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The Sickly Newsie: 1910
... found selling papers in a big rainstorm today." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Hey Kid. The man on the left is ... you if you win." And so it began. Is that Lewis Hines? Is that Lewis Hines, perhaps taking notes on the boy's name, while ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/04/2013 - 9:08am -

June 1910. Philadelphia, Pa. "Michael McNelis, 8 years old, a newsboy. This boy has just recovered from his second attack of pneumonia. Was found selling papers in a big rainstorm today." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Hey Kid.The man on the left is the first branch salesman of the early Cellulose Sales Company previously pictured. At the end of the day a storm soaked Michael was able to unload his wet news pulp to Cellulose Sales. A win win. Do I really have to explain?Of course, the reason little Michael got sick in the first place was because he was standing outside every day selling those papers. He Got BetterAssuming he was the one born Sep 15, 1901, he grew up, went to war, was wounded but survived, married, and had a full life, dying in 1971. Shown on LeftWhat is the customer doing? Writing a check for two cents? Signing an autograph? Filling out a prescription for pneumonia medication? Taking information for the photo caption? Here's my card. I'm an attorney.The kindly gentleman is probably giving Michael his business card, encouraging him to sue that newspaper for making him stand outside in the rain. Of course, he's an independent contractor probably not subject to such an action, but "I'll only charge you if you win." And so it began. Is that Lewis Hines?Is that Lewis Hines, perhaps taking notes on the boy's name, while his assistant took this picture? Or perhaps vice versa? The Sickly Newsie: 1910This is Joe Manning, from the Lewis Hine Project. The man does not appear to be Lewis Hine. Sometimes Hine was accompanied by an investigator from the National Child Labor Committee. In this case, it was Edward F. Brown, and it's likely that the man was Brown. Please note that Mr. Hine does not have an "s" at the end of his name. That is a common mistake. LocationThe newsboy is at one of the four corners of Philadelphia's City Hall. (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)
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 ... 143 Hudson Street: This is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. I found the sons of Joe and Camille last year and ... Exaggeration Hines sure likes to breathe fire into every scene. Place doesn't look dirty to ... 
 
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)
Bottle Boy: 1909
... years, and has worked some at night." Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine for the National Child Labor Committee. View full size. Child labor Its amazing how many kids Hines photographed back then. I always wonder what he DIDN'T take a picture of. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/17/2014 - 11:39pm -

November 1909. Wheaton Glass Works, Millville, N.J. "Day scene in New Jersey Glass House. Boy is Howard ____, 15 years old but has been in the glass works for two years, and has worked some at night." Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine for the National Child Labor Committee. View full size. Child laborIts amazing how many kids Hines photographed back then. I always wonder what he DIDN'T take a picture of. Had any of you been a child worker back then, do you think you would have grown up to despise the company, or grown up to be proud of what you accomplished at such a young age? Here is the story of a 9 year old boy that started working at the Hemingray Glass Co. in 1869, after his father died. His employment with them went on to last over 70 years. Paneful IronyA glass factory with no visible windows. That is so ironic but seems cruel for these kids! I must say I'm surprised at the shabby working conditions. I know Wheaton Glass, and assumed their workers worked in lovely light filled conditions. What a surprise. Looks like a nice healthy enviroment.Are those sheets of Asbestos one the table in front of that kid? Antique Wheaton Glass is highly collectible.Perhaps every antique Wheaton bottle sold should come with a copy of the Lewis Hines' series of photopgraphs taken at the factory. Wheaton Glass is still in existence today, specializing in lab and scientific glassware, as well as bottles for all purposes.It has been one of the primary employers of the southern New Jersey region for decades. I had a good friend who worked summers during college at the Wheaton factory. He described it as potentially dangerous work, performed under blisteringly hot conditions. This was during the mid-1970s, when Wheaton was trying to meet OSHA standards that had just been introduced in the previous four or five years. He told me that the factory "old-timers' had plenty of horror stories about lung diseases and accidental burns that safety regulations in the workplace had helped to curb. Bottle Boy: 1909This is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. According to the 1910 US Census, there were four boys named Howard living in Millville who were about 16 years old and who worked in a glass factory. They were Howard Lee, Howard Facemire, Howard Atkinson, and Howard Sharpless (good name for a glass worker). So which Howard was this boy? According to an unidentified researcher who posted a comment on the National Archives website, the boy was Howard Lee. I'll see what I can find. For an excellent storyFor an excellent story that deals, in part, with the life of a boy in a glass factory in the early 1900s (as well as a Lewis Hine picture on the jacket!), I recommend "Billy Creekmore by Tracey Porter. Trivia: Most of the character in the book were named after real kids who killed in mining, factory, and mill accidents. Interestingly, I have never been able to find the Lewis Hine jacket picture in any online collection. Regular shoes?As I was told during a guided tour through a glass works in the Black Forest (Germany), glassblowers are just about the only workers actually required by work safety standards to use slippers. Rationale is to get the foot out of the shoe PDQ if some of the melt (up to 1500 Centigrades or 2700 Fahrenheit) should drop from the blowpipe on the shoe. So they slog around in very fashionable slippers. Including steel caps - they are working shoes after all. Another occupational hazardWhen I collected bottles as a kid, I remember reading an interview with a guy who had worked in a bottle factory in Jersey about the same time as this boy [and probably about the same age as well]. He said that after a number of years you could tell veteran glass blowers because "their cheeks hung down like sacks". He went on to add that the introduction of the automatic bottle machine in 1903 eliminated that problem. (The Gallery, Factories, Kids, Lewis Hine)
Idlers: 1916
... "Hanging around the saloon -- 5 p.m." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Boys on the Stoop "Range in age ... if it's Duff. The Temperance Movement I wonder what Hines's opinion was on the temperance movement. Do we know? Given his social ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/01/2008 - 10:48am -

June 29, 1916. Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. "Hanging around the saloon -- 5 p.m." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Boys on the Stoop"Range in age from 18 to 65. After working 10-12 hours at mill, cannery and factory, repair to the saloon for alcoholic beverages at 5 o'clock on a Monday afternoon. All said they had been doing this since they were old enough to see over the bar. Most smoke. Whites sociliaze frequently here with Negroes and Italians." I love these guys!They worked hard and they played hard. Stopping at the gin mill after work to "turn over a few" was a ritual and I well remember my uncle and his friends ending the workday with a drink or two and an (illegal) street game of shooting craps for pennies. The police would just tell them to go home and move on. Those "bucket of blood" saloons had signs in the window saying they had "tables for ladies" but no lady ever entered therein. Sometimes when the playful shoving and pushing got out of hand (i.e. that guy falling off the stoop) a real fist fight would break out, there would be blood, usually from noses, and the next thing being heard as someone was dragged away was "Did he have a hat?" A GREAT and unexpected scene from my childhood. Thank you for this unusual photo to bring it all back. Outdoor TypesMy friends and I used to go inside. Shake On It!Looks like the dapper young thing in the white shoes doesn't want to get his pants dirty, so he is sitting on a towel. Sort of out of place with this rough-and-tumble crowd. I notice their ale comes from Springfield -- wonder if it's Duff. The Temperance MovementI wonder what Hines's opinion was on the temperance movement. Do we know? Given his social activism, and some of his comments on alcohol in his various photos of tenement life, one wouldn't be surprised if he were a prohibitionist. Indeed a photo like this would have been just the sort of thing that the Women's Christian Temperance Union would have seized upon in this period in support of the ban on alcohol - men at the bar wasting their money getting drunk instead of taking it home to the benefit of their families (who, the WCTU would insist, were destitute because of booze), associating with unsuitables (Negroes and Italians - the WCTU was very WASPish to the point of not accepting Catholics, Jews, African Americans, or women not born in North America), and getting violent. Whatever Hines's personal opinions, this sort of picture would be just the sort of propaganda piece that the anti-saloon advocates would use. [As LWH's PR man here in the 21st century, may I take this opportunity to point out once again that his last name is Hine. Not Hines. Thank you and good night. - Dave] Cyran and who?Trying to read the cafe sign in the window.... Checking the U.S. census (1910 and 1920) reveals several Cyrans (of Polish-Austrian descent) living in Chicopee, Mass. Most are listed as mill laborers rather then cafe owners. I can't make out the second name of this joint cafe venture. Visually, the best I come up with is "Bjercasinski" which yields no results in a census search (nor Google search for that matter). Any suggestions? [Twelve letters. Vanna? - Dave] Grandpa!That guy on the far left looks a lot like my grandfather, who would have arrived in Chicopee Falls about 1914. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Lewis Hine)
Archie Love: 1908
... years. Worked nights five months at the start." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Springsteen A report produced ... family. Rest in peace, Archie. Archie really is 14 Hines' caption seems to suggest that Archie may be lying when he says he is 14 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/11/2013 - 6:19pm -

November 1908. "Chester, S.C. -- Springstein Mills. Archie Love. Said (after hesitating), 'I am 14 years old.' Doesn't look it. Been in mill three years. Worked nights five months at the start." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. SpringsteenA report produced for the City of Chester by the University of South Carolina provides a wealth of historical information. The financially troubled Chester Manufacturing Co. was purchased in 1898 by a group headed by Col. Leroy Springs, who renamed it Springsteen Mills after his family's original Dutch surname. For a time, the Springsteen Mills shared the name Eureka Mills with the Chester company's spinning facility. All became part of Springs Industries. Did a little diggingI live near Chester. I've heard of Springs Industries, but not "Springstein" Mills and I wondered if there was a connection. I did a little research and my findings are inconclusive, especially since there seem to be so many variants of the spelling. Link. Is the mill still there? Nope! I wonder if any of Archie Love's family are still in the area. Probably not many. Not much opportunity in Chester unless you want to commute to Charlotte. Archie Love: 1908This is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. I tracked down this young man's story back in 2007. I interviewed his son. Archie turned out to be an almost epic character. He is one of only two of the more than 300 children I have tracked down who apparently remembered being photographed by Hine. You can see the story here. Great story!Thanks Joe. I really enjoyed reading the background article you wrote. The boy's photo was so endearing I couldn't wait to see if there would be any comments, and there was your research piece. Good work Thank you, Joe ManningThank you, Joe, for the great work you have done to bring to light the stories of these people and their families. There is a story that goes with each face in a photo and you have helped to reveal those stories that would otherwise have been lost. I am glad to learn that Archie Love went on to marry, have children and be loved by his family. Rest in peace, Archie. Archie really is 14Hines' caption seems to suggest that Archie may be lying when he says he is 14 years old. But if you read Joe Manning's excellent background info, Archie was born in 1894, so he really was 14 at the time. And moreover, as an adult anyway, Archie was very strongly against telling lies. I'm sure Hines was perfectly reasonable in his assumptions, but it's always interesting to dig a little deeper. Archie LoveAn excellent story, Joe Manning. It is good to read this when I think how tough life is. Thanks for sharing. Hmmmm ...But for a twist of fate, the name of this site might well have been "Archie." Archie LoveThis is Joe Manning, who wrote the story about Archie. The link to this story has been changed. It is now: http://morningsonmaplestreet.com/2014/11/26/archie-love-page-one/ (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)
I'm De Whole Show: 1913
... to ten dollars a week. View full size. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. (Shorpynote: Isaac was born March 20, 1901, and died in ... type Master Boyett is sporting on his handlebars in this Hines photo. Agree: this young lad does have world-weary, seen-it-all ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 3:26pm -

Waco, Texas. November 1913. Isaac Boyett: "I'm de whole show." The twelve-year-old proprietor, manager and messenger of the Club Messenger Service, 402 Austin Street. The photo shows him in the heart of the Red Light district where he was delivering messages as he does several times a day. Said he knows the houses and some of the inmates. Has been doing this for one year, working until 9:30 P.M. Saturdays. Not so late on other nights. Makes from six to ten dollars a week. View full size. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. (Shorpynote: Isaac was born March 20, 1901, and died in May 1966 in Waco.) IsaacGood to know that lamp was non-explosive ... I love the look on this boy's face, and his world-weary eyes. Not too bad - butI would bet that this kid gave the money to his mom, who probably had 6 or 7 kids to feed. Not too badEight dollars per week in 1913 is the equivalent of about $160 today. About $8500 per year. Not bad for a 12-year-old. Bike LightProbably not many bicycles today have kerosene lanterns on the handlebars. Fascinating. Re: Bike LightAre you sure of it being a kerosene lamp? Looks like a carbide light like miners used to me. Re: Re: Bike LightIt looks like one of the kerosene lamps below. Esp. the "Jim Dandy." Bicycle LampsPeter Card has a richly detailed web site on early bicycle lamps. See the page, especially, on oil (kerosene) lamps, which I think is the type Master Boyett is sporting on his handlebars in this Hines photo. Agree: this young lad does have world-weary, seen-it-all eyes. Denny Gill Chugiak, Alaska [That really is a great Web site. Thanks for the link! - Dave] 1913 = today?Ok, how does a 1913 photo demonstrate child abuse "today"? As far as child labor goes, I'd say riding a bicycle around and delivering six messages a day is WAY better than some of the coal mining and factory situations we've seen here. And I bet half the reason he's grimacing is that he's facing into the sun. TragicThis photo illustrates the failure of capitailism and the abuse of children that continues today in the USA. This child should be at home, playing and enjoying childhood while he can. [Dumb comment of the day (so far). - Dave] Ah, yes...The "good" old days. As bad as some things are now, at least we have very few 12 year olds spending all their time running messages for ladies of loose morals to their johns. Reply to LC2You're right...now 12 year olds deliver crack cocaine instead of messages. I'm going to start playing aI'm going to start playing a Shorpy drinking game and down a shot any time somebody grumbles about "kids today." Assuming my liver is up to it. Messenger Boy in Waco, TexasThis is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. I interviewed one of Isaac's daughters. I now have his interesting, but brief story on my website. http://morningsonmaplestreet.com/2015/01/01/isaac-boyett/ (The Gallery, Bicycles, Kids, Lewis Hine)
Saturday Noon: 1910
... sentiment I agreed with.)" Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Lint I guess it wasn't worth the ... weird way to put it. Was he quoted incorrectly or did Hines just speak strangely? [It's short for "which was a sentiment I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/30/2008 - 3:35pm -

November 1910. Huntsville, Alabama. "Closing hour, Saturday noon, at Dallas Mill. Every child in photo, so far as I was able to ascertain, works in that mill. When I questioned some of the youngest boys as to their ages, they said they were 12, and then other boys said they were lying. (Which sentiment I agreed with.)" Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. LintI guess it wasn't worth the effort to try and get the lint off their clothes. They didn't have been those rolling lint brushes with their sticky surfaces to make the task easier. Then again, they had more on their minds. YikesLooks like a pretty tough crowd. Some Look HappyA lot of people are commenting that these boys look "tough" or old beyond their years. I think they just look like average boys! Some of them are even happy-looking, if not smiling! Boys to MenThese "kids" are prematurely men. Their hardscrabble faces mirror the toughness of their times. When I look at these pictures and then look at my high school students, what a shock! I've been showing some of these pics to said students to inform them of how good they've got it. Although with the economy in the dumper, they may have to repeat history. Tough CrowdThese guys look like they could beat up my honor roll student. HeartbreakingNot a single boy's face doesn't look hardened in that image. It's haunting. Typo?"Which sentiment I agreed with." I think he's saying that he agrees with the boys who accused the other boys of lying about their ages... but that's a really weird way to put it. Was he quoted incorrectly or did Hines just speak strangely? [It's short for "which was a sentiment I agreed with." A standard locution, not "weird." - Dave] That ain't bubblegumMethinks I spot the telltale bulge of chewing tobacco in at least one cheek, maybe more. Of course, unlike kids today who would use the stuff to appear tough, I suspect these kids really were tough and this was just something they liked to do. No poseurs here. HatsWhat's all over their hats? or am I just seeing the photo age? [It's lint from the cotton mill. - Dave] It's a hard knock life...Very old looking kids in this pic. Look at the second boy from the left in the light colored coat, 40 year old face on a 10 year old body. With that hat looks like a premonition of his role in WWI which is only 7 years away. Mill BoysI know more than one kid who would much rather go to work at a job like this than go to school. Blood BrothersI LOVE Shorpy and cannot ignore it, almost hourly I have to have another look. In group shots, I enjoy trying to pick out family traits in the kids and it is quite apparent that the front row, second, third and fourth from the right, appear to be three brothers with the middle one being the bossy one, scolding the youngest who is stuffing something in his pocket. My mom was born that year and life was tough. Once you could walk and talk, you had to do something useful. Also, corporal punishment was meted out routinely, psychology was a smack delivered immediately. One can see these kids understood their responsibility to be a contributing member of the family, not just another mouth to feed. The person on the extreme right looks to me like a girl, with more delicate features, smaller hands, a girlie blouse and hat. Of course he may have had to wear "hand-me-downs" and had only older sisters which was quite humiliating. No joy, no Christmas "wish list" for these kids. Thanks Shorpy for the frequent reality checks on how lucky we are today. LintheadsH.L. Mencken referred to the poor Southern whites who migrated into Baltimore around this time as "lintheads." I suspect he didn't coin that nickname but that it reflected the prejudices of the time. (The Gallery, Factories, Kids, Lewis Hine)
Little White Schoolhouse: 1900
... little coal dust here, a little coal dust there and Lewis Wickes Hines could have taken this photograph. These kids look miserable and I don't ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/20/2016 - 12:23pm -

From the same circa 1900 batch of 5x8 glass negatives as Little Boy Blue we bring you more sullen moppets than you can shake a stick at. Which the tot in the middle is holding. Now, smile for your great-great grandchildren. View full size. The earsMost of these kids must be related. Something there isBut something there was not was a shortage of rocks for wall building -- it must be New England. Easily intimidatedUnlike some of today's smart-aleck, sassy kids, these youngsters seem to be very strictly disciplined, no "out-of-bounds" behavior (as Montessori called it) and they have extremely serious expressions, the whole lot of them. Also I can't help but notice how most have old faces and we can almost see exactly what they will look like as adults, especially the boys standing in the back row, toward the left. I bet if Miss Schoolmarm had to send home a bad report, there would be hell to pay. Must've Had CableDon't see any antennas on the roof. One of these things is not like the others,The girl in the dark dress with the polka dots, a city girl among country kids. What a century these kids were going to see.A number of the boys may have fought in World War I. Then there was the Great Depression, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. A number would have been around for the first moon landing. I hope everyone in the picture ended up living good, happy lives. SadlyWhile they are living at the beginning of a marvelous century, the boys are the right age, born around 1894-1896, to almost surely see service in the Great War. [Statistically speaking, probably not. Around one-quarter of American males aged 18 to 31 were in military service during the conflict. And only half of those served overseas. So the odds would be around 1 in 8. - Dave] Re: One of these things is not like the othersPolka-dot pupil is likely the only adolescent in the bunch (except perhaps for the girl upper right, beside Teacher). This might account for her mature demeanor and elegant composure. The other little girl beside Teacher, all in white, looks like Bernard Burch in his later years (https://www.shorpy.com/node/20074). A motley crewseemingly cowering under the beady eye of the teacher. Serious BusinessGetting photopraphed was serious business at the time. Dead serious highly official pretty expensive business. Plus, it took serious effort from both photographer and subjects. The subjects had to stand still at the right moment, else the photograph would have been spoiled. I submit - Exhibit A - Mr. Double Turtleneck, and - Exhibit B - Mr. Checkered Bibs Over Striped Shirt both seem to have been very close to the line. Those glass plates were expensive if bought, and laborious to make if home-made by the photographer. [The 5x8 dry plate this image was exposed on, at $1.25 a dozen, cost 10 cents in 1895. So, not very expensive. - Dave] Woe to the kid who ruined the shot. With the mores of the times that would likely have been a matter of "physical contact" consequences rather than "no bisquit". What does not quite compute is the fact that they seem to be reasonably well dressed, which would match the momentous gravity of this event, but that quite a few are barefoot all the same. One-room schoolThese kids - about twenty-five of them at a rough count - were probably all in one classroom with one teacher, seen in the photo. Even though discipline was different, it must have been a tough job. School teachers were universally young and unmarried, and few had much experience. Ruffles and FlourishesThe mothers of some of those boys must have REALLY wanted girls, based on their wardrobe choices. Or they had older daughters and just handed down the ruffled shirts out of necessity. Sunday bestIf their moms knew it was class picture day, they sent the kids to school in their best clothes. It looks like that's the case here. Their pinafores are spotless. i agree the girl in the back row in the dark blouse looks like she's better off than the other kids. The older boy on the far left and the girl on the far right look pretty formidable. I bet the younger kids stayed out of their way. Our Gang & the BeaverLooks like a young Jackie Cooper on the back row and Jerry Mathers in the front. BarefootIt's difficult to imagine but my wife has told about her days in lower Minn going to the one room school house. The rented farm house where they lived was near a large lake. During the cold parts of winter dad drove across the lake to work to save many miles. Other times my wife, her two older brothers, older sister, and younger brother, often walked barefoot across the muddy fields. Once at school they washed their shoes and feet at the outside pump and placed the shoes on the porch to dry. So I'm guessing many school days were barefoot days. A preschool sister and brother were still at home. Another brother would come later. A little coal dust here, a little coal dust there and Lewis Wickes Hines could have taken this photograph. These kids look miserable and I don't see anything romantic here. Tell that teacher we want Toto back. Mix and matchI agree that many of these kids must be siblings and cousins, given the similar prominent brows and sticky-outy ears. Clothing-wise, most of the girls are dressed almost identically, except for the oldest girl in the back row, whereas there's a surprising amount of variety in what the boys are wearing--everything from overalls to ruffled shirts to a sailor suit. Creative PhotographerThe typical school photo of this vintage has the kids standing in stiff lines in front of the school building. Someone was thinking out of the box when they set this shot up. It's a nice pose using the rocks and the oblique view of the school in the background. Skin head, but with reasonThe young lad in the back row left seems to have all of his hair shorn away. Without claiming to be any expert on juvenile hair fashions of the era, he may have been a victim of an old-time treatment for head lice. In the early 1900s, my grandmother (and her sister, and several others as well) were playfully sharing around a hat while enjoying recess from school, and all came home with lice. Her mother shaved my grandmother's head bare, and washed down her scalp with kerosene. She said was the accepted way to deal with it at the time, so one supposes the same held for the unfortunate rest of that group. She admitted that yes, it took time for her hair to grow back, but she swears it did away with the pesky lice. Teacher in TrainingThe boys wearing ruffles is the "Little Lord Fauntleroy" look that was very popular (with mothers, not so much with little boys) at the turn of the 19th into the 20th century. You can see it again in the 1899 photo #20473 and photo 20679, just before this one. And the way the girl in polka dots has her hair pinned up like the teacher, while the girls in pinafores do not, suggests she may be a teacher in training rather than one of that school's pupils. It was not at all uncommon to be out in the world working by age 15. The "everyone has to go to college" to qualify for a job, is a post WW2 phenomenon. Apprenticeships were the way one often got jobs in 1900 and before. Plus, teachers often were quite young because some districts would no longer employ women if they were married. I can not understand why, but it made sense to people in the 19th century. One Roomed SchoolAs I have mentioned before, my Mother-in-law was a schoolteacher in a one roomed school in Kentucky. If I remember correctly, she had 18 students and she always remarked how well behaved they all were. In fact she was 18 at the time (about the age of this young lady) and taught 1st grade through 8th (I do believe that is correct. Have to ask the wife and make a correction if not). Either way, that is where she met her future husband. He was 10 and she was 18, and 10 years later they married. Stayed that way for 50 years. They passed away within a year of each other. She, then he. Bit of a soap opera, but there you are. Ad astra per aspera--To the stars through difficulties. My mother was of this generation. As a child one of her duties was to clean the oil lamp chimneys, but she lived to watch man walk on the moon. (The Gallery, Education, Schools, Kids)
Abe Singer: 1917
... bundles, tends the door, etc." Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. It's a living Would Abe get ... flowers onto stems? Also weren't those pictures created by Hines? It looks like Hine is doing a classic commodity chain including the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/24/2011 - 8:18am -

February 2, 1917. Boston, Massachusetts. "Abe Singer, 14-year old helper at Wax Florists, 143 Tremont Street. He delivers bundles, tends the door, etc." Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. It's a livingWould Abe get tips? Were they good ones? Did he get to keep them? What did he do with the money? Abe looks like he was a smart cookie. Little Shop of HorrorsHidden Man over on the right -- spooky. And which of these pretty arrangements is Audrey? UnusualWhat a nice job to have. It's clean, nice smelling, not difficult. Perfect for a 14-year-old. Out of character for Hine, isn't it? [Thorns! And then there's Mr. Camouflage Scary Guy. - Dave] My dream jobDelivering flowers, you're always there to cheer someone up. Who doesn't love to get flowers? And when you're not delivering, you're surrounded by natural beauty. I think I've figured out what I want to be when I "grow up." Or retire. Immigrants in the wax flower biz?Aren't those "flowers" similar to the ones that Shorpy has published numerous times - showing families gathered around their tenement tables winding the wax flowers onto stems? Also weren't those pictures created by Hines? It looks like Hine is doing a classic commodity chain including the manufacture and distribution of goods. Sort of early National Geographic. [The flowers at Wax Brothers were real. It's the owners who were Wax. - Dave] Wax Bros.As the photo suggests, the Wax Brothers must have had a very successful business. The 1913 Transactions of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society lists them as regular cash prize award winners in the Society's seasonal flower shows, mostly for arrangements for dining tables and mantelpieces. These shows were large and popular, drawing commercial exhibitors like W. Atlee Burpee from as far as Philadelphia, and the cash prizes were pretty large for the time. In the Society's 1913 Autumn Exhibition, the Wax Brothers were awarded a $30 first prize for "Best Mantel Decoration." Dressed UpA lot better dressed than Hine's usual subjects. He looks good wearing a tie, a shirt with a pin collar, his Max Bros. hat, a belted jacket (even with the tear) and a pleasant demeanor. His shoes could use a shine but considering the times he's doing well. He would have been about 40 years old at the beginning of WWII, so he probably didn't have to serve, but he had to survive the Depression. This is a case for Joe Manning. Note the KnickersFrom the days when only men wore long pants. I guess 14 isn't quite old enough to qualify as a man sartorially yet. The Voice Of ExperienceThe best job I ever had in my entire working life was driving a delivery truck for a florist. With the exception of the occasional funeral, every delivery I made was a joy and everywhere I went, people were happy to see me. Some laughed, some cried and some were stunned into silence but all of them had a positive effect on me and, tired as I most certainly was after driving the length and breadth of San Diego County each day, I always went home on a "high." If my wonderful job had paid me more than minimum wage, I'd have probably stayed there forever, but duty and reality, in the form of another job paying a dollar more an hour, called me away and I had no other choice but to answer. That job, a late shift dispensing quarters for the peep shows in a porno store, eventually proved to be my undoing, but the overall happiness I experienced in Flowerland has provided me with a lifetime of good memories to call upon when times get bad. I would be very surprised if Abe Singer wouldn't have agreed. 143 Tremont StreetThis is on Boston Common. View Larger Map ManHas no one noticed the very handsome man standing beside the boy? (The Gallery, Boston, Kids, Lewis Hine, Stores & Markets)
Oysterboy: 1909
... is here six months a year." Glass negative and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. His Left Foot I wonder what ... because I suspect, the census not withstanding, that Hines [sic] was either mislead [sic] or artfully arranged these people to fit ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 3:04pm -

January 1909. Apalachicola, Florida. "A young oyster fisher. Randsey Summerford says he starts out at 4 a.m. one day, is out all night in the little oyster boat and back next day some time. Gets a share of the proceeds. Said he was 16 years old and been at it four years. Lives in Georgia and is here six months a year." Glass negative and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. His Left FootI wonder what happened to his other shoe. Oyster BoyJoe Manning, from the Lewis Hine Project. This young man died in 1971. I have requested his obit, and I have the address of one of his relatives. I'll let you know what happens. Randsey Summerford...seems to be listed in the 1910 U.S. Census as Lounzo Summerford / Semmerfort, home Apalachicola, Franklin, Florida, occupation oysterman, age 18 born about 1892 in Georgia, father born in Louisiana but not listed, mother Margaret, 56, born in Georgia, one sister, Gena, same age and birthplace. Photoshop footWhy doesn't his left foot cast a shadow like his right? [It does. - Dave] Smells FishyWhy is this kid the only white person in the frame? In this part of the country, (where I currently live) oystering was usually a family enterprise and it is very odd that a Negro crew would have a white employee (although, not vice-versa). I hope we find out more of backstory because I suspect, the census not withstanding, that Hines [sic] was either mislead [sic] or artfully arranged these people to fit his crusade against child labor. [Hine's caption notation from a different oystering photo: "Mostly negro workers. The boss said, 'We keep only enough whites so we can control the negroes and keep them a-going!' " Below: Another mostly black Apalachicola oyster crew from January 1909. - Dave] Oyster TongsOne thing I can tell you about oyster tonging is it takes a real man to do it all day. When I lived on the Chesapeake Bay in the 60's and 70's I had the opportunity to try my hand at using oyster tongs to harvest oysters....it ain't easy!!! The heavy tongs hinge about where his right hand is and when dropped straight down to the bottom the jaws open about one foot for a spread at the surface of about four feet. After closing the jaws to scrape oysters from the bed the rig is hauled back up and opened to release the oysters on deck. For pussies like you and I it is hard just to do it a few times much less all day. Oystermen have fantastic arm and chest muscles and one thing for sure, don't ever get in a brawl with them...they are as tough as they come. When I went out with friends who were from oystering families they had quite a good-natured laugh at my pathetic attempts to oyster, though I worked out and was fairly active....after a few trips to the bottom and back I was pooped. So think about that when you look at these guys in the picture who had arguably one of the toughest jobs ever. "Oyster Boy" indeed! OysterboyThis is Joe Manning, of the Lewis Hine Project. You can see my story of this boy at this link: http://morningsonmaplestreet.com/2015/01/18/ramsey-summerford/ Tough OystermenTo further Anonymous Tipster's point from 2008, the young men who worked the oyster boats in Apalachicola, Florida, were indeed tough. I lived in that wonderful town for about five years in the mid-1960s and Chapman High's football team was consistently much better than others in their class. Considering how small that school was, it was remarkable. I always chalked that up to the work many of those young men did on oyster boats. Their upper-body strength was uncanny. --Jim (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Florida, Kids, Lewis Hine)
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 ... to find a smiling face in photographs by Lewis Wickes Hines in this period. Every tenement apartment is filthy, every parent of a ... 
 
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)
Many of These There: 1908
... beginning to spin. Many of these there." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Spinning Maiden This picture ... a moment's respite. A similar picture Also in 1908, Hines photographed child workers in a different mill in Lincolnton. He took ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/15/2012 - 9:54am -

November 1908. Lincolnton, North Carolina. "Daniel Mfg. Co. Girl beginning to spin. Many of these there." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Spinning MaidenThis picture makes me feel somewhat melancholy. The young lady could easily be a relative of mine, as my family hails from the Gaston-Lincoln County area (where this photo was made) and was heavily involved in textiles. Her visage suggests a child that has experienced things far beyond her years. She should be involved in the activities preferred by girls of her age, but undoubtedly, her wages were necessary for her family to make ends meets. I often look at the pictures on Shorpy and wonder what it would have been like to grow up in the life of privilege that seems to have been enjoyed by many featured in photographs, as well as some who post their own photos and commentary on this site. I was the son of textile employees with limited income, so college seemed to truly be only a dream. But to my surprise, my father’s company covered a large portion of the costs for my first degree, which then opened the door to my earning a master’s. The cycle of the cotton mill was broken and my children didn’t have to live the life I had lived in cadence with previous generations. "Lint heads" are often seen as a sub-cast caste, and yes, many lack in formal education. And yet, in the heat of the textile plant, among the din of the machinery, one can easily find good, hardworking people with dreams, hopes, and aspirations – at least for their children, if not for themselves. She's LuckyUnlike most others we've seen in the mills, she has what appears to be a good pair of boots. ProgressThese days this girl would be at home watching Jersey Shore and other televised dreck instead of working. I don't know what's worse. Beauty in toilThis might be one of the best pieces of art published on Shorpy. Breathtaking contrasts. And her fate, and that of many other mill people of the time, was likely to a hard life with few rewards. Like everyone else of the era and area, but different. No sittingThose window sills don't encourage sitting down on the job, even if the kids had a quick chance for a moment's respite. A similar pictureAlso in 1908, Hines photographed child workers in a different mill in Lincolnton. He took one that is similar to this one. Unfortunately, I can't find it on Shorpy. But yesterday the Raleigh News & Observer ran a story that the girl in that photo has been identified. It's a pretty cool story. [Joe Manning also frequently contributes his findings in comments to Shorpy photos. -tterrace] (The Gallery, Factories, Lewis Hine)
Cigar Box Boy: 1909
... About 10 young boys and girls, 300 employees." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. What a grin For all the Hines pics that have children with the most haunting looks on their faces, this ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/18/2011 - 2:35pm -

January 1909. "One of several youngsters I found in Tampa Cigar Box Factory. They are reported to have many children when work is rushing. About 10 young boys and girls, 300 employees." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. What a grinFor all the Hines pics that have children with the most haunting looks on their faces, this kid seems like he is beaming with pride to be able to have his picture taken. It kind of reminds me of Eddie Lou Young and her impish grin. I agreeThat happy face warms my heart. He reminds me of my own son. Yeah, he looks absolutely miserable!It never ceases to amaze me how persistent the social movement against child labor was at this time. So many of these marvelous vignettes of industrial and commercial activity on Shorpy would simply never have existed without this motivation. At the very least, the child in the cigar factory was actually producing a real product of value and not working in a cubicle shuffling paper. (The Gallery, Factories, Florida, Lewis Hine)
Indianapolis: 1908
... Cotton Mill." Uncharacteristically happy photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine, who generally seemed to prefer that his subjects scowl for ... front row, these folks look a bit older than the subjects Hines typically photographed. As for they lack of scowls, perhaps it was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/03/2012 - 1:56pm -

Noon, August 1908. "Young People in an Indianapolis Cotton Mill." Uncharacteristically happy photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine, who generally seemed to prefer that his subjects scowl for the camera. View full size. Indianapolis MillworkersWith the exception of the young fellow in the front row, these folks look a bit older than the subjects Hines typically photographed. As for they lack of scowls, perhaps it was payday? Happy Workers?Not all industrialists of the day were cutthroats. Perhaps these workers were paid well and treated with reasonable compassion? If Hine wanted them to appear unhappy and abused, it looks like they refused to cooperate. That, or the boss had a gun to their backs! [No one was making these people work in the mills. Interesting related comment here. - Dave] (The Gallery, Factories, Indianapolis, Lewis Hine)
Happy Face: 1911
... only when the photo is being taken." Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. What's really going on here? ... disappointment The nigh-palpable disappointment in Mr. Hines' commentary nearly oozes off the screen. Underprivileged kids, working, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/26/2009 - 3:18am -

August 1911. New Bedford, Massachusetts. "A group of workers in the Butler Mills. Kate McCormick, 10 Cleveland Street, the smallest girl in the picture, apparently 13 years old. The happy faces appear only when the photo is being taken." Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. What's really going on here?According to Hine, they only smile for the birdie, I think he was wrong. These kids smiled because they thought it was fun to have their picture taken. This doesn't diminish the fact that at 13 years their school career was over and that they would work hard the rest of their lives. However we are a nation of optimists. Facing these young people was a World War in which some these boys would surely serve and a depression, that would affect everyone followed by another World War. Yet, we survived, as the strongest, most prosperous and just country ever. Let me go find a tissue...Dave, are you just trying to make us depressed with all these pictures of dirty, underprivileged, underage workers and children? Because it's working. [Dirty? Depressing? I don't see that here. - Dave] Step KidsThey certainly don't look like forced smiles. I love the demeanor of the girl in the middle with her hands on her hips. Oh the disappointmentThe nigh-palpable disappointment in Mr. Hines' commentary nearly oozes off the screen. Underprivileged kids, working, should be solid gold. And then they go and SMILE! AAAAUGH! Rotten kids. (The Gallery, Lewis Hine)
Honest Household: 1912
... before, Helen and James worked until 11 p.m." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Couldn't Help but do some ... the rest of the other children are also. As with all of Hines photographs, one wishes these children had it easier as their lives went ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2016 - 12:09pm -

August 1912. Roxbury, Mass. "Home work on tags. Home of Martin Gibbons, 268 Centre Street. James 11, years old; Helen, 9 years; and Mary, 6, work on tags. Helen said she could tie the most (5,000 a day at 30 cents). Mary does some but can do only 1,000 a day. They work nights a good deal. The night before, Helen and James worked until 11 p.m." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Couldn't Help but do some DiggingI spent a half hour or so doing some research and found a bit of information on the family. I found the family in the 1910 Census, living at the same address. Martin and Mary were Irish immigrants, married for about 18 years at the time of this photograph. Martin's occupation is a stablehand at the city stables. The curly headed child to the left watching on would be Martin, Jr, aged 4 at the time of this photo. Not listed is an older sibling, John (16 at the time, so probably employed elsewhere). Jumping back to 1900 shows them still renting from the same address, only with Martin's grown sisters Norah and Ellen living with the young couple. Jumping ahead to 1920 shows Mary as now being widowed, still renting at the same location, with the addition of children Thomas (age 9) and Josephine (age 4) living with her. Mary is now employed as a cleaner at a shoe factory, James is a "Moving Picture Operator" at a local theater, and Helen is a clerk at a shoe factory. The family aged out and moved on (or simply dropped from any easy way to locate them) after 1926 - the last time I could locate them (still living at 268 Centre). As an aside, I found Martin in Google Books under employees of the city of Boston - apparently he had been working for the city since 1897, and as of the 1908 listing where I found him, his wages were $2.25... a day. I also found his death record on February 28, 1915 (which means Josephnie was probably born after he passed). He was still working in the city stables at the time. I found the Gibbons' Find - A - Grave listing as well. Mary lived another 50 years before passing in 1965. Her children Joseph and Mary preceeded her in 1920 and 1952 respectively. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=37957776&PIpi=1835... Still there in 2007, gone by 2009. Cottage IndustryThese children are working at home, certainly, perhaps for their parents' employer. But I'm not so sure what they are really doing. Are they just attaching the tags to the string or wire by which thy are later to be affixed to something for sale? Or are they also filling in labels? I don't see pens or ink so I suspect the former. Certainly there isn't merchandise in this room that is destined to receive the tags. So, it's a classic problem in mass production, reducing the work to small pieces to be performed repeatedly till the worker gets carpal tunnel syndrome and needs to retire. Primitive timesGas light above, oil lamp on shelf. No sign of electricity. This is one of the best photos I've seen of how a typical kitchen looked before all the modern things we take for granted now. I'm glad I was born 34 years later when life was easier. It's really amazing how quickly technology advanced in the twentieth century. Is that a mirror?I wonder if that's a mirror hanging from the wall and ceiling on the far left, slanted downward towards the sink area? If so, my best guess is that it reflects some of the scant light in the room towards the sink. It's probably hard to make sure your dishes are clean if you're washing them in the dark. Respectable childrenEven though this family is very poor, their home is clean and orderly. The children are nicely dressed and look healthy. The girl on the right is barefoot and possibly the rest of the other children are also. As with all of Hines photographs, one wishes these children had it easier as their lives went on. Classic shakerIt looks like there is a quilted pattern salt shaker on stove just like the one I have in my cupboard. I had no idea that pattern went back that far! Industrious SoulsSeeing these obedient young kids doing this very tedious work does tug at the heartstrings, but one must remember that in 1912, struggling families had to make use of everyone's labor to earn a few extra cents here and there. My mom, born in 1910, strung beads for a jewelry co. when she was 13. In the very early 1950's, she worked in a paper mill, manufacturing and wrapping toilet paper, and there was a time when she brought work home for my 3 sibs and I in which we had to stamp (with rubber stamps and ink pads) the correct number of 'sheets' on each paper wrapper as they did lots of private labels for generic paper and had to show the correct number of sheets within, which varied with different companies. It was such a wretched, boring job which yielded just coinage (for stamping thousands of wrappers), but one kid had to flip the wrappers while another had to do the stamping and since there were 4 of us, we'd change jobs. We all had carpal tunnel syndrome and Popeye arms within a few months, but we're okay now. It does keep one humble forever after. What are they doing?They're stringing the tags, I guess for Dennison since that's whose label is on the box. (Later Avery-Dennison, makers of Avery labels). Printing and cutting the tags could be done mechanically, but putting the strings (or wires, depending on use) thru the holes and tying them was hand work for years, and it may be still for all I know. The tags would be filled in by the end user. a stitch in time ?the cabinet behind the door with the drawers, hinged top and iron frame seems very similar to the Singer sewing machine my mother had, perhaps a little seamstressing helped fill in the gaps in the family finances ? or maybe just kept things in repair. (The Gallery, Kids, Kitchens etc., Lewis Hine)
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 ... 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 ... 
 
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)
Tiny Seamstress: 1924
... with invest­igation (see report TE-NY-39)." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Better working conditions This ... Working Girl The only point Lewis Hines could make here is her age. Not that this 1924 young girl is living the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/03/2014 - 4:05pm -

March 1924. "Tenement homework. Pictures taken in connection with invest­igation (see report TE-NY-39)." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Better working conditionsThis little girl seems to have a much nicer working environment than this earlier Hine family previously posted on Shorpy: https://www.shorpy.com/node/13561 Working GirlThe only point Lewis Hines could make here is her age. Not that this 1924 young girl is living the American dream, but she appears to be in much better shape than some his previous subjects. I'm pretty sure she dressed up for this picture. However that doesn't excuse the fact the a child, I'm guessing her age around 12, has to work. But this is 1924 and the average family family in the US earned less than $600. Every dollar that the children brought in lessened their burden, but it didn't take them out of the mire. The machineMy mother had a machine like that--I sure wish I had it now. (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine, NYC)
Postal Boys: 1911
... cities as are the Western Union boys." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Real fixies without brakes? ... him a wee bit of discomfort. Perhaps he is telling Hines to "Hurry up and take the picture.....this is killing me!" Adams Etc ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 3:59pm -

June 1911. Norfolk, Virginia. "A typical group of Postal Messengers. Smallest on left end, Wilmore Johnson, been there one year. Works days only. The Postal boys are not nearly so young in Norfolk and also in other Virginia cities as are the Western Union boys." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. Real fixies without brakes?Although the coaster brake was invented a little more than ten years before this picture was taken, they weren't ubiquitous yet, but the second bike from the right does appear to have some kind of band on the left rear stay, possibly to secure a torque arm... recycled board racers?Except for the center bike with the auto horn and spring seat, these bikes look like they had earlier been board track racers. Bare bones frame with serrated metal pedals, smooth tires, sans chain guard and rigid racing seats. Just reset the handlebars downward to racing position. Tuck in, and ride like the wind. A grand old nameAdams Express continues in business today. Like other express companies of past centuries, such as American Express and Wells Fargo, their principle business became financial services. The kid on the leftThe look on his face tells me that the bike frame just might be causing him a wee bit of discomfort. Perhaps he is telling Hines to "Hurry up and take the picture.....this is killing me!" Adams EtcAdams Express, American Express, Southern Express and a few others were merged into the Railway Express Company (REA) in 1917. The Feds needed to control the railways for the WW1 emergency. It was accomplished by the United States Railway Administration (USRA) to assure that that the Rail Systems operated efficiently during wartime. Railway Express was with us until 1975 when it went out of business. The Interstate Highway System became their downfall when UPS et al went into the over the road delivery business. (The Gallery, Bicycles, Kids, Lewis Hine)
Step Sisters: 1911
... shucks [oysters] also. Alabama Canning Co." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. The Eyes Have It Hines outdid himself with this one. The little girl's eyes are just amazing. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/07/2014 - 10:08pm -

February 1911. Bayou La Batre, Alabama. "Little Julia tending the baby at home. All the older ones are at the factory. She shucks [oysters] also. Alabama Canning Co." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size. The Eyes Have ItHines outdid himself with this one. The little girl's eyes are just amazing. SweetThis is such a sweet photo. I hope these little angels had wonderfully happy and long lives. (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)
Smart's Bog: 1911
... 9 years old." View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. cranberry pickers We lose sight of the fact that ... themselves to death. I'm new to this site. Is Lewis Wickes Hines the same artist that was the Empire State Building "official" ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 7:12pm -

September 1911. Cranberry pickers at Smart's Bog near South Carver, Mass. "Annette Roy, the youngest worker. Said 7 years old. Picked last year. Lives at 171 Orange Street, Fall River. Also Napoleon Ruel, 53 Hopkins Street. Said 9 years old." View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. cranberry pickersWe lose sight of the fact that before WWII, this was indeed, a very poor country. Agra workers labored for a pittance (the farmers as well as the migrants) and in many cases, worked themselves to death. I'm new to this site. Is Lewis Wickes Hines the same artist that was the Empire State Building "official" photographer? You can leave your hat on ...as Randy Newman (and many other singers) sings unforgettably. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Kids, Lewis Hine)
Double Date: 1941
... Thirty Years It was just thirty years previous that Lewis Hines was photographing children in this same valley -- but they were working ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/12/2013 - 9:07am -

September 1941. "Millworkers' children. Holyoke, Massachusetts." Our fighter pilot again, and some more of his pals. Photo by John Collier. View full size. Thirty YearsIt was just thirty years previous that Lewis Hines was photographing children in this same valley -- but they were working in the mills instead of playing outside of them. Triple DateIt looks like there are actually 3 couples... if you look carefully, you can see part of a third boy's head behind the center boy. But where is his body? I finally figured out that the girl on the left is sitting on his lap, so there's not much of him that's visible. It's possible those are his fingertips on her side, but they also might be hers, awkwardly positioned. You can also see the legs and lap of a third girl on the far left. Budding RomanceFrom the expression on his face, I think our pilot has gotten his first inkling that girls may not have cooties. after all. His wingman, at the rear, may be trying to horn in on his action Chick magnet -- who knew?I had dozens of those balsa wood gliders in the '50's. I just wish somebody had told me they could really break the ice with chicks. That kid's wingman is gonna lose out - big time. (The Gallery, John Collier, Kids)
A Practical Education: 1913
October 1913. Houston, Texas. Curtin Hines. Western Union messenger #36. Fourteen years old. Goes to school. Works ... sometimes now." View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/10/2008 - 11:39pm -

October 1913. Houston, Texas. Curtin Hines. Western Union messenger #36. Fourteen years old. Goes to school. Works from 4 to 8 p.m. Been with Western Union for six months, one month delivering for a drug store. "I learned a lot about the 'Reservation' [Red Light] while I was at the drug store and I go there sometimes now." View full size. Photo and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. (The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)
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