While not technically urchins (in my mind, urchins are kids hanging out on the street w/o parents), these are the male members of a vaudevillian troupe called the "Four Novelty Grahams" who were acrobatic performers at the Victoria Theatre in Philadelphia. The father is 23 years of age. Willie Graham (his tiny doppelganger) is 5 years of age, and Herbert Graham is 3 years of age. According to Edward F. Brown, an investigator into early child labor practices, "At 9 P.M. on June 10th, 1910, these children were performing on the stage. Four times daily they do a turn which lasts from 12 to 14 minutes. Herbert Graham, the youngest, was said by the father to have commenced performing on the stage as a[n] acrobat when he was 10 months of age. Willie, now 5, is said to be the youngest acrobat in the world. The mother of these boys was formerly a school teacher, and is now performing with this trio on the stage. The children are bright and strong, but have a playfulness about them which
shows them to have forgotten the best years of childhood." Photo by Lewis W. Hine, 1910.
Nearly all of these urchins were discovered in the photography archives of the Library of Congress (and available without copyright restrictions online). Otherwise, urchin photos will be credited to the appropriate photographer with a link to its source (unless they come from my own collection of photographs from unknown photographers). If there is ever a copyright concern, do not hesitate to contact me.
|