Unpublished Photographic Archive of the National Child Labor Committee, 1931–1953

Item #1481

Newly surfaced and previously undocumented archive of National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) material, comprising approximately 980 individual items, including photographic prints, negatives, caption cards, and two printed Legends of Photographs. This rare and historically significant collection continues the NCLC’s visual record beyond previously known and cataloged material, with numbered items beginning at #5312 and continuing through #9966, establishing it as a distinct and unrecorded body of work.

Highlights & Features:

480 photographic prints, most with negatives and caption cards

330 negatives, many individually housed and labeled

27 large-format photographic reprints, likely used for display or publication

140 caption cards with extensive typed or handwritten metadata (without prints)

2 printed “Legends of Photographs” (Tiff Mines, 1937), including item numbers and descriptions

17 negatives directly attributed to Lewis W. Hine, dated 1931—well after his assumed departure from NCLC—plus other images clearly in Hine’s style and subject matter (e.g., newsboys, bootblacks, garment workers)

Other identified photographers include Ruth Scandrett, Dave Myers, Sidel, and G.E. Gibbons

Content spans a broad range of labor-related subjects: child labor, mining, industry, agriculture, family economics, and community infrastructure

Historical and Research Significance:
Founded in 1904, the NCLC played a pivotal role in documenting and advocating against exploitative child labor in the United States. The Committee used photography as a powerful tool to sway public opinion and push for legislative change—including the 1924 Child Labor Amendment (passed by Congress but never ratified).

This archive reflects the NCLC’s continued activities well into the mid-20th century, providing documentation from a later period (1930s–1950s) that has remained largely unstudied. It dramatically extends the known numeric sequence of NCLC photos, which previously ended at #5126. This set begins at #5312 and concludes with #9966—completely outside the established corpus held at institutions like the Library of Congress and the New York Public Library.

Format & Condition:

Photographs are primarily on single-weight paper, most ranging from 2.5” x 3.5” to 5” x 7”

Many appear to have been developed at local drugstore-style labs near photo locations

Captioning includes both handwritten notes (usually on versos) and typed cards or envelopes, listing:

Name(s), location, work details, hours, wages, age, living conditions, level of education, family context, and quotes from subjects

Captions and negatives are well organized, with envelopes labeled by number

Materials are overall in stable, research-ready condition, with some age-related wear consistent with field use

Provenance & Rarity:
These records were never part of the public or institutional NCLC photographic collections and appear to have been preserved independently, possibly by a regional office. Their unique numbering sequence and geographic/employment focus make them particularly valuable as a primary research collection, museum-quality exhibition material, or a scholarly digitization initiative.

Price: $95,000.00