The photo depicts a young boy, approximately 15 years old, operating a dangerous boring machine in the Pittman Handle Factory located in Denison, Texas. The machine he is using bores a large hole in a spade handle, and in order to operate it, the boy must throw his entire weight onto a lever that pushes the handle and himself up against the unprotected borer. A slip could easily result in a fatal injury. The boy earns a mere $1.65 per day for this hazardous work.
The factory has a number of other dangerous machines and unprotected belts, as well as other young boys working under similar conditions. One boy, around the same age as the one pictured, is shown doing various tasks such as removing handles from a large rip saw and is constantly exposed to danger.
The photograph was taken in 1913 by Lewis Wickes Hine, a photographer who specialized in documenting child labor throughout the United States. The image is part of the National Child Labor Committee Collection and is available for public use with no known restrictions on publication.
Posted by Children’s Bureau Centennial on 2013-03-21 19:58:42