Boys picking over garbage on "the Dumps." Boston. See 906-907. Location: Boston, Massachusetts. (LOC)

    Hine, Lewis Wickes,, 1874-1940,, photographer.

    Boys picking over garbage on "the Dumps." Boston. See 906-907. Location: Boston, Massachusetts.

    1909 October.

    1 photographic print.

    Notes:
    Title from NCLC caption card.
    Attribution to Hine based on provenance.
    In album: Miscellaneous.
    Hine no. 0899.

    Subjects:
    Boys.
    Refuse disposal.
    Scavenging.
    United States--Massachusetts--Boston.

    Format: Photographic prints.

    Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.

    Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

    Part Of: Photographs from the records of the National Child Labor Committee (U.S.) 2004667950

    General information about the Lewis Hine child labor photos is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.nclc

    Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.04552

    Call Number: LOT 7483, v. 1, no. 0899

    Comments and faves

    1. ooh mamma mia, Flyvapnet, stigc, lpracht, and 39 other people added this photo to their favorites.

    2. godelieve b (5 months ago | reply)

      nice slice of life

    3. jack byrnes hill (over 1 million views) (5 months ago | reply)

      Again, I am not going to argue child labor laws. certainly the use of children in industry is abhorrent. but so far, the pictures I have chosen to look at in this group seem not to present the case very well. Here for example is nothing more than kids scrounging the dump for metal and tin etc to be taken to centers that paid them for it. I can't tell you the hours me and my buddies in the 40s and 50s spent scowering the town dump for bottles that could be returned for money. Money that was ours to keep and spend as we wished. We brought our bb guns with us and shot at the rats and all in all had thoroughly enjoyable times.

    4. mezze (5 months ago | reply)


      who bought food for you?

    5. TimEC (5 months ago | reply)

      Hey Jack, there's a little over 5,000 images on the LOC website.

      www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?sp=1&co=nclc &st=gallery

      The image below might be more along the lines of what you're looking for.

      www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ncl2004000031/PP/

      I think if Lewis Hine wanted to only take pictures of destitute children exploited by industry he most likely could have. He also has a lot of portraits of adults in industry that don't show a hint of exploitation, and I think that's because he wanted to show the spirit these people had in spite of the bad working conditions, because he cared about them.

    6. kristavanichinnsamy (5 months ago | reply)

      Well done. nice image.

    7. This photo was invited and added to the Flickr Commons group.

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