Untitled 1908

This vintage photograph by Lewis Hine is a window into a past of child labor, captured in monochrome. Hine, a sociologist and photographer, used his camera as a tool for social reform, particularly focusing on the exploitation of children in early 20th-century America. Here, the young boy's clothes and the wooden wagon behind him give us a sense of the material conditions of his life. Wood, the primary material of the wagon wheels, evokes the labor-intensive processes of logging, milling, and carpentry that sustained the economy. The image invites us to consider the boy's connection to the wagon, perhaps as a worker, and the broader implications of child labor within capitalist systems. Hine’s photography urges us to consider the ethical dimensions of materials and making, highlighting the human cost of production.