|
Ellis Island Immigrants
|
|
Short History Hine, born September 1874, is more known for his photographs of child labor and the Empire State Building construction than for immigrants at which time he was documenting poverty. His photographs ". . . employed in his teaching established what became known as documentary photography." . . . "Hine had great difficulty earning enough money from his photography. In January 1940, he lost his home after failing to keep up repayments to the Home Owners Loan Corporation. Lewis Wickes Hine died in extreme poverty eleven months later on 3rd November, 1940." He was 66. In 1909 Hine spoke at a social work conference, While photographs may not lie, liars may photograph. It becomes necessary then to see to it that the camera we depend on contracts no bad habits. This collection contains twenty-nine Ellis Island, 1904, 1905, 1926, 1934 (so dated) and two child labor images of young children working in the coal mines of Pennsylvania (Breaker Boys), 1911. They have been sequenced to produce a feeling of continuity of immigrants moving through Ellis Island and are not in the chronological order photographed. You may note that Hine or assistants were inconsistent with captions and dates. Some have two or more of either. Bracketed comments are not Hine’s but are given as a general description. PROVENANCE These posthumous prints were made per Beaumont Newhall's request some twenty years after Hine's death. They were given to the present owner in lieu of remuneration for the production of three sets: the first for Judy Gutman's book on Hine and the second for the House collection. They are painstakinly excellent contact prints created directly from Hine's plates, which included on many, identification numbers that do not appear on the majority of vintage prints. There has been no cropping of the originals. The set is believed to be the largest, non-institutional, privately held in the U.S. Prints are corner mounted, except two linen hinged, on archival mount board with overmatting. The full set is available for purchase. Minimum value recognized in 1994--unknown. Circumstances at present allow liberal negotiation. Reference links: Hine's work and life is better known in the UK. There are footnotes in high school classes. Library of Congress bibliography. Between Hine's death and the publishing of Gutman's book in 1967 Newhall visits him (paragraph 2). |