How the Other Half Lives

Jacob Riiss famed 1890 photo-text addressed the problems of tenement housing, immigration, and urban life and work at the beginning of the Progressive era. David Leviatin edited this complete edition of How the Other Half Lives to be as faithful to Riiss original text and photography as possible. Uncropped prints of Riiss original photographs replace the faded halftones and drawings from photographs that were included in the 1890 edition. Related documents added to the second edition include a stenographic report of one of Riiss lantern-slide lectures that demonstrates Riiss melodramatic techniques and the reaction of his audience, and five drawings that reveal the subtle but important ways Riiss photographs were edited when they were reinterpreted as illustrations in the 1890 edition. The books provocative introduction now addresses Riiss ethnic and racial stereotyping and includes a map of New Yorks Lower East Side in the 1890s. A new list of illustrations and expanded chronology, questions for consideration, and selected bibliography provide additional support.