Saturday, January 03, 2009

News Boy

This was called a famous picture in 1899
Famous Newsboy's Picture

but I can't find any reference to it online now. Called, "Newsboy's Picture: Photo From Life, By Curtiss," the photo was taken for "Kings and Queens of the Range," a monthly publication that came out of the Kansas City Stock Yards.

The photo was being used to publicize an event called the "First Band of Mercy Mass Meeting" held at Convention Hall on the 28th of April, 1899, "under the auspices of the Humane Society of Kansas City", back in the days when the Humane Society concerned itself with the humane treatment of human beings as well as animals, before the government relieved it of that responsibility.

You'll notice the newspaper that the poor, exhausted newsboy was hawking was none other than the Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star

It's only a guess, but I wonder if the fame and publicity the Newsboy's Picture received in its time didn't help encourage the Kansas City Star to be the top sponsor of the Band of Mercy mass meeting.
Sponsors of the Mass Meeting of the Band of Mercy

No comments: