1901 How the Other Half Lives Jacob August Riis Early Edition Tenement House Act

Jacob August Riis

Published by Charles Scribner's Sons

About this Item

How the Other Half Lives. Studies Among the Tenements of New York. By Jacob A. Riis. With Illustrations Chiefly from Photographs Taken by the Author. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1901. Early Edition. Complete plates/illustrations, 304 p. Half-cloth illustrated binding measures 7.5 x 4.75", 8vo.

In fair condition. Binding cocked. Boards scuffed at edges and worn/bumped at corners. Head and tail of spine collapsed; gilt lettering overall bright and clean. Illustrated boards toned/soiled; spots of light dampness staining on rear board. Front and rear gutters split with exposed binding mesh. Modern ownership inscription, in ink, found on front paste-down. Old-hand ownership signature, in ink, found on half-title page. Slash found on leaf containing pages 113/4 - text-block remains overall legible. Normal toning and sporadic age-staining found through text-blocks. Frontispiece's tissue guard normally toned with off-setting. Bookseller's ticket found on bottom edge of rear paste-down: "Out of Print Books". Binding shaken, but intact. Please see photos and ask questions, if any, before purchasing.

Jacob August Riis (1849 ? 1914) was a Danish-American social reformer, "muck-raking" journalist, and social documentary photographer. He contributed significantly to the cause of urban reform in the United States of America at the turn of the twentieth century. He is known for using his photographic and journalistic talents to help the impoverished in New York City; those impoverished New Yorkers were the subject of most of his prolific writings and photography.
Riis endorsed the implementation of "model tenements" in New York with the help of humanitarian Lawrence Veiller. He was an early proponent of the newly practicable casual photography and one of the first to adopt photographic flash. While living in New York, Riis experienced poverty and became a police reporter writing about the quality of life in the slums. He attempted to alleviate the poor living conditions of poor people by exposing these conditions to the middle and upper classes.

Early Edition, published the same year as the New York Tenement Housing Act of 1901.

RAREA1901KOPX - 06/26 - HK3597.

Seller Inventory # RAREA1901KOPX

Bibliographic Details

• Title: 1901 How the Other Half Lives Jacob August Riis Early Edition Tenement House Act
• Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Fair