16 rare photos of 19th-century New York and its residents who worked on the streets (18 photos)

Shoe shiners, policemen and merchants: who could be seen on the streets of New York in the 19th century.





Today we offer to go on a long journey and see what the streets of this wonderful city were like in 1896, even before how it became a metropolis.



Newspaper sellers

The author of these photos - Alice Austin (Alice Austen), and this fact should make you look at the pictures more closely. A female photographer who does not work in a studio, but took to the streets of the city, for the end of the XIX century was a real hero and innovator. But still her photographs are valuable not only for this reason: Alice captured a fast-growing city and those who supported life in it.

Austin became the first female street photographer in New York City history





Police officer

She was a real rebel and was one of the first to work outside the studio.



Postman

Alice filmed ordinary people on the streets, documenting the life of the city



Carriers of things

She rode a bicycle, carrying with her equipment, the weight of which was more than 20 kg.



Sponge merchant

Traders, immigrants, civil servants fell into Alice's lens



Immigrants

She also photographed the social activities of women of that time.



Organ grinders

As well as fast-changing and growing at an incredible rate of New York



Messenger on a bicycle

A closet on the second floor of the house where Austin lived became her home photography studio.



Foot messenger

It was there that she developed thousands of photographs.



Street cleaner

Unfortunately, her life was not the easiest.



Lace merchant

Photographer lost her savings during the Great Depression



knife grinder

Austin sold off property to make ends meet



Suspender seller

She donated 7,000 negatives to the New York Historical Society.



pretzel vendors

This helped only temporarily: in 1945 she was evicted from her home, for some time she lived on a farm for the destitute



Peddler

Alice spent the last years of her life in a nursing home, she died in 1952



Cab

The photographer left behind a memory - stunning old pictures of New York and its people



Shoe cleaners