The Past as a Fairy Tale (now with pictures)

"How the Other Half Lives" was pioneering work of photojournalism by Jacob Riis focused on the plight of the poor in the Lower East Side, and greatly influenced future "muckraking" journalism. Due to the recent invention of magnesium flash, Riis was able to venture into the dimly lit areas of tenements and document the wretched conditions in which the "other half" lived and worked.

Reflecting back on these photos, it's easy to see why so many think modern American society is a dystopian nightmare sprung to life...

Street children in night quarters


Other Selected Photos below:

Room in a tenement, 1910
Jersey Street tenements
Tenement-house yard
Lodgers in a crowded Bayard Street tenement
In a seven-cent lodging-house
In a Chinese joint
Twelve-year-old boy pulling threads in a sweat shop, about 1889
Girl and a baby on a doorstep
The man slept in this cellar for four years, about 1890
Under the dump, Rivington Street, about 1890

This is the link to the full photo index from the book at The Authentic History Center.