
Photographer Jacob Riis showed “How the Other Half Lives” in 1890s NYC (2017) - robtherobber
https://mymodernmet.com/jacob-riis-how-the-other-half-lives/
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keiferski
If you are in NYC, I recommend the Tenement Museum's tour of a preserved
apartment from the time.

[https://www.tenement.org](https://www.tenement.org)

[https://www.tenement.org/visit/tenement-apartment-
tours/](https://www.tenement.org/visit/tenement-apartment-tours/)

~~~
alexhutcheson
If you live in NYC, you might be underwhelmed. I toured a couple years ago,
and my main reaction was "This looks like a bigger version of my current
apartment!" A huge percentage of the walk-up buildings in Manhattan are from
the tenement era, so it's pretty likely that you or a friend already live in
one.

~~~
mattmillr
I live in NYC with my wife and two kids in a 1 bedroom unit in a prewar
building. I've never been to the Tenement Museum and it sounds like I don't
need to.

~~~
mcguire
1 toilet or outhouse per 20 people? (The Tenement House Act of 1867,
[https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/tenements](https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/tenements))

"The Conquest of Pestilence in New York City"
[http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/tenementmuseum/files/20...](http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/tenementmuseum/files/2013/05/Screen-
Shot-2013-05-12-at-1.47.15-AM.png)

~~~
alexhutcheson
That was the most interesting part to learn about for me, but they don't have
the outhouses, and many of the tours are in units that were retrofitted with
indoor plumbing and bathrooms later. Those units look essentially the same as
they do now, except they have older furniture and kitchen fittings.

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Pigo
The older I get the more of a connection I feel with historical
images/video/audio. Viewing life on this planet without the constraint of time
feels as profound as contemplating the depths of space. It's just out of my
reach, but I keep reaching for it because that is where the answers are. Some
things seem to be in a constant state of change while others remain in a
constant cycle.

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piffey
If you're in Seattle his photographs are currently on show at the National
Nordic Museum until March 15, 2020.
[https://www.nordicmuseum.org/exhibition/riis](https://www.nordicmuseum.org/exhibition/riis)

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Green_man
from a photography standpoint, Jacob Riis is one of the most interesting
characters in the field. He committed one of the cardinal sins of
photojournalism: many of his photographs were lies, with staged subjects. He
spent effort to make the conditions look worse than they were- for his own
gain, and also likely because he really believed in showing the conditions of
urban life.

many outside of photography will overlook fussy criticism of Riis- his work
helped pass laws that positively affected the lives of millions, who cares if
he directed street urchins where to sit and made situations seem more
desperate than they actually were? after all, the conditions were often
extremely desperate.

but his job as a photojournalist was to portray things as they were-
especially since he portrayed his photos as journalism. arguably, his photos
also flattened the immigrant experiance to poor, crime ridden, and full of
disease, rather than poor, crime ridden, full of disease, full of opportunity,
and often with a great sense of community that made up immigrant life at that
time. He also directly profited from simplifying and lying about urban life.

to me, Jacob Riis symbolizes how positive change isn't always done by the most
scrupulous of actors, and the complicated relationship of truth and nuance
with social change and politics. in order to pass a law, society often needs
to have an uncompromisingly negative opinion of whatever status quo will be
overthrown.

[https://research.steinhardt.nyu.edu/scmsAdmin/media/users/gr...](https://research.steinhardt.nyu.edu/scmsAdmin/media/users/grp224/downloads/hasiariis.pdf)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Riis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Riis)

~~~
yibg
It’s a hard question. Ultimately it’s a does the end justify the means type of
question. I suppose if you agree with the result then yes maybe, if not then
probably not.

I don’t know in this particular case how far the truth was stretched but we
see this every day in for example advertisement and I think kind of expect it.
I do wonder though if there is a version of the world where we can all present
the objective truth, or as close to it as possible and have the “right”
outcomes. I suspect not, since then you’ll be at a disadvantage to those who
stretches the truth a little.

~~~
nelgaard
I wonder how his audiences back then perceived this issue. The indoor pictures
he made by just entering and firing a pistol with magnesium (later a frying
pan). The outdoor ones he had to stage to some extent because of the long
exposure times. Of course he took advantage of this, and the immigrants also
wanted to pose for the camera. For anyone back then knowing anything about
photography (which in his audience might have been quite a few) it should have
been obvious that e.g. the photo of three boys stealing from a drunk man was
staged, you could not make snapshots of quick actions.

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gshdg
_How The Other Half Lives_ [0] really is a worthwhile read, if you're at all
interested in the history of NYC or of social reforms, or just want a reminder
to be grateful for your own modern middle-class living conditions. The poverty
described can be deeply overwhelming.

It's also basically the American counterpart to Engels' classic _The Condition
of the WOrking Class in England_ [1].

[0]
[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45502/45502-h/45502-h.htm](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45502/45502-h/45502-h.htm)
[1]
[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17306/17306-h/17306-h.htm](http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17306/17306-h/17306-h.htm)

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montalbano
Fantastic to see this, and great timing as I just finished reading "The Rise
of Theodore Roosevelt".

Roosevelt befriended Riis and the journalist had a large influence on him and
his policies. As Riis confidence in Roosevelt's political perspectives grew,
he also helped promote TR through his journalistic work.

I would recommend the book greatly for anyone interested in the politics of
this era, or just Roosevelt himself.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_of_Theodore_Roosevelt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_of_Theodore_Roosevelt)

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lordleft
Could you imagine life prior to widely available HVAC? These cramped streets,
heaving with people and heat. It's all the more remarkable given the sartorial
expectation of the time. How did people wear suits and dense dresses
regularly?

~~~
throwsprtsdy
There were non-air-conditioned subway trains in New York City well into the
1980s.

~~~
mattmillr
There will still be non-air-conditioned subway cars in New York City this
summer.

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nelgaard
I just visited the Jacob Riis Museum in Ribe, Denmark this Monday.
[http://www.jacobariismuseum.dk/](http://www.jacobariismuseum.dk/)

The museum did have pictures of water pollution.

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dkdbejwi383
I thought "the other half" was the rich! I guess this is looking at things in
reverse

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dfxm12
It certainly means either: [https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/other%20half](https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/other%20half)

I'd say most of us see "the other half" as the rich, because we see ourselves
as poor, relatively speaking [0]. I think Riis titled his book to give the
rich an idea how bad things were for others, to try and draw some empathy from
them.

0 - of course, wealth distribution isn't 50/50 today (and probably never was)

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Aunche
Fun fact. The population of Manhattan during the 1890s was roughly the same as
it is today.

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6510
Great stuff. It really captures the mood. To bad they didn't rescue all of the
pictures from the horrible museum UI.

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geggam
Things like this really should make you realize how bad you don't have it.

This is what unions fought, not when the office mgr takes away the nespresso
machine.

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piffey
It's all relative. Why shouldn't people aim for a continued improvement in the
way we're all treated?

~~~
geggam
I think people have it too good. I think bored people are creating problems to
solve.

/2 cents

