Advertisement
Advertisement

Real Life Newsies Were Very Different Than What We Saw In The Disney Film

Updated on Sep 03, 2019. Originally added on Apr 25, 2016 by Kathy Pinna

These aren't the boys who delivered a newspaper to your home, nor are they singing and dancing like in the 1990s Disney film 'Newsies'.

These are the children, usually age 9 - 15 although sometimes younger, who bought papers on their own dime and sold them on the city streets to try and make a living.

These children became the face of child exploitation during the 19th and 20th centuries. How would you feel if your son had to live the life you see on these pages?

Continue Reading Below
Share and discover the people and places from your past

Photos of Newsboys from 1800 - 1920s

Loading...one moment please loading spinner

Truant!

[ Click image for details ]

He's not going to school, he's selling papers - thus confirming the public's poor view of these wayward youths.

"Old timer"

[ Click image for details ]

This is a 1910 photo of a grown-up newsboy, named in the photo as a "Heavy Man Old Timer". Does he look like a thug?

"Jefferson Street Gang"

[ Click image for details ]

A bunch (at the time, they called them "gangs") of newsies behind a billboard, around a campfire. It's 10p, late and cold, after they had sold newspapers all day.

Advertisement

1942 Newsboy

[ Click image for details ]

This is what you remember as a newsboy - the local kid delivering papers to your home.

History: Newsboys, or "newsies", referred to boys (and sometimes girls) who sold newspapers on street corners. They made up a large percentage of the child labor force from the mid 1800's through the 1920's.

While working for long hours and low pay (they couldn't return unsold papers to the publishers), they were also considered "thugs" or "hooligans" by the public because they worked at night and their work took them to adult places such as saloons and vaudeville halls. They had to be street smart and good businessmen, achieving their education in daily life, not in school.

Have photos that you'd like to see included? Share your photos or see photos of other working children before child labor laws by clicking "next page" below.

Blog posts

Back to Top