January 1911. "Serafino driving Chub, his mule. Shaft #7, Pennsylvania Coal Company mine at South Pittston." Bright spots are open flames of lamps on the boys' hats. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.

A young leader and a driver, Shaft #6, Pennsylvania Coal Company mine at Pittston. Pasquale Salvo and Sandy Castina. January 1911. View full size. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine.

July 10, 1913, New York. "Fifth Avenue Omnibus." View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. Click here for a closeup of the bus on the right. Radiator nameplate reads "De Dion Bouton."

Sunday strollers on New York's Fifth Avenue circa 1913. View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection.

In 1910, on the first airplane flight across the English Channel to carry a passenger, American aviator John Moisant flew from Paris to London accompanied by both his mechanic and his cat, named either Mademoiselle Fifi or Paree, depending on which newspaper you believe. Later that year Moisant died in a crash near New Orleans. View full size. George Grantham Bain Collection.

Park of Army wagon wheels at City Point, Virginia, in 1865. View full size. Wet collodion glass plate stereograph; photographer unknown.

November 30, 1910. The caption just says "Mime" motoring. After putting in a request to the Shorpy research division, we can report that "Mime" is the dog, a Papillon who lived at the Hotel Walton in New York City and was by all accounts a fan of fast cars (and, from the looks of it, fast women). View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress.

From 1902, another of Fitz Guerin's metaphorical maidens.View full size.

Circa 1942 silkscreen poster by Louis Hirshman encouraging safe disposal of matches, showing stylized Japanese soldier standing behind a tree with a match, with the rising sun in the background. Federal Art Project / WPA War Services Project. View full size.

January 1911. A lonely job. Waiting all alone in the dark for a trip to come through. Willie Bryden, a nipper, lives at 164 Center St. in South Pittston. It was so damp that Willie said he had to be doctoring all the time for his cough. A short distance from here, the gas was pouring into the mine so rapidly that it made a great torch when the foreman lit it. Willie had been working here for four months, 500 feet down the shaft, and a quarter mile from there. (Shaft #6, Pennsylvania Coal Co.) Walls have been whitewashed to make it lighter. January 16, I found Willie at home sick. His mother admitted that he is only 13; will be 14 next July. Said that 4 months ago the mine boss told the father to take Willie to work, and that they obtained the certificate from Squire Barrett. (The only thing the Squire could do was to make Willie out to be 16 yrs old.) Willie's father and brother are miners and the home is that of a frugal German family. View full size. Photograph (5x7 glass negative) and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.

January 1911. Willie Bryden holding the door open while a trip goes through. View full size. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine.

Shaft No. 6 workers at the Pennsylvania Coal Company's South Pittston mine. January 1911. View full size. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine.

December 1910 or January 1911. At the close of the day, just up from the shaft at the Pennsylvania Coal Company's South Pittston mine. Smallest boy, next to right hand end, is a nipper. On his right is Arthur, a driver. Joe on Arthur's right is a nipper. Frank, boy at left, is a nipper, works a mile underground from the shaft, which is 5000 feet down. View full size. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine.

January 1911. Mule power and motor power. A young driver in Shaft #6, Pennsylvania Coal Company mine at Pittston. View full size. 5x7 glass negative by Lewis Wickes Hine. National Child Labor Committee Collection.

That Son-In-Law of Pa's by Charles H. Wellington. Published May 1, 1918. View full comic. You can find more in our new comics section and don't forget to subscribe to the comics RSS feed.