6. Hawk-Eye Detective Camera

Jacob Riis-How the Other Half Lives-Musuem of the City of NY-Jacob Riis Revealing New York's Other Half-9

This 1888-1898 Hawk-Eye Detective Camera made by the Boston Camera Company is similar to the camera Riis and his team would have used. As described in the exhibition, the camera “easy to operate and could be hand-held without a tripod. The camera could hold glass plates inside the back of the camera.” The object next to the camera is a Flash Tray. The trough held flash powder, which when used for photography created a big flash of light, a loud sound and sparks. As the exhibit states, “It was dangerous, and Riis twice set fire to a house and once to himself.”