Young Boys Abused For Coal And Glass: One of my hobbies is to unearth interesting vintage pics – often over 100 years old. Where appropriate I recondition the originals to try and recreate what I think the photographer would have seen. This page features some stunning photos that are interesting from both a social and historical standpoint. The theme is child abuse for labour in the coal mines and glass factories of the USA circa 1910. A video has also been prepared for which I have composed a piece of music to accompany the slide show.
Very Young, 9 or 10 yr old, Boy ‘Novice’ Being ‘Broken-in’ by his Glass Manufacturing Boss at Morgantown, W. Va
Below you will find the vintage photographs – they detail how young boys were exploited and abused by the coal and glass industries. Most of the original pictures are over 100 years old and are enhanced to improve clarity whilst maintaining detail and character. You can either scroll through the photos, clicking on any individual picture to enlarge it, or use my YouTube video below which has a slide show of these photos (and many more) set to music.
The Gallery (click on the photos to see higher definition versions):
Young Boys Unscrupulously Exploited and Abused By Management At Woodward Coal Mines, Kingston, Pa – c1900Boys Exploited At Pennsylvania Coal Co 1911Young Boys Having Their Lungs Poisoned at the Pennsylvania Coal Co Breaker 1911Coal Breaker Overseers Abused Boys With A Stick To Ensure Obedience 1911Boys Working In Pennsylvania Anthracite Mine 1913Poisonous Dust Penetrated Children’s Lungs in the Pennsylvania Breaker 1911Lunch Break in Ewen Breaker in South Pittston, PA 1911James Leonard and Stanley Rasmus Pose For a Photograph at the Pennsylvania Coal Co 1911Pittston PA Coal Breaker Tom Vitol – nearly 14 Years Old 1911Angelo Ross 13 (ish) Years of Age – An Experienced Coal Breaker in Pennsylvania 1911 (many boys exaggerated their age to get jobs and early promotion)Angelo Ross 13 (ish) with some Work Colleagues at Breaker #9, Hughestown, PASam Belloma (left) 14 (ish) already had 2 yrs experience as a Pittston Coal BreakerCoal Breakers: Philip Kurato (12 yrs) Jo Tabone (says he’s 14) and Charlie Bootha (nearly 12)Kohinor Mine Coal Breaker Boys, Shenandoah City, PA 1891Breaker Boys At Pennsylvania Coal Co, Pittston, 1911Woodward Coal Breaker Boys, Kingston, PA c1895Boy on Night Shift At Indiana Glass Works 1908Midnight With The Boys At The Glass Works in Indiana 1908Glass Works Boy 16 (ish) Close Up Photo Demonstrating Damage to his ‘Protective’ Clothing 1908‘Carrying-in Boys’ Working at Midnight in the Indiana Glass Works 1908August At 1.00 A.M. – Small ‘Carrying-in Boy’ Busy At Work Indiana 1908Night Shift ‘Mold Boy’ – He Could Take Upto 1 hr Rest Between 2 x 4.5 hrs Periods Working in this Cramped Sitting PositionThe Lehr Glass Factory in Grafton, W. Va. – ‘Carrying in Boy’Midnight Child Labour in the Glass Works at Grafton, W. Va 1908Young Boy Working on the Night Shift – Reheating Glass Objects in the ‘Glory Hole’ in Grafton 1908This ‘Carrying-In’ Boy, 15 yrs old, was paid $1.25 for 9 hrs of Night Work at the Lehr Glass Works 1908A ‘Mold Boy’ Sits Beneath the ‘Blower’ at the Seneca Glass Works, Morgantown, W. Va 1908Small Boy at Northwood Glass Co, Wheeling, W. Va 1908Several Young Boys in the Central Glass Co, Wheeling, W. VaVery Young ‘Mold Boy’ Working With ‘Blower’ at Central Glass Co, Wheeling, W. VaGlass Boys ‘en mass’ working in West Virginia in 1908Very Young,9 or 10 years old, Boy ‘Novice’ Being ‘Broken-in‘ by his Glass Manufacturing Boss at Morgantown, W. VaBoys Finishing Their Shift At the Monongah Glass Works, Fairmont, W. Va 1908A 12 Year Old Boy Finishes His Shift at the Monongah Glass Co, Fairmont, W. VaThis is One Of 10 Small Boys Working In Just One Department At the Citizens Glass Co, Evansville, Ind80 cents per Day Was Paid to ‘Carrying Boy’ Bill, 14 (ish) Years of Age by Conton Glass Works, Marion, Ind 1908Close Up Photograph Of ‘Carrying In’ Boy Bill On His Way To Work in the Canton Glass Works 1908Young Boy at Cumberland Glass Works, Bridgeton, N.J. 1909Edwin Cope, 13 yrs, At The ‘Glory Hole’ of Cumberland Glass Works, Bridgeton, N.J. 1909Boy at Work in a Bridgeton N.J. Glass Works 1909Midnight With 4 Small Boys Working At The Bridgeton Glass Works, N.J. 1909Night Shift at Cumberland Glass Works, Bridgeton, N.J. 1909Young Boy On the Night Shift At A New Jersey Glass Works 190914 Years Old ‘Carrying In Boy’ For Wormser’s Glass House, Pittsburgh, Pa 1913A ‘Mold Holding Boy’ on the Left and a ‘Carrying In Boy’ on the Right In Bridgeton, N.J. 1909Howard at the age of 15 Already Had 2 yrs Experience At The New Jersey Glass House 1909A ‘Carrying In Boy’ who Worked Alternate Day and Night Shrifts At Alexandria Glass Factory, Va 1911Frank Clark (left) and Ashby Corbin (right) – Two ‘Carrying In Boys’ who Worked Night Shifts1911
For many of the images on these pages I am indebted to the work of Lewis Wickes Hine (1874 – 1940) a pioneer in the use of the camera as an instrument of social change in the USA.
To view other vintage photo collections or see the videos just click on the headings below:
Chris Duggleby 