Horatio Alger Jr. was an American author who wrote young adult novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to middle-class security and comfort through good works. His writings were characterized by the "rags-to-riches" narrative, which had a formative effect on the United States from 1868 through to his death in 1899.
Horatio Alger
Alger on Harvard Commencement Day, July 1852
Ragged Dick, serialized in Student and Schoolmate and later expanded into a full-length novel
Alger's gravestone at South Natick, Massachusetts
Shoeshiner or boot polisher is an occupation in which a person cleans and buffs shoes and then applies a waxy paste to give a shiny appearance and a protective coating. They are often known as shoeshine boys because the job was traditionally done by a male child. Other synonyms are bootblack and shoeblack. While the role is denigrated in much of Western civilization, shining shoes is an important source of income for many children and families throughout the world. Some shoeshiners offer extra services, such as shoe repairs and general tailoring. Some well-known people started their working life as shoeshiners, including singers and presidents.
A boot polisher on a railway platform in Mumbai, India.
The earliest reliably dated photograph of a person, taken in spring 1838 by Daguerre, shows a person getting a shoeshine.
The Independent Shoe-Black by John Thomson, 1877.
Shoeshiner at work in Tepotzotlan, Mexico.