I’ve written about Lewis Wickes Hine’s work a few times recently, but I haven’t yet shown you the tenement photographs.

Not all the photographs here were taken by Hine but the majority were, and I’m including his commentary, which was a little acidic, as you’ll see.

All photographs are from the National Archives.

Mrs. Caporale, (a widow), picking nuts, while her two daughters help her. The dirty children are handling the nuts and playing with them. The open bag nuts stands around all day. Room littered with waste and kindling wood. Make $3 to $3.50 a week. An 18 year old works in a paper box factory by day and helps pick nuts at night.

Basso family, making roses in dirty poorly lighted kitchen. Pauline, 6 years old, works after school. Peter, 8, works until 8 P.M. Mike, 12 years old, until 10 P.M. Father keeps a rag shop.

8 P.M. and not yet finished. The little one on left is not yet 4 years old, yet she works on flowers all day and sometimes until 8 or 9 P.M at night. In spite of a sore throat, she was working steadily all the time I was there, – occasionally dropping a sigh that was very pathetic. Father said she likes to work. Oldest sister (who makes 6 dozen wreaths a day), said the little one makes one dozen wreaths a day.

Julia, a 6 year old child making pansies for her neighbor. They said she does this every day but not all day. A growler and dirty beer glasses in the window.

Katie, 13 years old, and Angeline, 11 years old, making cuffs, Irish lace. Income about $1 a week. Works some nights till 8 P.M.

“Everybody works but…..” A common scene in the tenements. Father sits around. “Sometimes I make $9, sometimes 10 a week, sometimes nottin’.” All work together, they make 4 dollars a week. Work until 9 P.M.

Mrs. Marengin works. Pepino, 10 years old, cracking nuts with her teeth. The mother had just been doing the same. Carmine, 8, the boy about the same age works too. Some of them work until 8 or 9 P.M. Boy holding baby is foolish. Husband works in railroad.

Mrs. Molinari and family making feathers. 6 year old Antoinette ties like an old hand. Dominick, 9, works some. Annie, the oldest girl, works in a factory.

Mrs. Palontona and 13 year old daughter, working on pillow-lace in dirty kitchen of their tenement home. They were both very illiterate. Mother is making fancy lace and girl sold me the lace she worked on.

Mrs. Salvia, Joe, 10 years old, Josephine, 14 years, Camille, 7 years, picking nuts in a dirty tenement home. The bag of cracked nuts (on chair) has been 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 dark inner bedroom (3 years old).

Farrell family. They had discontinued the brush making, but sent to a neighbor for materials and posed for me, just as they had been doing it. The little 5 year old on the right is very deft. Her eyes seemed to be troubling her. The father complained of the little money there was in the work.

Mrs. Lucy Libertime and family, Johnnie, 4 years old, Mary 6 years, Millie, 9, picking nuts in the basement tenement. Mary was standing on the open bag holding the cracked nuts, with her dirty shoes on, and using a hugh dirty jack knife. On the right is a cobbler bench used by shoemaker in this room. They live in dark inner bedrooms, and filth abounds in all rooms and in the dark, damp entry.

Family of Mrs. Motto making flowers in a dirty tenement. Josephine, 13 years, helps outside of school hours until 9 P.M. sometimes. She is soon to be 14 and expects to go to work in an embroidery factory, then. Says she worked in that factory all last summer. All work, except baby and she plays with the flowers putting them together and they expect him to work before long. Father drives a coach or a hack irregularly.

Mrs. Guadina, living in a dirty, poverty stricken home. On the trunk is the work of 4 days. She was struggling along (actually weak for want of food), trying to finish this batch so she could get the pay. There seemed to be no food in the house. The father is out of work. Three small children and another expected soon.

A family making silk flowers. Father wears a cast. Does not work. Boy, 11 years old, helps some.

Florence, 12 years old, and her sister, Jennie, working on crochet hats in dirty kitchen of their tenement. They make heavy hats, muffs, scarfs, slippers, etc. Jennie, 15, works in a factory part of the time. Can make 1 1/2 dozen hats in half a day. Florence makes 5 hats in half a day, being in school only half a day.

Making dresses for Campbell kids dolls in a dirty tenement. The older boy, about 12 years old, operates the machine when the mother is not using it, and when she is using it, he helps the little ones break the threads.

Making neckties in the kitchen. The 11 year old girl and 13 year old boy work on the ties every day after school. The mother on right works steadily. Two neighbors help with the work. New York City. February 23, 1912 From the National Archives.

Mrs. Larocca making willow plumes in an unlicenced tenement. Found nine families at work making feathers. When our investigator made her first call there she found the whole tenement in much worse condition. Children had bad skin trouble and fever, etc.

This final photograph isn’t by Lewis Hine, but it’s very interesting. Living there would be so awful. They probably used and needed everything they had but I could not stand to live in so much clutter. The amount of things in this room, together with the sagging ceiling and the closeness of the quarters, makes it hard to breathe.

Two officials of the New York City Tenement House Department inspect a cluttered basement living room.