The U.S. Library of Congress has recently provided a set of images showing child labor (American spelling of ‘labour’) practices from the early 20th century. This image by sociologist/photographer Lewis Hine shows a fifteen year old, pipe-smoking bicycle messenger in Waco, Texas. The photograph was published, nearly a century ago, in September 1913. The photograph is from a series entitled ‘Street Trades’ and is accompanied by a note to the effect that the boy is exposed to ‘Red Light Dangers’ – a euphemism that may imply his job takes him into prostitution zones. Hine’s photographs, of course, famously influenced child labour law reform.

Higher resolution scans are available at the LOC site linked to the photograph. I am impressed by the aesthetics and excellent image quality of this photograph. It’s also surprising to see that this 100 year old bicycle looks very similar to fixie bikes, favoured by current bicycle messengers, and recently fashionable with hipsters.