soft drinks throughout the 1920's.
I am working on a book on Mayfield and his various enterprises and would appreciate any new information.
celerycola@yahoo.com
Very nice siteI am the great-grandson of James I. Thanks for your site. Warmest regards,
James C. Mayfield IV
Celery Cola bottlehello, i cant help you with info about Mr. Mayfield, i was actually hoping you could tell me more about celery-cola bottles, i found one yesterday that says it was bottled in danville, va?.......-brad
Celery ColaI too am a great-grandson of James C. Mayfield. If you would be interested in contacting me for further details my e-mail is jrukenbrod@nc.rr.com.
Rgds, Joe
Koke and DopeNever realized there had been a soda called Dope. When I moved to Tennessee in the 80s, some of the folks there referred to Coke as "dope." The first time the guy at the convenience store asked this kid from Baltimore if he could put my dope in a poke, I was completely confused.
Celery ChampagneI have a copy of a circa 1898 photo of the Dr. Pepper Company in Dallas. The picture shows a wagon in front of the building, both the wagon and the building have advertising on for Dr. Pepper, Zuzu Ginger Ale, and something called Celery Champagne. I googled "Celery Champagne" but there was no match. Could the champagne be similar to Celery Cola, and what is celery cola??
This picture sits above my desk at work, so it catches my eye dozens of time a day. I would greatly appreciate it if someone could satisfy my curiosity on the whole celery champagne/celery cola thing I'd appreciate it.
Celery Cola CapI was reading the various comments regarding Celery Cola when I remembered I had seen a small newsie wearing a cap with the Celery Cola logo. He is first row, second from right, next to that poor cross eyed boy in this photo. Don't some of these pictures just break your heart?
Origins of promotional headgearIt struck me that the most American thing I can think of which nobody ever mentions is the advertising ballcap. This paperboy is a prime example from 1908 and I bet it wasn't new then. You'd think his paper would have outfitted him and his confreres with caps with the paper's name on it, for goodness sake! Celery Cola with a direct ripoff of Coca-Cola font was his lot. In a crowd at going to work or leaving work times, it would seem these diminutive boys would have benefited from having a cap with the paper's name on it. After all, anyone in the police, military or fire services had hats that identified them and had for a good century one way or the other.
I grew up in England before my parents took my family to Canada in the late 1950s as immigrants. I was used in the UK to a cap for my school that had a logo sewn into it. Cricket caps, which were not much different, had similar logos, and had origins going back to the 1700s, so the baseball cap as such wasn't an American invention. But using it purely as an advertising vehicle was. Can't say there was a whole bunch of promotional ballcaps in Canada in 1959, but a decade later it all started in earnest when the super-cheapy adjustable holed headband was invented.
After a visit to the UK in 1993, I sent a big package of different advertising ballcaps to my grandnieces and nephews. This was met with a dull thud of indifference, and the adults gently told me they regarded advertising hats as a bit crass. Five years later, that opinion had changed as times changed over there, and my by now vintage caps were "just the job".
Yes, I searched for the history of promotional headgear, but it seems to be a topic nobody has paid much attention to. Makes you wonder.
(The Gallery, Indianapolis, Kids, Lewis Hine)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/03225u.thumbnail.jpg "Celery Cola: 1908")
- Arthur Havard: 1911
- ... driver. Shaft #6. Pennsylvania Coal Co." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
Arthur Havard: 1911 This is Joe ... Posted by Dave - 01/01/2011 - 2:21pm -
- Vermont Mill Boys: 1910
- ... working one year. View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Mill Boys Not sure what Hine meant by these boys "running a ... Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 7:04pm -
![August 1910. Every one of these was working in the cotton mill at North Pownal, Vermont, and they were running a small force. Dave Noel, 14; Theodore Momeady, 15, working three years. Albert Sylvester, 16, working one year; Eugene Willett, 13, working one year; Arthur Noel, 15, working one year; P. Tetro, 15, working one year; T. King, 14, working one year. Clarence Noel, 11, working one year. View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Mill BoysNot sure what Hine meant by these boys "running a small force." At least he didn't say they lived in filthy tenement flats with untidy kitchens and beer-swilling fathers.
You can tell by the lint on their clothes what the air was like inside the mill. I've been inside one. The noise of all the looms clattering away is deafening. The workers wore earplugs.
[Hine is saying the mill was "running a small force," i.e. work was slack, not many employees. - Dave]
Vermont Mill BoysThis is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. The first child laborer I researched was Addie Card, a girl who was photographed at this mill, probably on the same day. You can see the whole story of the search for Addie at http://www.morningsonmaplestreet.com/addiesearch1.html
KidsThe boy third from the left appears to be rolling a cigarette ... and how could they work barefoot all day?
[The farther back in time you go, the more kids (and people in general) you'll find without shoes. - Dave]
Haunting...I have to admit that the look on the face of the middle boy (the short one) is absolutely haunting. He looks worn out and old beyond his years.
Many of the kids who worked in the mills of upper New York state and Vermont were kids of expatriates from here (Montreal) looking for jobs.
Dave Noel, Theodore Momeady, Albert Sylvester (Sylvestre), Eugene Willett (Willette), Arthur Noel, P. Tetro (Thétreault) and Clarence Noel are all French Canadian names (some like Sylvester and Willett are Americanized).
Pat
Noel family of PownalThe Phillip and Rosa Noel family of Pownal (per the 1910 census) have children Lilian age 16, Arthur 15, David 8, Clarence 11, Nelson 8, and Mabel 5. The parents had 7 children so one has died. They are listed as born in Massachusetts and French Canada with all the previous generations born in Canada. The dad is a foreman at the cotton factory and the children include 2 spoolers -- but these are the two oldest. The four younger children are listed as unemployed.
ShoelessMy father in law and his brother (both born around 1925 in Oregon) got shoes for Christmas more than one year. That meant going to school barefoot until then, as they'd grown out of last year's shoes by summer.
North PownalOur family lives in one of the foreman houses on Route 346, sold by the Berkshire Spinning Mill to Arthur Smith right before the mill was turned into a tannery. My daughter is doing a research project on the spinning mill. Her focus is the daughter of Arthur Smith; her name was Naomi. Wondering if you can provide any more on North Pownal between 1880 and 1930?
Vermont Mill BoysI have been down Route 346 and by the mill. My grandfather James Daughton married Vitaline Bechard in 1901 at St. Joachim RC Church in Readsboro, Vermont. They both worked in that mill. One of Vitaline's sister married a Tetro. Could be the boy P. Tetro as shown in the picture. Both families moved to Adams, Massachusetts, and worked at Berkshire Fine Spinning until they died. Their kids worked there too. What an existence working in the mills. My mother worked there at 14. I would be interested in any info you might have on the North Pownal Mill and North Pownal in general during that time.
Thanks,
Dan Harrington
Vermont Mill BoysThis is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. My comment below, dated 1-31-08 included a link to my story of Addie Card, who was also photographed at this mill. That link has changed. It is now:
http://morningsonmaplestreet.com/2014/11/26/addie-card-search-for-an-ame...
(The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/01828u.thumbnail.jpg "Vermont Mill Boys: 1910")
- The Indy Five: 1908
- ... E.N. Clopper." View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Just wondering I've been looking at your blog for a while ... Posted by Dave - 08/15/2012 - 9:27am -
![August 1908. "Noon hour in an Indianapolis furniture factory. Witness, E.N. Clopper." View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Just wonderingI've been looking at your blog for a while now and I was just wondering, was anyone ever happy before 1941?
It's rareNotsotricky, it is rare to find a smiling face in photographs by Lewis Wickes Hines in this period. Every tenement apartment is filthy, every parent of a child worker shown is neglectful and usually a drunkard, and every child labourer has the stare of someone who has seen too much war.
SmilesHave a look at Indiana Janes
Not necessarily traditional to smileIt's far from frequent to see smiling faces in any portraits of the period. Photography was still a serious business for people; even in portraits of that time it was far from obligatory to smile.
Say CheeseHow fast were the films or plates that these photographers used? I'd always heard that folks tended not to smile because it was tough to hold it convincingly for long enough to make the exposure. Any truth to that?
[Probably more true for the days of the daguerreotype in the 19th century, when chairs in portrait studios had neck braces to keep the subjects' heads from moving. Lewis Hine, in the captions he wrote for these photographs, noted that his younger subjects often tended to be wary, worried that they might get in trouble with bosses or parents, or lose their jobs. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Indianapolis, Kids, Lewis Hine)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/01319u1.thumbnail.jpg "The Indy Five: 1908")
- Marvin and Owen: 1910
- ... Avenue. View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
The Other Boy? Excuse me, I see two other boys. Is one of ... Posted by Dave - 07/18/2011 - 10:48am -
![St Louis, Mo. Truants selling papers at Jefferson & Washington. 11 a.m. Monday May 9, 1910. Smallest boy is Marvin Adams, 2637 Washington Avenue. Said he got his papers "off'n de other feller." Other boy is Owen McCormack, 2651 Washington Avenue. View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
The Other Boy?Excuse me, I see two other boys. Is one of them not a real boy? I know you're just reporting what you see, but it still bugs me.
[There's a similar caption on another photo showing Marvin and the boy on the right, with the boy on the left barely visible in the background. Look for it later this week. - Dave]
Sign of the TimesSign of the times that he doesn't even acknowledge the existence of the black boy in his caption. Sad.
[Owen most likely is the boy on the right. See below. - Dave]
[Or maybe not! See above. - Dave]
OwenPerhaps a sign of our times to see how quickly we make assumptions about the past and assign motivations based on the schemas we've developed in our own minds about what the past was like. As a budding historian, I hope I remember this little episode as I "interpret."
Marvin & Owen: 1910 CensusThe 1910 census shows Marvin living at 2637 Washington Avenue. His mother runs a boardinghouse, his father works in a shoe factory. Marvin is listed as 8 years old and has two sisters and a brother.
The 1910 census shows 13 year old Owen McCormack lodging at 2651 Washington Avenue with his mother and 2 sisters. His mother is a saleslady in a department store; one sister is a cashier in a grocery store. Their race is given as white.
[Aha! Thank you. - Dave]
Marvin & OwenThis is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. I am also intrigued by the appearance that Hine did not acknowledge the black boy. But I have a theory. In the caption, he says, "(Marvin) said he got his papers "off'n de other feller." Other boy is Owen McCormack."
Could it be that "de other feller" is the black boy? And then having mentioned Marvin and "de other feller," Hine names the third boy as "other boy is Owen McCormack."
What with the racial conditions in the south (including St.Louis) at that time, it would be doubtful that the black boy would have given his name to a white man.
Any thoughts on this?
[There are plenty of black kids in the Hine photo archive, with names given probably just as often as for the white kids. - Dave]
Marvin & OwenUsing the search words "colored" and "Negro," I found only six, possibly seven black children in the Hine Library of Congress child labor collection whose names were given. This would not be surprising, since even child labor jobs, as "undesirable" as they seem now, were generally off limits to black people. Thus, blacks are rarely represented in the Hine child labor collection. Like all his photos, he recorded the names when he was able to.
Marvin and OwenThis is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. I have completed stories on both Marvin and Owen.
http://morningsonmaplestreet.com/2015/01/01/three-st-louis-newsboys/
(The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine, St. Louis)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/03490u.thumbnail.jpg "Marvin and Owen: 1910")
- Cigarette Girl: 1911
- ... doubtful. View full size. Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Billboard What does the bottom of the Coca-Cola billboard ... Posted by Dave - 02/10/2010 - 7:14am -
![June 1911. Ethel Shumate. Has been rolling cigarettes in Danville (Virginia) factory for six months. Lives at 614 Upper Street. Said she was 13 years old, but it is doubtful. View full size. Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
BillboardWhat does the bottom of the Coca-Cola billboard say?
[5¢ relieves fatigue sold everywhere - Dave]
Ethel's ageThe 1910 census lists Ethel as 12. She's listed as the first child of James C. and Lucy L. Shumate living at 614 Upper St.
Horse Trough?What is that next to the fire hydrant? A public trough for horses maybe?
Horse TroughIt's awfully shallow for a trough, at least from this angle, but that's what I thought it was, too, since they had them then. I'm thinking now it is a spittoon or a place to dispose of cigarette/cigar butts. This was the era you would see "Don't spit" signs on the streetcars; not only was it dirty, but it spread tuberculosis.
[It's a cast-iron horse waterer, with plumbing. Somewhere around here I have a picture showing it being used. - Dave]
Ethel Shumate 1898-1981The Social Security Death Index shows an Ethel Shumate, born on 28, Jan 1898, which would have been this girl's birth year according to the 1910 census, who died January 1981 in Flint, Michigan. There are only nine Ethel Shumates listed so it is likely her. Perhaps she never married or was divorced.
She Was Telling The Truth All Along.So, while the photo's caption sat around for 100 years with Hine's proclaiming Ethel's age of 13 was "doubtful", we know now that she was telling the truth all along! Rest in peace Ethel!
[Lewis Hine was frequently "doubtful" in his caption notes as to whether these kids were as old as they said they were. But for every name we or our readers have been able to check in the Social Security Death Index, the "doubtfuls" all turn out to have been telling the truth, Shorpy himself among them. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/04742u.thumbnail.jpg "Cigarette Girl: 1911")
- Carrying-In Boy: 1911
- ... week and night shift next week. Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
Rob Kidd On the Library of Congress ... Posted by Dave - 08/15/2012 - 9:47am -
- White's Bog: 1910
- ... 20 days more. Witness, E.F. Brown." Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
Bog-mindling Cranberries!
Elizabeth ... Posted by Dave - 03/05/2009 - 10:28pm -
- 302 Mott Street: 1911
- ... irregularly. View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Dirt Robert,
You need to click on the full size option. ... Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 10:29am -
![December 1911. Family of Mrs. Mette making flowers in a very dirty tenement, 302 Mott Street, top floor. Josephine, 13, helps outside school hours until 9 P.M. sometimes. She is soon to be 14 and expects to go to work in an embroidery factory. Says she worked in that factory all last summer. Nicholas, 6 years old and Johnnie, 8 yrs. The old work some. All together earn only 40 to 50 cents a day. Baby (20 months old) plays with the flowers, and they expect he can help a little before long. The father drives a coach (or hack) irregularly. View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.
DirtRobert,
You need to click on the full size option.
The floor is dirty, the door has small child "art", the table cloth is dirty and has numerous holes.
I'm sure they are doing their best under who knows what type of circumstances.
Where's the dirtThe notes state, "a very dirty tenement." There are some things like a wash-tub and a scrubbing-board that are in plain view. Maybe those thing cold have been stowed a bit better. But the wall cabinets have lites you can see the shelves inside and the insides seem to be in order. The floor is clean. The women's clothing seems to be quite nice. Those boys look fine with their jackets and even a scarf on one. The only thing that shows something a bit out of order is the dark blotches on the oil cloth. Most likely holes. The house keeping looks great to me.
Making flowersI've seen other flower photos here... who do they make the flowers for and what are they used for? Hats maybe? Also, are they real or silk? Must be fake right?
[Probably made for clothing manufacturers in the garment district. I'm not sure how they made artificial flowers back then. Although we do have some photos of real roses being dipped in white wax. - Dave]
Dirt If you look at the wall by the mirror you can see the "dirt" on the wall. My guess is that it is from smoke from a cook stove or coal heater. People used to scrub down their walls every spring to remove the grime accumulated from a winter of heating and cooking. I guess the comment of "very dirty" spoke to the grime on the walls as much as anything else.
Actually if you look at the table and other furniture in the room they seem pretty ornate. A family fallen on hard times? Dragging once nice stuff from place to place, each place a little more worse for wear than the last.
Not DirtyPoverty is not the same as being dirty. The linoleum on that floor may be a wreck from being where one enters the house. Perhaps they don't have the money to go out and replace it. The baby's high chair may also be putting black marks on the floor as it gets dragged around. They also might have to haul some coal upstairs for the stove.
These folks lived in a world of maybe 10 people in an apartment the size of the average kids bedroom these days. They are so poor that the entire family including kids is working to keep their heads above water financially. These weren't the days of handi-wipes and swiffers and vacuum cleaners and kids laying around all day playing on their computers and listening to their ipods.
BTW, the kids clothes all look very clean. Any mess on a baby is because it's a baby. There's no washer and dryer sitting nearby to pop the kid's jammies in every time they get a little mess on them.
If you're ever in New York, you can get an eye opening introduction to how how immigrants to America lived down on "the lower east side" by going to this museum. I've been there. Take the tour of a real tenement which was purchased and "saved for historical/educational purposes.
http://www.tenement.org/
Go read the works of Jacob Riis and look at his photos. It's a testament to the human spirit that these people left their homelands to come to a new country to try to get a better life for themselves and their kids. This is the story behind Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. It's the story behind the American dream.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Riis
Dismissing things as dirty misses the point.
Thanks for sharing the photo, however. It's appeciated.
[The captions describing these photos are by photographer Lewis Hine, written around 100 years ago. "Dirty" is his description, not ours. - Dave]
Re: Not DirtySomething we mention every now and then: The captions describing these tenement photos were written by photographer Lewis Hine almost 100 years ago. "Dirty" is his description. It helps to remember that he is trying to paint a bleak picture for his audience -- the U.S. Congress -- in his organization's effort to end the practice of child labor.
StagingSomething to remember about Hine's photos is that they are not "candid" photos. At this period of time, taking a photo like this required a big heavy camera on a tripod, and a flash powder apparatus. Probably the table had to be moved back toward the wall and sink to "get it all in." Since it is a "staged" photo, I'm sure Hine controlled what was in the photo to get his story across.
[That would be posed, not "staged." Big difference. - Dave]
Dirty TenementsThis is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. Hine had a habit of commenting about the cleanliness and neatness of his subject's houses or apartments. I suspect that it might have just been a value judgment based on his own preferences. Perhaps he was very fastidious, maybe picking that up from his mother when he was growing up in Wisconsin. We can't assume that he was just trying to exaggerate for effect. I did research on a woman who was photographed in her house in Leeds, Mass. She was putting bristles on toothbrushes. Hine's caption, in part, says, "putting bristles into tooth brushes in an untidy kitchen." I interviewed the woman's granddaughter, who had never seen the photo. When she saw the caption, she said, "Untidy kitchen? Gramma was spotless. You could eat off her floor."
Point Taken DaveGood point, Dave. Thanks for clarifying that.
[One of my many pet peeves. I could start a zoo! - Dave]
Dirty? Untidy?Thanks for the great insight, Joe. It sounds like Mr. Hine had a few quirks of his own. Don't we all?
BeautyThey may be poor but they do have a gorgeous opalescent vase standing on the shelf in the upper right hand corner.
I lived there302 Mott Street, 5th floor. Small apt, typical for NYC. great location. Miss the city.
EurekaMrs. Mette was Maria Auletta/Avoletti Motta, who lived with her husband Joseph and eventually with their nine children born between 1896 and 1920. By the time this photo was taken Maria and Joseph were naturalized American citizens who had spent most of their lives in the US (after being born in Italy). Oldest daughter Lucy is not picture or mentioned in the caption. Baby was Daniel, born in 1910.
Joseph died in 1919 at the age of about 50, while the children eventually married and mostly moved to Long Island.
The family lived at 213 Mott Street in 1905 and 105 Thomson Street in 1915 (no 1910 listing).
(The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine, NYC)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/05481u.thumbnail.jpg "302 Mott Street: 1911")
- Some Doffer Boys: 1909
- ... of thread bobbins when they were empty. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine for the National Child Labor Commission. View full size.
It ... Posted by Dave - 03/14/2013 - 9:24pm -
- Little Fattie: 1910
- ... old. Been at it one year." View full size. Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Little Fattie This is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine ... Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 7:06pm -
- Day Boy: 1913
- ... some of the girls." View full size. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Is it just me... ...or does it seem like Lewis Wickes Hine ... Posted by Dave - 03/09/2008 - 6:33pm -
![Houston, October 1913. "Eleven-year-old Western Union messenger #51. J.T. Marshall. Been day boy here for five months. Goes to Red Light district some and knows some of the girls." View full size. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Is it just me......or does it seem like Lewis Wickes Hine was obsessed with whether young delivery boys' work took them into the red light district?
[The point he's making (to the lawmakers who would see the National Child Labor Committee's report to Congress, which used these photographs as illustrations) is that having these kids on the streets instead of in school brought them into regular contact with prostitutes. - Dave]
JTFreckled face, ears sticking out, cheeky grin... this kid has trouble written all over him! I find it interesting that Western Union had the kids dress up in shirts and ties to deliver telegrams, yet the shirts and pants look like they've been slept in.
(The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)](https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/03890u.thumbnail.jpg "Day Boy: 1913")
- Drift Mouth: 1908
- ... he said: 'This year hain't no fun!'" Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
Next to Godliness The photograph must ... Posted by Dave - 11/12/2022 - 4:36pm -
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