Lewis W. Hine
Jo Bodeon. A “Back-Roper” in the Mule Room, Chace Cotton Mills, Burlington, Vermont

Jo Bodeon. A “Back-Roper” in the Mule Room, Chace Cotton Mills, Burlington, Vermont

Public Domain

Jo Bodeon. A “Back-Roper” in the Mule Room, Chace Cotton Mills, Burlington, Vermont
ArtistAmerican, 1874–1940
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Jo Bodeon. A “Back-Roper” in the Mule Room, Chace Cotton Mills, Burlington, Vermont
Date1909
Place depictedBurlington, Vermont, United States
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 4 9/16 × 6 5/8 in. (11.6 × 16.8 cm)
Sheet: 5 × 6 15/16 in. (12.7 × 17.6 cm)
Mount: 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.6 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mike and Mickey Marvins
Object number2013.713
Not on view

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Special Collections
Object Type
DescriptionTrained as a sociologist and recognizing the power of photography to sway public opinion and to create social change, Lewis Hine gave up his teaching job in 1908 and went to work full time as a photographer for the recently formed National Child Labor Committee (NCLC). His photographs of young children working on the street and in fields, factories, mills, and mines were reproduced in pamphlets and display materials of the NCLC and helped raise awareness of the plight of child workers, eventually leading to protective legislation. The wide-eyed Jo Bodeon was one of many children that Hine found tending the gargantuan, cacophonous spinning mules of cotton mills up and down the East Coast.
ProvenanceAuction, possibly San Francisco, c. 1994; purchased by Michael Marvins and Michele Marvins, Houston, c. 1994; given to MFAH, 2013.
Exhibition History“A Photographer’s Collection: Gifts from Michael and Michele Marvins,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, April 4–July 5, 2015.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
verso left in pencil reading vertically: UCLC 743
verso of mount a photo copy in a plastic sleeve: 743 Burlington, Vt. May 1909 / Name Jo Bodeon / Burlington, Vt.; A "back-roper" in mule room. / Chace Cotton Mill

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