August 1908
“Newsboys waiting for the Baseball edition, in a newspaper office. Bad environment… Indianapolis, Indiana.”
Image: Lewis Hine/Library of Congress
In the early 20th century, Lewis Hine photographed thousands of child laborers in the name of progressive social reform, including factory workers and miners. Newsies were a favorite subject. Hine did not have to sneak past factory bosses or photograph surreptitiously, allowing for less rushed photos and more in-depth interviews with his subjects.
Hine’s photographs, mostly shot under the auspices of the National Child Labor Committee, were constructed as arguments for labor reform. Every individual portrait and story captured the squalid conditions and bright potential of each young worker, and the amassed collection of thousands of similar images created a call for change that was hard to ignore. Read more…
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