Nonfiction work, Photographs

By: Lewis W. Hine

Date: 1932

Source: Hine, Lewis W. "The Spirit of Industry." Introduction to Men At Work: Photographic Studies of Modern Men and Machines. New York: Dover, 1977.

About the Author: Lewis Wickes Hine (1874–1940) was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. While teaching at the Ethical Culture School in New York City, he began using the camera as an educational tool and to record school activities. Hine developed an interest in social photography while documenting immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, and took on freelance assignments for the National Child Labor Committee. His images of child laborers throughout the United States helped bring about legislative reforms. Hine also produced influential photo essays on the activities of the American Red Cross in World War I, on New York tenements, and on miners and factory workers.