RIIS, Jacob A.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The Making of an American. First edition of the autobiography of the Danish-American journalist, photographer, and social reformer. An early adopter of the flash, Riis used the photographic medium to highlight the destitute conditions lived in by impoverished New Yorkers. His most famous work, titled How the Other Half Lives, caused New York legislators to address the unsafe tenement housing in the city. Through his social work, Riis became a lifelong friend of Theodore Roosevelt. The latter once stated, "I am tempted to call [Riis] the best American I ever knew, although he was a young man when he came hither from Denmark" (Roosevelt, p. 66).

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