2-705-558 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Love Conquered Fear', c1840. Ragged child workers in a Victorian textile factory. British writer Frances Trollope visited Manchester in 1832 to witness the condition of children employed in the textile mills there. Children were often forced to work twelve hours a day in very dangerous conditions for little pay. The factory owners exploited their size and nimbleness, making them climb under the looms to remove dust and threads while the machines were still moving, often resulting in injury or death. From "The life and adventures of Michael Armstrong, the factory boy" by Frances Trollope, published in monthly installments beginning in 1840.