"Begging as an Avocation" - Viola Roseboro - New York World

An Adventurous Woman Goes Out Asking Alms in the Street; She Borrows Some Old Clothes; Sneaks Out of the House and Faces the World; Sixty-three Cents for a Half Day's Toil; Not a Very Hard Business; Men Didn't Contribute but Women Were Victims

Byline: Viola Roseboro; 1887-12-11; New York World; pages 11:1

Report: Journalistic Acts of Race, Class, Ethnic and Gender Impersonation

"I went begging. I don't mean I got contributions to buy red flannels for the wild Africana, or sold tickets for a benefit to be given in aid of the widows and oprhans of deceased messenger boys, but that I went begging on the street in rags. I did it to find out what begging as a profession is like. ... "

Description:Viola Roseboro spends half a day in the guise of a beggar asking alms on New York's streets.

Rights: Public domain.

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Viola Roseboro spends half a day in the guise of a beggar asking alms on New York's streets.