Hobo Collection

ITINERANT FAMILY, 1939. An itinerant family who travels by freight train in Toppenish, Washington. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, 1939

GROUP OF HOBOES, 1920s. Group of hoboes in the American midwest, 1920s

NEW YORK: HOBOS, 1915. Hobos moving Hotel de Gink, a hotel for itinerant workers on the Bowery in New York City. Photograph, 8 April 1915

GENTLEMAN OF THE ROAD
A gentleman of the road, a polite name for an old tramp

M. Dupin dans ses petits souliers, 19th century. Creator: Honore Daumier
M. Dupin dans ses petits souliers, 19th century. Mr. Dupin in his little shoes

Itinerant worker on U.S. 101 near San Luis Obispo, California, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
On U.S. 101 near San Luis Obispo, California. Itinerant worker. Not the old "Bindle-Stiff" type

Migrant worker on California highway, 1935. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Migrant worker on California highway

One of the roads leading into Calipatria, Imperial County, California, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
One of the roads leading into Calipatria, Imperial County, California

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms. The type that formed the backbone of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Napa Valley, California. More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Napa Valley, California. More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Napa Valley, California. More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Napa Valley, California. More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Napa Valley, California. More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Napa Valley, California. More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms

More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff... Napa Valley, California, 1938. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Napa Valley, California. More than twenty-five years a bindle-stiff. Walks from the mines to the lumber camps to the farms

Toward Los Angeles, California, 1937. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Toward Los Angeles, California. ['Next Time Try the Train - Relax - Southern Pacific']

Toward Los Angeles, California, 1937. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Toward Los Angeles, California. ['Next Time Try the Train - Relax - Southern Pacific']

Bindle stiffs in town three weeks before opening of Klamath... Tule Lake, Siskiyou County, CA
Bindle stiffs in town three weeks before opening of Klamath Basin potato harvest. California, Siskiyou County, Tule Lake

Hobo wakes up early in the morning from his bed alongside a corral, Imperial Valley, CA, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Hobo wakes up early in the morning from his bed alongside a corral. Imperial Valley, California

One of the roads leading into Calipatria, Imperial County, California, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
One of the roads leading into Calipatria, Imperial County, California

Migrant man shaving by roadside, on U. S. 99 between Bakersfield and the Ridge, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
On U.S. 99 between Bakersfield and the Ridge, en route to San Diego. Migrant man shaving by roadside

Bindles on shady side of Pastime Cafe, Tulelake, Siskiyou County, California, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Bindles on shady side of Pastime Cafe. California, Siskiyou County, Tulelake

Bindle stiff, used to be logger, Side of Pastime Cafe, Tulelake, Siskiyou County, California, 1939
Bindle stiff, used to be logger. Side of Pastime Cafe. Idle three weeks before opening of the Klamath Basin potato harvest. California, Siskiyou County, Tulelake

Farm-reared youth with no opportunity on the farm... Kern County, Calififornia, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Farm-reared youth with no opportunity on the farm, now travelling single among the migrants. Kern County, Calififornia

Car on siding across tracks from pea packing plant, Calipatria, Imperial Valley, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Car on siding across tracks from pea packing plant. Twenty-five year old itinerant, originally from Oregon. " On the road eight years, all over the country, every state in the union

Looking east down the railroad track, near Calipatria, California, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Looking east down the railroad track, near Calipatria, California. Single men, itinerants with " bindles" waiting for the freight

On U. S. 99 between Bakersfield and the Ridge, en route to San Diego, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
On U.S. 99 between Bakersfield and the Ridge, en route to San Diego. Migrant man shaving by roadside

The Hobo Musician, (oil on canvas)
650955 The Hobo Musician, (oil on canvas) by Luks, George Benjamin (1867-1933); 95x89 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: The Hobo Musician. George Benjamin Luks (1866-1933). Oil on canvas

The Simplers, plate 26 from The Cries of London Exhibiting Several of the Itinerant
XYC277511 The Simplers, plate 26 from The Cries of London Exhibiting Several of the Itinerant Traders... (etching) by Skelton, William (1763-1848); 15.2x11.3 cm; Yale Center for British Art

Field office of the WPA Government Agency, c. 1930 (b / w photo)
PNP253854 Field office of the WPA Government Agency, c.1930 (b/w photo) by American Photographer, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Works Progress Administration)

Cartoon depicting two tramps, from the April Fools Day ( Poisson d
DGC288184 Cartoon depicting two tramps, from the April Fools Day ( Poisson d Avril ) edition of La Baionette magazine, 29 March 1917 (litho) by French School

Pattern of Halloween Disguises

A caddie comments on the golf ball lying by a sleeping hobo Date: 1910

Group of Clowns

Hobos Hop Freight Train Date: 1950

Two America hoboes risking life and limb
Two Hoboes risk life and limb by riding on a carriage truck in America. Date: 1893

COMMUNITY / CHARITY / HOBOE
An American Hobo Riding on the Bumpers. Date: 1894

COMMUNITY / CHARITY / HOBOES
American Hoboes Riding the Rods. Date: 1882

COMMUNITY / CHARITY / HOBOES
American Hoboes and a Railroad employee come to blows. Date: circa 1888

Unfortunate Knight of the Rock meeting Don Quixote
Vintage engraving of The unfortunate Knight of the Rock meeting Don Quixote by William Hogarth

HOBOS, c1920. Hobos walking along the railroad tracks, after being kicked off the train. Photograph, c1920

HOBOS, c1915. Hoboes fighting between railroad cars. Photograph, c1915

Shack
UNITED STATES - CIRCA 1930s: Shack with no admittance and no trespassing signs outside. (Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/Retrofile/Getty Images)

CIRCUS: CLOWN, c1920. Clown Joe Jackson, Sr. (nÔÇÜ Joseph Francis Jiranek, 1873-1942) with the bicycle used in his act
CIRCUS: CLOWN, c1920. Clown Joe Jackson, Sr. (n© Joseph Francis Jiranek, 1873-1942) with the bicycle used in his act. Photographed c1920

RAILROAD, 1937. Itinerant men riding outside a train hauling oil tanks in Kingsbury, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, 1938

RAILROAD, 1937. Men riding on a freight train in West Texas. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, 1937

MINNESOTA: HOBO, 1939. A man in hobo jungle killing a turtle to make soup in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photograph by John Vachon, September 1939

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In the early 20th century, hobos roamed the streets of New York City, seeking refuge in places like Hotel de Gink. These itinerant workers, known as "gentlemen of the road, " formed a tight-knit community that relied on each other for support. Moving westward to the American Midwest in the 1920s, groups of hoboes could be seen traversing through towns and cities. They were often misunderstood and marginalized by society, but their resilience and resourcefulness kept them going. Dorothea Lange's iconic photographs captured the harsh reality life during this time. In one image, a hobo wakes up early in Imperial Valley, California - his bed alongside a corral. The sun rises over him as he prepares for another day on the road. Another photograph shows bindle stiffs gathered outside Pastime Cafe in Tulelake, California. Their bindles - sacks carrying all their worldly possessions - rest against the shady side of the building. Each face tells a story of struggle and survival. Lange also documented migrant men shaving by roadside between Bakersfield and The Ridge. These men had left behind their homes and families in search of better opportunities elsewhere. Yet they found themselves living on the fringes of society, trying to make ends meet any way they could. The photographs reveal not only individual stories but also larger social issues plaguing America at that time. A farm-reared youth with no opportunity on his family's land reflects an agricultural crisis affecting Kern County, California. Amidst these struggles, there were glimpses of hope - like a car parked across tracks from a pea packing plant or looking east down railroad tracks near Calipatria. These images remind us that even amidst adversity; there is always potential for change and progress. The legacy of these hobos lives on today as we remember their resilience and determination to survive against all odds.