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The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible!
This book explains why the "good old days" were only good for a privileged few and why they were unrelentingly hard for most. Sobering, actually.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
12 people are currently reading
758 people want to read
About the author
Otto L. Bettmann
16 booksOtto Ludwig Bettmann, known as "The Picture Man," was the founder of the Bettmann Archive. Bettmann is considered to have "virtually invented the image resource business."
In 1921, he enrolled in the University of Leipzig and studied history, German literature, and philosophy. At that time a university education consisted of spending time at a number of schools. Otto went to Freiburg for two years then returned to Leipzig to complete his dissertation. His title, "The Emergence of Professional Ethics in the German Book Trade of the Eighteenth Century" addressed the issue of copyright legislation. In retrospect this thesis became the raison d'être of his life and his claim to posterity.
In 1935, he immigrated to the United States from Nazi-controlled Germany, "arriving with a few personal effects and two steamer trunks bursting with photographs, line drawings, engravings, and art reproductions."
He spent the next five decades adding to his collection of images and meeting some of the cultural icons of the times such as Alfred Kinsey, Peter Max, and Stanley Marcus, a diverse collection of people. Artists, musicians, writers and people from all over the world would write to him, often sending little gifts.
In 1921, he enrolled in the University of Leipzig and studied history, German literature, and philosophy. At that time a university education consisted of spending time at a number of schools. Otto went to Freiburg for two years then returned to Leipzig to complete his dissertation. His title, "The Emergence of Professional Ethics in the German Book Trade of the Eighteenth Century" addressed the issue of copyright legislation. In retrospect this thesis became the raison d'être of his life and his claim to posterity.
In 1935, he immigrated to the United States from Nazi-controlled Germany, "arriving with a few personal effects and two steamer trunks bursting with photographs, line drawings, engravings, and art reproductions."
He spent the next five decades adding to his collection of images and meeting some of the cultural icons of the times such as Alfred Kinsey, Peter Max, and Stanley Marcus, a diverse collection of people. Artists, musicians, writers and people from all over the world would write to him, often sending little gifts.
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June 24, 2022
So yes, considering how complicated and stressful modern life is often perceived as being, it is indeed and naturally so rather tempting to look back with fond and rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia at (for example) 19th century America as a simpler and thus also automatically much happier and more contented time and to therefore consider this all as somehow being the so-called Good Old Days.
However and I indeed very very strongly must and have to agree wth author Otto L. Bettman in this respect that according to his book title The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible!. For even though Bettman's featured text for The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible! might perhaps be considered just a trifle overly morose, depressing and focussing much too heavily on the negatives, with seemingly no textual place at all allowed for anything even remotely positive regarding 19th century America, the salient fact does remain that the teeming with horror, pain and hardship themes and contents, that the information and the details shown by Otto L. Bettman in The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible! are not only brutally honest but also totally and absolutely reflect sad but true historical reality and are therefore also in no way Bettman either exaggerating or not showing the truth.
For indeed and certainly (and I actually also checked much of the presented contents of The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible!online), Bettman is being in my humble opinion one hundred accurate and authentic when he points out that there were for example huge amounts of rubbish, including human and animal excrement piling high on the streets of 19th century American metropolises like New York City and Chicago, that there were basically no traffic laws whatsoever and that people on foot, that pedestrians were often just moving targets, that store bought groceries were more often than not spoiled, rancid and teeming with potential contagions, that many children were in fact turned into alcoholics because mothers did not dare to let them drink potentially spoiled and dangerous water and that of course due to non existent sanitation, poor personal hygiene and crowded tenements, diseases and raging epidemics were a common occurrence and in ways that would make the recent Covid 19 pandemic appear like a walk in the proverbial park so to speak.
Four stars for The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible!, and the only reasons why my rating is not five stars is that for one because The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible! was published in 1974, the source notes at the back are of course and naturally so rather out of date for study and research (and which is also why I checked the information presented by Otto L Bettman online instead) and that for two, yes, even though I totally agree with Bettman ripping off nostalgics' Good Old Days blinkers, I do wish that at least on occasion, there would also be a bit of positivity provided, as I do think that The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible! is so relentlessly pushing negatives that both Otto L. Bettman and his featured text appear a bit too unbalanced and even angry, which I for one would rather not see as it kind of has the tendency to lessen the potential impact Bettman has with The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible!.
However and I indeed very very strongly must and have to agree wth author Otto L. Bettman in this respect that according to his book title The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible!. For even though Bettman's featured text for The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible! might perhaps be considered just a trifle overly morose, depressing and focussing much too heavily on the negatives, with seemingly no textual place at all allowed for anything even remotely positive regarding 19th century America, the salient fact does remain that the teeming with horror, pain and hardship themes and contents, that the information and the details shown by Otto L. Bettman in The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible! are not only brutally honest but also totally and absolutely reflect sad but true historical reality and are therefore also in no way Bettman either exaggerating or not showing the truth.
For indeed and certainly (and I actually also checked much of the presented contents of The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible!online), Bettman is being in my humble opinion one hundred accurate and authentic when he points out that there were for example huge amounts of rubbish, including human and animal excrement piling high on the streets of 19th century American metropolises like New York City and Chicago, that there were basically no traffic laws whatsoever and that people on foot, that pedestrians were often just moving targets, that store bought groceries were more often than not spoiled, rancid and teeming with potential contagions, that many children were in fact turned into alcoholics because mothers did not dare to let them drink potentially spoiled and dangerous water and that of course due to non existent sanitation, poor personal hygiene and crowded tenements, diseases and raging epidemics were a common occurrence and in ways that would make the recent Covid 19 pandemic appear like a walk in the proverbial park so to speak.
Four stars for The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible!, and the only reasons why my rating is not five stars is that for one because The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible! was published in 1974, the source notes at the back are of course and naturally so rather out of date for study and research (and which is also why I checked the information presented by Otto L Bettman online instead) and that for two, yes, even though I totally agree with Bettman ripping off nostalgics' Good Old Days blinkers, I do wish that at least on occasion, there would also be a bit of positivity provided, as I do think that The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible! is so relentlessly pushing negatives that both Otto L. Bettman and his featured text appear a bit too unbalanced and even angry, which I for one would rather not see as it kind of has the tendency to lessen the potential impact Bettman has with The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible!.
October 26, 2009
In these days of AIDS, the Internet and nuclear weapons, it is very tempting to look back to a simpler age in American history. "The Good Old Days" lasted from approximately 1865 to 1900. This book takes a very clear-eyed look at just how "good" those days really were.
In New York City, garbage (including horse manure) was piled high on city sidewalks. In the rain, those garbage piles turned into slime beds. Western towns were dirty, with horses creating fly-infested cesspools around the hitching posts. People risked their lives attempting to cross major streets like Broadway, because there were no traffic laws. In the winter, horse-drawn snowplows did not do much more than move the snow a few feet. Keeping the streets semi-clear for horse-drawn trolleys was most important. Frequently, the snowplows became stuck in the snow, making a bad traffic problem that much worse.
Milk was diluted with water, and everyone knew it. To improve the color of milk taken from diseased cows, dairymen frequently added chalk, molasses or plaster of Paris. Butter was often rancid, and contained bleach, calcium, hog fat or mashed potatoes. Adulteration of food was commonplace; loaves of bread frequently contained ash from the baker’s oven and grit from his machinery.
Alcoholic children were not uncommon, as a result of many trips to the local bar to fill a pitcher of "beer for father." Most medical schools were run by people more interested in tuition fees than standards, thereby graduating many who knew nothing about medicine. Hospitals, with non-existent standards of hygiene, were basically deathtraps.
This book also explores the reality behind housing (tenements), work (child labor and sweatshops) and education (corporal punishment and very unqualified teachers). For anyone who thinks that those days were like the American equivalent of a Jane Austen novel, read this book. It’s really interesting.
In New York City, garbage (including horse manure) was piled high on city sidewalks. In the rain, those garbage piles turned into slime beds. Western towns were dirty, with horses creating fly-infested cesspools around the hitching posts. People risked their lives attempting to cross major streets like Broadway, because there were no traffic laws. In the winter, horse-drawn snowplows did not do much more than move the snow a few feet. Keeping the streets semi-clear for horse-drawn trolleys was most important. Frequently, the snowplows became stuck in the snow, making a bad traffic problem that much worse.
Milk was diluted with water, and everyone knew it. To improve the color of milk taken from diseased cows, dairymen frequently added chalk, molasses or plaster of Paris. Butter was often rancid, and contained bleach, calcium, hog fat or mashed potatoes. Adulteration of food was commonplace; loaves of bread frequently contained ash from the baker’s oven and grit from his machinery.
Alcoholic children were not uncommon, as a result of many trips to the local bar to fill a pitcher of "beer for father." Most medical schools were run by people more interested in tuition fees than standards, thereby graduating many who knew nothing about medicine. Hospitals, with non-existent standards of hygiene, were basically deathtraps.
This book also explores the reality behind housing (tenements), work (child labor and sweatshops) and education (corporal punishment and very unqualified teachers). For anyone who thinks that those days were like the American equivalent of a Jane Austen novel, read this book. It’s really interesting.
July 25, 2012
Whenever I went to my grandfather's house as a young boy, I would inevitably take out this book. The illustrations that Otto Bettmann collected and used for this work are striking. I remember poring over the pages of this book, fascinated by every illustration of the United States of America's not so charming Gilded Age.
I was absolutely anamoured with the idea that there could be a construction of history that did not accord with reality. This was my first encounter with the concept of history being open to differing interpretations, and it really helped me to gain a skeptical eye when it came to various presentations of history.
Otto Bettmann made a career out of collecting images, he was the curator and the founder of the Bettmann archives (which are now property of Corbis). His skill at finding and choosing images is readily apparent in this book, and I'd recommend this book on the basis of the illustrations and photographs alone.
It wasn't until I was about twelve that I actually took the time to read more than the book's captions. At the time I saw nothing wrong with Bettmann's presentation. After my grandfather's death about fifteen years later, I was given this book. I read it again - it really is a quick read if you don't spend too much time on the illustrations and photographs.
The illustrations are still as beautiful as ever. As for the writing, Otto Bettmann makes some excellent points, but there just isn't enough room for him to be anything more than brief on each topic. It would be helpful to have meaningful statistics to back up his grand statements. The book really is skimpy when it comes down to it. I can see why someone would be frustrated at the grand statements and generalizations that are made without a whole lot of examples. Of course, these are minor quibbles and the book is what it is - a great collection of illustrations filled with intriguing facts about the past.
I still love this book, it has a special place in my heart. While it is certainly not great history writing, it is definitely an enjoyable read.
I read some Amazon reviews of this book and was amused by the number of reviewers who were vexed by Otto Bettmann's perceived attack on the United States itself. The idea that a "foreigner" would come to the United States and then write this book is, to them, a betrayal of the highest order. Why doesn't Mr. Bettmann write about how bad things were in the rest of the world? Why is he focussing on the negative? Why can't he talk about good things? There was even one reviewer asking how a Jew could write this book and not be grateful for the shelter given by the United States . . . wow. Really? I mean, really?
I'm always a little confused by reviewers who critique a book for not being about what they think the book should be about. It's like getting upset that there are no cookies in the box of doughnuts you bought. You bought the donuts, you knew they were donuts, now eat them (or give them to me).
Great book.
I was absolutely anamoured with the idea that there could be a construction of history that did not accord with reality. This was my first encounter with the concept of history being open to differing interpretations, and it really helped me to gain a skeptical eye when it came to various presentations of history.
Otto Bettmann made a career out of collecting images, he was the curator and the founder of the Bettmann archives (which are now property of Corbis). His skill at finding and choosing images is readily apparent in this book, and I'd recommend this book on the basis of the illustrations and photographs alone.
It wasn't until I was about twelve that I actually took the time to read more than the book's captions. At the time I saw nothing wrong with Bettmann's presentation. After my grandfather's death about fifteen years later, I was given this book. I read it again - it really is a quick read if you don't spend too much time on the illustrations and photographs.
The illustrations are still as beautiful as ever. As for the writing, Otto Bettmann makes some excellent points, but there just isn't enough room for him to be anything more than brief on each topic. It would be helpful to have meaningful statistics to back up his grand statements. The book really is skimpy when it comes down to it. I can see why someone would be frustrated at the grand statements and generalizations that are made without a whole lot of examples. Of course, these are minor quibbles and the book is what it is - a great collection of illustrations filled with intriguing facts about the past.
I still love this book, it has a special place in my heart. While it is certainly not great history writing, it is definitely an enjoyable read.
I read some Amazon reviews of this book and was amused by the number of reviewers who were vexed by Otto Bettmann's perceived attack on the United States itself. The idea that a "foreigner" would come to the United States and then write this book is, to them, a betrayal of the highest order. Why doesn't Mr. Bettmann write about how bad things were in the rest of the world? Why is he focussing on the negative? Why can't he talk about good things? There was even one reviewer asking how a Jew could write this book and not be grateful for the shelter given by the United States . . . wow. Really? I mean, really?
I'm always a little confused by reviewers who critique a book for not being about what they think the book should be about. It's like getting upset that there are no cookies in the box of doughnuts you bought. You bought the donuts, you knew they were donuts, now eat them (or give them to me).
Great book.
July 19, 2016
Yesterday, I picked up this book at The House of Seven Gables in Salem, Massachusetts. I really should have picked up a copy of The House of Seven Gables itself, but I figured I'd never get around to reading it since I'm terrible about reading the classics. This one I knew I would read.
It only took me a day to read, which is quite quick, even for me. But there are loads of illustrations, and the text is brief.
However, by the time I hit the middle of the book, I felt like I was being walloped over the head with pessimism. Yes, I know the system was broken throughout much of the 19th century, with crooked politicians and doctors unaware of germ theory and kids being forced to work long hours for meager pay and food being adulterated with horrible things. But while it's true that we shouldn't recall those more simple days with rose-colored glasses, I have a really hard time believing they were that horrible to everyone. While people didn't enjoy the terrible smells of the horse manure littering the busy city streets, it's what they knew and were used to. It's not like someone dropped a 21st century person down in the middle of the fetid streets of Victorian New York City, rancid with decaying meat and the aforementioned manure and the lack of proper sewage and any fresh air.
I was also surprised at the vitriol he aimed at the frontier lands. Yes, the Wild West was lawless, and probably quite ill-smelling and fetid in its own right. But I've also read Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series, and while I do realize she romanticized a lot of it, she did seem to have a rather happy childhood -- her father dragging her mother and sisters around when he gets bored with a place notwithstanding. They do without quite a lot, but they still had a childhood, not simply as farm drudges who worked from dusk to dawn without any way to broaden their minds. Bettmann writes that "farm children were notoriously immature not as the result of an evil design but because the rigors of family survival made adult demands on their bodies and left their minds undeveloped" (56). I have a feeling Wilder would take umbrage at such a statement, considering that her childhood on the prairies was definitely not privileged, yet she grew up to write a series of novels that are still in print and well-beloved by several generations of Americans.
Most of the illustrations are informative, but I find them a bit suspect in their origin. Most are political cartoons, which are usually exaggerated to make a point and to make their viewers think. Were conditions really that terrible, or were the cartoonists showing how dangerous things could get if something weren't done about the situation at hand?
Also, the nature of the way in which Bettmann chose to write his book gives very little detail to any particular ill of the time. He gives quick blurbs, a few well-chosen quotes (that are never explained; they are simply dropped in their entirety into the prose), and makes a sweeping generalization that is usually quite negative.
I understand that Bettmann's goal was to disillusion the American public a bit from their wishing for the "good old days," but I feel like he swung too far to the other side of things. They weren't the good old days, it's true, but neither were they truly that horrible.
It only took me a day to read, which is quite quick, even for me. But there are loads of illustrations, and the text is brief.
However, by the time I hit the middle of the book, I felt like I was being walloped over the head with pessimism. Yes, I know the system was broken throughout much of the 19th century, with crooked politicians and doctors unaware of germ theory and kids being forced to work long hours for meager pay and food being adulterated with horrible things. But while it's true that we shouldn't recall those more simple days with rose-colored glasses, I have a really hard time believing they were that horrible to everyone. While people didn't enjoy the terrible smells of the horse manure littering the busy city streets, it's what they knew and were used to. It's not like someone dropped a 21st century person down in the middle of the fetid streets of Victorian New York City, rancid with decaying meat and the aforementioned manure and the lack of proper sewage and any fresh air.
I was also surprised at the vitriol he aimed at the frontier lands. Yes, the Wild West was lawless, and probably quite ill-smelling and fetid in its own right. But I've also read Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series, and while I do realize she romanticized a lot of it, she did seem to have a rather happy childhood -- her father dragging her mother and sisters around when he gets bored with a place notwithstanding. They do without quite a lot, but they still had a childhood, not simply as farm drudges who worked from dusk to dawn without any way to broaden their minds. Bettmann writes that "farm children were notoriously immature not as the result of an evil design but because the rigors of family survival made adult demands on their bodies and left their minds undeveloped" (56). I have a feeling Wilder would take umbrage at such a statement, considering that her childhood on the prairies was definitely not privileged, yet she grew up to write a series of novels that are still in print and well-beloved by several generations of Americans.
Most of the illustrations are informative, but I find them a bit suspect in their origin. Most are political cartoons, which are usually exaggerated to make a point and to make their viewers think. Were conditions really that terrible, or were the cartoonists showing how dangerous things could get if something weren't done about the situation at hand?
Also, the nature of the way in which Bettmann chose to write his book gives very little detail to any particular ill of the time. He gives quick blurbs, a few well-chosen quotes (that are never explained; they are simply dropped in their entirety into the prose), and makes a sweeping generalization that is usually quite negative.
I understand that Bettmann's goal was to disillusion the American public a bit from their wishing for the "good old days," but I feel like he swung too far to the other side of things. They weren't the good old days, it's true, but neither were they truly that horrible.
March 30, 2009
Nostalgia being a stubborn human sentiment, it's not surprising that once an era has passed beyond living memory, it acquires a rosy hue. Otto Bettmann's "The Good Old Days - They Were Terrible!" is an illustrated wake-up call for those who assume that domestic bliss, moral perfection, and gilded prosperity characterized the years between the Civil War and the dawn of the twentieth century.
Granted, this was a time of great technological advancement. The telephone, motion picture camera, and automobile are but a few of the modern conveniences that made their first appearance. But daily life was hardly the stuff of a Currier & Ives print, and Bettman presses the point with repulsive anecdotes and alarming statistics.
City dwellers had their health and safety threatened by uncollected garbage, industrial pollution, and slum-bred criminals. Farmers worked fourteen-hour days just to survive. Over fifty thousand homeless `tramps' wandered throughout the American countryside, their numbers exceeding the size of Wellington's army at Waterloo. Marshall Field made an estimated $600 an hour while the shop girls who toiled in his stores were lucky if they took home $3 to $5 per week. Accidents involving horse-drawn conveyances killed ten times more people than automobiles do today. Trains were just as deadly: in one year alone (1890), there were ten thousand railroad-related fatalities. Diarist George Strong complained, "We shall never travel safely til some pious, wealthy, and much beloved railway director has been hanged for murder."
Grim photos and illustrations from the famous Bettman archive accompany the text. The images of opium addicted women, polluted beaches, and homeless children are all contemporary, silencing anyone who might be inclined to accuse the author of exaggerating.
"The Good Old Days - They Were Terrible!" is not a critical or insightful look at the problems that plagued nineteenth century society. Visually and in content style, the book reminds me of an extra-thick edition of an old-fashioned `penny dreadful' newspaper. Shocking and titillating, but otherwise shallow. Since Bettman probably didn't intend for it to be anything more than what a previous reviewer called "an antidote for nostaligitis", this is not a cause for complaint.
Granted, this was a time of great technological advancement. The telephone, motion picture camera, and automobile are but a few of the modern conveniences that made their first appearance. But daily life was hardly the stuff of a Currier & Ives print, and Bettman presses the point with repulsive anecdotes and alarming statistics.
City dwellers had their health and safety threatened by uncollected garbage, industrial pollution, and slum-bred criminals. Farmers worked fourteen-hour days just to survive. Over fifty thousand homeless `tramps' wandered throughout the American countryside, their numbers exceeding the size of Wellington's army at Waterloo. Marshall Field made an estimated $600 an hour while the shop girls who toiled in his stores were lucky if they took home $3 to $5 per week. Accidents involving horse-drawn conveyances killed ten times more people than automobiles do today. Trains were just as deadly: in one year alone (1890), there were ten thousand railroad-related fatalities. Diarist George Strong complained, "We shall never travel safely til some pious, wealthy, and much beloved railway director has been hanged for murder."
Grim photos and illustrations from the famous Bettman archive accompany the text. The images of opium addicted women, polluted beaches, and homeless children are all contemporary, silencing anyone who might be inclined to accuse the author of exaggerating.
"The Good Old Days - They Were Terrible!" is not a critical or insightful look at the problems that plagued nineteenth century society. Visually and in content style, the book reminds me of an extra-thick edition of an old-fashioned `penny dreadful' newspaper. Shocking and titillating, but otherwise shallow. Since Bettman probably didn't intend for it to be anything more than what a previous reviewer called "an antidote for nostaligitis", this is not a cause for complaint.
June 29, 2010
I'm being somewhat generous. It should probably be 2 stars, but there was a wealth of pictures & drawings that I've never seen elsewhere. The book did have its good points, too. Unfortunately, it tried too hard to live up to the title.
For example, the section on guns was laughable. There was 1/3 page of text that basically said kids were given toy guns. This is terrible? The other 2/3 of the page was made up of drawings. Whee! This section has no facts in it. I really don't know why it was included. The only reason I knew guns were terrible was because of the title of the book & I happen to disagree.
Other sections, especially toward the end, weren't well done, either. Some sections were milked to show just how terrible life really was. I doubt there were any outright lies, but facts were misrepresented to show life in the very worst light. The reader is led to believe a few tragedies were the norm.
For all its faults, there are some very interesting facts held within the pages. His facts would be of great benefit to any fiction writer with a level of technology before 1900 or so. For instance, it's rare that any fiction writer ever considers what the lack of refrigeration means for city dwellers; animals in the street, fly blown meats & lots of manure with all their smells. Similarly, few writers have any idea of how much waste a city relying on horses generates. He tells you precisely how this plays out. We expect regular trash pickup. If you want to know what happens when there is none, just read this book. It really is terrible & true.
This could have been a much better done book, but it certainly isn't a waste of time. It does open your eyes to quite a few facts that I think everyone needs to know & is presented in a short, easy to read format - great for reading during commercials or when you have just a few minutes.
The good old days had plenty of problems. It's worth reading, possibly even keeping around to refer to, if you write for a living. Just don't take it as a true look at Victorian era America. Use it to count your blessings, though.
For example, the section on guns was laughable. There was 1/3 page of text that basically said kids were given toy guns. This is terrible? The other 2/3 of the page was made up of drawings. Whee! This section has no facts in it. I really don't know why it was included. The only reason I knew guns were terrible was because of the title of the book & I happen to disagree.
Other sections, especially toward the end, weren't well done, either. Some sections were milked to show just how terrible life really was. I doubt there were any outright lies, but facts were misrepresented to show life in the very worst light. The reader is led to believe a few tragedies were the norm.
For all its faults, there are some very interesting facts held within the pages. His facts would be of great benefit to any fiction writer with a level of technology before 1900 or so. For instance, it's rare that any fiction writer ever considers what the lack of refrigeration means for city dwellers; animals in the street, fly blown meats & lots of manure with all their smells. Similarly, few writers have any idea of how much waste a city relying on horses generates. He tells you precisely how this plays out. We expect regular trash pickup. If you want to know what happens when there is none, just read this book. It really is terrible & true.
This could have been a much better done book, but it certainly isn't a waste of time. It does open your eyes to quite a few facts that I think everyone needs to know & is presented in a short, easy to read format - great for reading during commercials or when you have just a few minutes.
The good old days had plenty of problems. It's worth reading, possibly even keeping around to refer to, if you write for a living. Just don't take it as a true look at Victorian era America. Use it to count your blessings, though.
June 14, 2010
This book is a good intorduction to the modern reader of some of the problems that ordinary people faced from the 1820's to the 1890's.
The rich did pretty well, but despite many new inventions--telephone, telegraph, transcontinental railroads---the average person had it very hard.
There was no forty hour workweek--you worked as long as your employer decreed. No OSHA to set safety standards. Admittedly there was no polluction from car exhausts; what they had instead was hundreds of horse, producing lots of manure.
Foods and medicines had no guarantee of purity or cleanliness unless you made it yourself. And this book makes clear that crime and political corruption are not just a curse of the twentieth century.
I rated this book a four; the text is really a three, but the pictures--which are repreinted from newspapaers and books of that time rate a five by me, so the average is four.
The pictures are just oustanding; the text is a little basic but does complement the pictures well. Out of print, but well worth looking for on interlibrary loan.
Recommended for anyone interested in the history of daily life in the 19th century.
The rich did pretty well, but despite many new inventions--telephone, telegraph, transcontinental railroads---the average person had it very hard.
There was no forty hour workweek--you worked as long as your employer decreed. No OSHA to set safety standards. Admittedly there was no polluction from car exhausts; what they had instead was hundreds of horse, producing lots of manure.
Foods and medicines had no guarantee of purity or cleanliness unless you made it yourself. And this book makes clear that crime and political corruption are not just a curse of the twentieth century.
I rated this book a four; the text is really a three, but the pictures--which are repreinted from newspapaers and books of that time rate a five by me, so the average is four.
The pictures are just oustanding; the text is a little basic but does complement the pictures well. Out of print, but well worth looking for on interlibrary loan.
Recommended for anyone interested in the history of daily life in the 19th century.
March 28, 2014
Ah, I love it when people bemoan the American nostalgia of yester-year "good old days." Everyone has forgotten what it was actually like at the turn of the century and how terrible it was. I'm sure in the future they will be writing books like this about how amazingly stupid we are today.
June 8, 2016
My dad gave me this books to read years ago to counter the BS of looking at the past with rose-colored glasses.
I kind of want to order some copies to pass out to certain folks I know...
I kind of want to order some copies to pass out to certain folks I know...
June 5, 2022
I had read this book many years ago, and was reminded of it recently.
It debunks the rosy false memories of "The good Old Days" that some of my family would reminisce about.
It was very interesting to see how far we have come. (And perhaps in some instances, how we have gone backwards again)
It debunks the rosy false memories of "The good Old Days" that some of my family would reminisce about.
It was very interesting to see how far we have come. (And perhaps in some instances, how we have gone backwards again)
April 8, 2015
I've read this before. When I first read it, it was an antidote to the "good old Days" thinking in the last part of the 20th Century. Now reading this, it makes me think that it's the blueprint for most of the most conservative thinking members of the GOP. The era covered in this book, if you rents an apartment, you as the renter had NO legal rights. Safety was wishful thinking at any factory or coal mine. Children worked in the factories and adults worked twelve to sixteen hours a day, six days a week for little pay. Candies were colored with poisonous substances. Things weren't all sunshine and lollipops.
September 26, 2022
Throw away your time machines! This book makes a good case. Authenticated with copious illustrations from the author’s own Bettmann Archive.
This is the past at its worst, of course; that is understood. It wasn’t always this bad. But it was brutal for many, maybe even most, people.
I am glad that I do not have to witness the flogging of horses on a daily basis.
This is the past at its worst, of course; that is understood. It wasn’t always this bad. But it was brutal for many, maybe even most, people.
I am glad that I do not have to witness the flogging of horses on a daily basis.
December 11, 2010
Love the descriptions of 1800s Chicago having a rainbow of sewage floating through it or those of Pittsburgh just swimming in coal dust.
October 22, 2016
Anybody who enjoys reading about history knows that life is improving around the world with simply mind blowing speed. Unfortunately Bettmann concentrates completely on the U.S. Many books could be dedicated to the fact that life in the U.S. attracted folks from all over the world despite how terrible life was, compared to the standards of future generations. This book doesn't speak about how life is improving (a topic I enjoy) but simply enumerates how life really sucked between about 1870 to 1900. About 200 pages but with photos and illustrations on every page. A slow reader (like myself) could knock it out in one sitting. Bettmann dedicates 1 or 2 pages per topic. Every page will make one thankful for how much life has improved in every measurable way since, from sanitation, to medicine, to the treatment of the mentally ill.
Most of the illustrations are drawings or cartoons from the time. I found the few photos to be more powerful, such as the lynching of African Americans. It can be claimed the drawings were embellished as propaganda from the era. Photos are more real.
An example of observations from the end: Oliver Wendell Holmes visited New York City and took a trip to Central Park from the other side of the city at the cost of $4. He wrote, "for the mass of people, the park might have been 100 miles away, too distant even for an annual outing." That is to say a trip across a given city was the equivalent of a week's pay for the average person.
Most of the illustrations are drawings or cartoons from the time. I found the few photos to be more powerful, such as the lynching of African Americans. It can be claimed the drawings were embellished as propaganda from the era. Photos are more real.
An example of observations from the end: Oliver Wendell Holmes visited New York City and took a trip to Central Park from the other side of the city at the cost of $4. He wrote, "for the mass of people, the park might have been 100 miles away, too distant even for an annual outing." That is to say a trip across a given city was the equivalent of a week's pay for the average person.
January 25, 2015
Bettmann curated a collection of illustrations and pictures from "the good old days" which in this book is basically the late 19th century. This book includes lots of great pieces from that collection that attempt to break through the nostalgic viewpoint that these were idyllic simpler days. Covers everything from the absolute disgusting mess that was horse drawn travel, the misery of frontier life, terrible medicine, horrible schools, drug abuse, and all the other bad stuff that gets edited out by our modern Luddites.
March 26, 2012
Well put together, but terribly depressing...
April 23, 2022
I picked this up on someone’s recommendation, expecting to find comparative death rates, disease rates and other data. But it was written by Otto Bettmann, a German immigrant who started the Bettmann Archives of photos and visual art, so it’s replete with images of life at the turn of the 20th Century.
There is some data:
• New York City had 150,000 horses at its peak (before motor vehicles) and they produced 20 to 25 pounds of poop per day. Which had to be cleaned up and which resulted in blowing dust and insects.
• Railroads in 1890 killed one employee out of every 306 and injured one of 30. There were 749,301 people employed by the railroads in 1890 and 2,451 deaths. By 1900 there would be 2,675 railroad employees killed.
• Traveling on the railroads was also not safe: in 1890 there were 10,000 deaths among passengers, with another 80,000 injuries.
• Child labor counts were 700,000 children in 1870, rising to 1,752,187 in 1890 – mostly in mills in the South.
• Food in the late 1800s absorbed half of low incomes, which included most workers.
• Food adulteration was common. A New York Health Commission study in 1902 showed that 2,095 of 3,970 (52.8%) of milk was adulterated.
But the real reason to pick up this book is for illustrations and cartoons showing all aspects of American life in the years just before and just after 1900.
For those interested in what became of the Bettmann Archive, it’s now part of Getty Images but you can browse at least part of it on the Internet Archives Wayback Machine.
There is some data:
• New York City had 150,000 horses at its peak (before motor vehicles) and they produced 20 to 25 pounds of poop per day. Which had to be cleaned up and which resulted in blowing dust and insects.
• Railroads in 1890 killed one employee out of every 306 and injured one of 30. There were 749,301 people employed by the railroads in 1890 and 2,451 deaths. By 1900 there would be 2,675 railroad employees killed.
• Traveling on the railroads was also not safe: in 1890 there were 10,000 deaths among passengers, with another 80,000 injuries.
• Child labor counts were 700,000 children in 1870, rising to 1,752,187 in 1890 – mostly in mills in the South.
• Food in the late 1800s absorbed half of low incomes, which included most workers.
• Food adulteration was common. A New York Health Commission study in 1902 showed that 2,095 of 3,970 (52.8%) of milk was adulterated.
But the real reason to pick up this book is for illustrations and cartoons showing all aspects of American life in the years just before and just after 1900.
For those interested in what became of the Bettmann Archive, it’s now part of Getty Images but you can browse at least part of it on the Internet Archives Wayback Machine.
January 27, 2011
From squatters to pollution, medical care, child labor, lynching and juvenile delinquents Otto L. Bettmann takes us on a tour of the past that will keep you turning the pages while amusing you at the same time. Sort of like an illustrated The Harper's Index Book of the times gone by with a little 2 pg chapter on each topic .
The author takes the time period between the end of the civil war and the early 1900s and examines the reality of the times complete with illustrations and the occasional horrifying statistic or nasty anecdote in an effort to compete with contemporary nostalgic views of the past.
I forgot how much I liked this book! This is my second copy, I missed having it around so much I ordered another one for my Dad's library so I could read it while I am with him!
The author takes the time period between the end of the civil war and the early 1900s and examines the reality of the times complete with illustrations and the occasional horrifying statistic or nasty anecdote in an effort to compete with contemporary nostalgic views of the past.
I forgot how much I liked this book! This is my second copy, I missed having it around so much I ordered another one for my Dad's library so I could read it while I am with him!
May 24, 2017
The main characters were the people of the guilded age. They were going through tough times like yellow fever or not having medicine that we would to day. This was in the United States and Europe during the guilded age. The timeline is roughly late 1800's to early 1900's.
In this book it talked about how teachers were treated by the students. "Miss Etta A. Barstow, a young schoolteacher, stoned to death by her pupils in Canton, Massachusetts, October 8, 1870." Page 159. This shocked me because I thought that teachers wouldn't have to go through such an ordeal as this during this time period. Alot of the teacher's were close or even put to death because of their students.
In this book it talked about how teachers were treated by the students. "Miss Etta A. Barstow, a young schoolteacher, stoned to death by her pupils in Canton, Massachusetts, October 8, 1870." Page 159. This shocked me because I thought that teachers wouldn't have to go through such an ordeal as this during this time period. Alot of the teacher's were close or even put to death because of their students.
January 14, 2012
A healthy corrective for those inclined to sentimentalize the past, particularly since we seem to be heading into a replay of the Gilded Age, with our politicians and their enablers seemingly determined to plunge us once again into that era's omnipresent corruption, inequality, and hardship. I'm taking off a star for Bettmann's often overheated tone and tendency to make oversimplified blanket pronouncements about the various subjects under discussion, but for the most part the wealth of photographs and illustrations he uses to make his points almost make up for it.
November 3, 2016
A very sympathetic and brutally honest look into "the good old days", specifically the Victorian era of American life ~1870s -1900s. Brief descriptions into the homestead, working conditions, prevalence of drug abuse and alcoholism, dreary schools and horrific living standards in the slums --it paints a mighty grim picture. Next time someone waxes poetic about this time period, shove this book in their face and tell them to put a sock in it because their nostalgia is all hot air and no substance.
July 10, 2007
The author asks us to face our past withour nostalgia, while he reports upon humanity's state of being in the era after the civil war. I live in danger of being swept into the past by the romanticism of looking at life as memory; waxing about what it might be like, rather than attending to the miseries that accompany that life. This book is chock-full of rare and hilarious engravings from the time. Because I need to remember that I live HERE, IN THIS MOMENT
September 22, 2010
This was an interesting book that I think suffered a little from dry writing. After a few chapters the author's formula became very obvious, i.e. "Food: Most people think that back in the good old days people used to eat ________, but really they ate __________ and it often killed them. Travel: Most people think that back in the gold old days people would romantically travel by ____________, but really it was __________ and it often killed them. Work: etc...."
August 22, 2012
Although my research was for England and this books deals with New York in the Victorian age, I still found this book to be pertainant to my research. Some really good information in here along with actual illustrations for the time period. This book gives a good overview of the bleakness of the times but with only one page per subject, more indepth research may be needed by some. Over all though, a really interesting book.
April 17, 2013
My Mom wanted me to read this book. It was very interesting and filled with lots of information on how terribly hard it was to live "in the good old days". I made it through 3/4 of the book and then couldn't finish it. It was incredibly depressing and it was starting to really get to me. I give it 4 stars because it really was a very good and interesting book, but way, way, way too depressing for my taste.
April 28, 2009
The info was very interesting, and pieced in easily digestible chuncks. No information overload, it got right to the facts.
This book was good. However, it only focused on the years 1860-1900. Would have liked to see more Pre-Civil was anecdotes.
If anyone ever talks about the good old days, think twice. They were terrible!
This book was good. However, it only focused on the years 1860-1900. Would have liked to see more Pre-Civil was anecdotes.
If anyone ever talks about the good old days, think twice. They were terrible!
Read
April 10, 2009This is a primer. Some of the things that are discussed in this book are familiar, and others are a little credulous, without real discussion of variant versions.
Still, it's a good start, and a useful corrective to nostalgia by people who have no real memory of the historical times chronicled (which, let's face it, is all of us, by now.)
Still, it's a good start, and a useful corrective to nostalgia by people who have no real memory of the historical times chronicled (which, let's face it, is all of us, by now.)
February 10, 2011
This is one of the first books that I ever bought for myself, sometime in the mid 1970's. Even as a mere lad I was something of a skeptic, and Bettmann wrote a fairly good, if somewhat anecdotal, revisionist look at American history between 1865 and 1910, the period often categorized in a nostalgic haze as "The Good Old Days".
May 18, 2011
This was an excellent peek into some of the realities of the Gilded Age: the dirt, the grime, pollution, crime, terrible education systems, blah blah blah. Very insightful and written with a humourous style that keeps it from being totally depressing. I also really enjoyed the period illustrations that he used that were caricatures of what the people were dealing with in those days.
April 24, 2016
I reread this book again. Makes you so grateful for living in these times. I was reminded that things were much worse than I had envisioned in my reflections of the peaceful past.
I didn't care for his writing style but the graphic arts were interesting and told much of the story. It is a fast read.
I didn't care for his writing style but the graphic arts were interesting and told much of the story. It is a fast read.
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