Lower East Side

This picture was extraordinarily difficult.

For one, it had these really dark hues that messed up the coloring. Second, for some reason the skin turned a weird orangey-yellow. But enjoy! It's a rare photograph from the Tenement Museum about immigrants in the Lower East Side. I believe these people here are Jewish immigrants.

Anyway, it's a scene of an ice seller selling...you guess it! Ice! Originally I thought it was soap or something because the boy holding it up to his nose looks like he's smelling something. The faces here are particularly interesting -- they really do reflect the time period, and seem geniunely happy -- this picture is not posed. It's a rare glimpse into a typical day (or a typical second) in the Lower East Side. Perhaps one of these boys is the grandfather of someone you know. (I've always wanted to see a "where are they now?" of all these photojournalized faces!) Or a "what are they thinking?" What is the boy staring at the camera thinking at the exact moment the shutter snapped?

The baby's face says it all: it's hot, and all he wants is some scraped ice.