Riis was a social reformer, journalist and social documentary photographer. Jacob riis, a danish immigrant, arrived in the united states in 1870 when he was twentyone years old. He worked as a carpenter in copenhagen before emigrating to the united states in 1870. His most famous work, how the other half lives 1890, shed light on the plight of the slums in new york city jacob riis. A largersized, reset republication of the classic and rare 1901 sociological study by riis, with a new preface and thirty new photographs not in the original edition they had been replaced by drawings based on these photographs.
It would take the photographers a few minutes to reload that early. The side walls of the exhibition frame riiss call to action on problems he. He could not find steady work and had to live at a police lodging house, a hotbed for crime and typhus fever. Riis did a variety of menial jobs before finding work with a news bureau in. And few photos truly changed the world like those of jacob riis. His work, especially in his landmark 1890 book how the other half lives, had an enormous impact on american society. He steadily publicized the crises in poverty, housing and education at the height of european immigration, when the lower east side became the most densely populated place on earth. Jacob august riis was born may 3, 1849 in ribe, denmark and died may 26, 1914 in barre, massachusetts. His thennovel idea of using photographs to illustrate the of the citys slums and plight of impoverished residents established riis as forerunner of modern photojournalism. By 1900, more than 80,000 tenements had been built and housed 2.
Jacob riis, who immigrated to the united states in 1870, worked as a. Riis was among the first in the united states to conceive of photographic images as instruments for social change. Photo by jacob riis photo by jacob riis in the tenements entire families would live in one room. Riis papers from the library of congress and the museum of the city of new yorks jacob a. In the three decades leading up to his arrival, the citys population, driven relentlessly upward by intense immigration, had more than tripled. The life of jacob riis and the world of immigrant america by tom bukswienty and annette bukswienty. His book how the other half lives 1890 shocked readers with his. Photos reveal shocking conditions of tenement slums in. A pioneer in the use of photography as an agent of social reform, jacob riis. Jacob riis wrote his first and now enduringly famous book, how the other half lives 1890 late at night while the house slept. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 first edition with your subscription. Shopping bag bauman rare books first editions, signed. How the other half lives occupies a premier place on a small list of american books. Riis was a notable american newspaper reporter, social reformer, and photographer.
Jacob riis 18491914 was an american reporter, social reformer. Jacob riis, an immigrant from denmark, became a journalist in new york city in the late 19th century and devoted himself to documenting the plight of working people and the very poor. Long ago it was said that one half of the world does not know how the other half lives. This exhibition unites, for the first time, the jacob a.
Riis was the first to show this side of life in nyc during the first part of the century. The making of an american 1901, an autobiography, follows riiss early life in denmark and his struggles as an immigrant in the united. Studies among the tenements of new york, and the battle with the slum, and more on. His thennovel idea of using photographs of the citys slums to illustrate the plight of impoverished residents established riis as forerunner of modern photojournalism. As tenement living conditions became unbearable in the wake of massive immigration, riis and his camera captured some of the earliest, most powerful images of american urban poverty. Jacob august riis 18491914 was a journalist and social reformer in late 19th and early 20th century new york. Riis deplored the social conditions of the poor in new york city, and was active in bringing about antichild labor and tenement reform laws.
It was my habit to light the lamps in all the rooms of the lower story and roam through them with my pipe, for i do most of my writing on my feet. I highly recomend this book for anyone interested in the early part of the century or anyone who needs information for school projects. How the other half lives is a chronicle of the conditions of abject poverty that the residents of the slums of new york at the end of the 19th century had to endure. How the other half lives first edition norton critical. Studies among the tenements of new york 1890 is an early publication of photojournalism by jacob riis, documenting squalid living conditions in new york city slums in the 1880s. Jacob riis 18491914 was a journalist and photographer born in denmark. Free audio book that you can download in mp3, ipod and itunes format for your portable audio player. Jacob riis 18491914 was a pioneering newspaper reporter and social reformer in new york at the turn of the twentieth century. Riis 18491914, americas first journalistphotographer. Revealing how the other half lives is a copresentation of the library of congress and the museum of the city of new york. The photographs served as a basis for future muckraking journalism by exposing the slums to new york citys upper and middle classes. The greatest books of all time written by the author jacob riis.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. You must first put the man where he can respect himself. Jacob riis 18491914 was an american reporter, social reformer, and photographer. Battle with the slum first edition signed jacob riis. They inspired many reforms of workingclass housing. First published in 1890, jacob riiss remarkable study of the horrendous living conditions of the poor in new york city had an immediate and extraordinary impact on society, inspiring reforms that affected the lives of millions of people. Two new books tell the story of jacob riis, a social reformer and natural. After several months of unemployment and homelessness, riis contemplated suicide. A biography of the remarkable journalist and reformer, jacob a. His books include low life, evidence, and the factory of. His book how the other half lives 1890 shocked readers with his descriptions of slum conditions in new york city, and it was an important predecessor to the muckraking journalism that gained popularity in the u. His books are by far the best pictoral records of the time. The first photographer to use the power of the image as a tool for reform, danish immigrant jacob riis began as a police reporter for the new york sun in the 1870s mcdarrah, 381, and in 1890 published his groundbreaking how the other half lives, one of the first modern photobooks.
Riis 18491914 found success in america as a reporter for the new york tribune, first documenting crime and later turning his eye to housing reform. First published in 1890, jacob riiss remarkable study of the horrendous living conditions of the poor in new york city had an immediate and extraordinary. The book included photographs he had taken throughout the city. Alexander alland 19021989, a photographer, editor and photohistorian, found riis lost negatives after a fiveyear search, donated them to the museum of the city of new york, and mounted an exhibition of prints, which appear here for the first time. Luc sante teaches writing and the history of photography at bard college. He is known for his dedication to using his photographic and journalistic talents to help the impoverished in new york city, which was the subject of most of his prolific writings and photography. San francisco, 16 january 2009 as the son of an african immigrant prepares to assume the highest office in the land, tom bukswientys portrait of muckraking journalist and reformer jacob riis is both instructive and inspiring. Jacob riis was born in 1849 in denmark and immigrated to the united states in 1870 at 21 years old. Riis with illustrations chiefly from photographs taken by the author contents new york.
991 442 563 725 1282 1653 302 1286 951 521 1337 815 1399 4 942 131 1210 1254 161 520 70 1126 428 1305 602 327 384 404 1548 893 867 1327 221 874 780 963 1109 243 79 582 536 80