Lewis W. Hine

mounted, signed, annotated 'Hastings-on-Hudson, N. Y.,' titled, dated, and numbered 'Neg. #374' by the photographer in ink and numbered '11' in an unidentified hand in pencil on the reverse, matted, framed, 1910, printed circa 1920

Private Collection, New York

Edwynn Houk Gallery, Chicago, 1987

Acquired by the Quillan Company from the above, 1989

Jill Quasha, The Quillan Collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Photographs (New York, 1991), pl. 35 (this print)

Other prints of this image:

Karl Steinorth, ed., Lewis Hine: Passionate Journey, Photographs 1905-1937 (Zürich, 1996), p. 89

Merry A. Foresta and Jeana K. Foley, At First Sight: Photography and the Smithsonian (Washington, D. C., 2003), p. 191

Life Library of Photography: Great Photographers, 1840-1960 (New York, 1971), p. 118

This print is on double-weight paper with a semi-glossy surface. It is essentially in excellent condition, with faint age-appropriate silvering in the dark areas. When the print is examined very closely in raking light, a very faint indentation can be seen on the subject's nose - this is unobtrusive and not immediately apparent. The photographer's original retouching is visible in raking light to the left of the subject's head. A very faint soft diagonal crease is visible in near the right edge of the print when it is examined in raking light and was either present in the print prior to mounting, or occurred during mounting. The print is mounted to thick board, which has darkened with age. The print's size and mount are characteristic of those used for exhibition.
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Lewis Hine's commitment to social justice set the tone for his entire body of work.  Although his photographs were regularly used to call attention to the plight of immigrants, child laborers, and working men and women, his images rise above mere propaganda and convey the individuality and humanity of his subjects. 

Hull House, referenced in the title of the photograph offered here, was a pioneering social welfare organization founded by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr in 1889.  Inspired by the Toynbee Hall settlement house in London, Hull House offered care and instruction to Chicago's poor and immigrant families, and became the model for similar organizations across the country.  Hine's extensive photographic record of the nation's poor amply demonstrated the need for such an organization. 

At the time of this writing, only two other prints of this image have been located, both in institutional collections: in the Elizabeth McCausland Papers at the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art; and The George Eastman House, Rochester, a gift of the Photo League.  Both are similar in size to the present print.  The print in the collection of The George Eastman House is titled 'Waiting for the Dispensary to open, Hull House district--Chicago.'  The Eastman House also owns Hine's original glass negative for the image, titled 'Chicago/ Boy Waiting His Turn in Dispensary, Broken Arm, 1910.'