Newly Released Photographs of Ellis Island Immigrants in Early 20th Century

Augustus Frederick Sherman worked as the Chief Registry Clerk on Ellis Island from the years 1892 to 1925. Thousands of people were arriving by ship from countries around the world and Sherman, an amateur photographer, was fascinated by the diversity of cultures. Using long exposures and large box cameras, he captured more than two-hundred images from 1902 to 1914, often encouraging the immigrants to pose in the precious clothing they carried in their suitcases. Recently, the New York Public Library published a collection of his photographs, as seen on Petapixel, giving us a glimpse into this period in our history. Here is a selection from the entire collection:

Immigrant Station, Ellis Island, ferry docked at adjacent pier. Photo via NYPL collections.

Ellis Island with view of the hospital complex behind, now abandoned

Ellis Island with view out to lower Manhattan. Photo via NYPL collections.

Photo of the Great Hall, which was the Registry Room for those who passed the first mental inspection. Photo via NYPL collections.

Immigrants being served a free meal at Ellis Island. Photo via NYPL collections.

c.1905, “Hungarian Gypsies”. Photo via NYPL collections.

Immigrants can be seen with trunks and luggage at a building near the Ellis Island pier. Photo via NYPL collections.

Photo via NYPL collections.

Photo via NYPL collections.

Photo via NYPL collections.

Many of the immigrant were held on Ellis Island, some waiting for escorts, money or travel tickets. Some were sent back. Augustus Sherman, having access to those in waiting, persuaded his subjects to dress in their finest and pose for his camera. Many of Sherman’s photographs were published in National Geographic in 1907, and hung in the lower Manhattan headquarters of the Federal Immigration Service anonymously for years. In 2005, Aperture published the book Augustus F. Sherman: Ellis Island Portraits 1905-1920 with over one hundred of these photographs.

Continue down below for a selection of these portraits:

c.1910, “Romanian piper”

c.1911, “Guadeloupe woman”

c.1910 “Albanian soldier”

c.1906, “Ruthenian woman”

“Norwegian woman”

c.1910 “Bavarian man”

c.1910 “Bavarian man”

“Greek soldier”

c.1910, “Three Dutch women”

Three women from Guadeloupe

Slovak woman and children

To see historical life-sized historical photos installed in the abandoned Ellis Island Hospital complex, join our Unframed JR Tour!

“Unframed Ellis Island” by JR, a guided tour of the exhibition inside Ellis Island’s Abandoned Hospital

Next, read about the Top 10 Secrets of Ellis Island. Get in touch with the author at AFineLyne.