Youngsters Who Toiled in The Glass Factories

Sarcastically nicknamed "glory holes" because of their intense heat, glass factories observed few safety precautions. Many youngsters sustained injuries attributed to "personal carelessness" and "inattentiveness." Some night shift operations were carried out merely by the light shed by open hearth furnaces.

Of one youngsters, a foreman said: "He's a good boy. Works all day and never complains."

These photos were taken by Lewis Hine in Grafton, West Virginia, in October 1908

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Source: American Labor, A Pictorial Social History by M.B. Schnapper, Copyright 1972