Danish Seamen's Church – Danish Church Online Auction 2017
Auction Ends: Apr 20, 2017 10:00 PM EDT

Books

Jacob A. Riis, Revealing New York's Other Half - Book by Bonnie Yochelson

Item Number
229
Estimated Value
44 USD
Sold
55 USD to cs47ff552
Number of Bids
11  -  Bid History

Item Description

The definitive study of the images made by a pioneer journalist and photographer who passionately advocated for America’s urban poor

Danish-born Jacob A. Riis (1849–1914) found success in America as a reporter for the New York Tribune, first documenting crime and later turning his eye to housing reform. As tenement living conditions became unbearable in the wake of massive immigration, Riis and his camera captured some of the earliest, most powerful images of American urban poverty.
 
This important publication is the first comprehensive study and complete catalogue of Riis’s world-famous images, and places him at the forefront of early-20th-century social reform photography. It is the culmination of more than two decades of research on Riis, assembling materials from five repositories (the Riis Collection at the Museum of the City of New York, the Library of Congress, the New-York Historical Society, the New York Public Library, and the Museum of South West Jutland, Denmark) as well as previously unpublished photographs and notes. In this handsome volume, Bonnie Yochelson proposes a novel thesis—that Riis was a radical publicist who utilized photographs to enhance his arguments, but had no great skill or ambition as a photographer. She also provides important context for understanding how Riis’s work would be viewed in turn-of-the-century New York, whether presented in lantern slide lectures or newspapers.

Item Special Note

This item must be picked up at the Danish Seamen`s Church in Brooklyn Heights, New York no later than May 25th, 2017, during our opening hours or be shipped at the bidder`s own expense. Shipping expenses will automatically be charged to the credit card on file.

 

Donated by:  Ane Alsloev