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Primary sourcePhotograph

Young Nellie Bly Portrait

Unknown

A studio photograph of a young Nellie Bly, taken early in her career before she became world-famous.

An early portrait of Bly from before her famous world-record journey brought her fame.

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Black and white studio portrait of a young woman with short curly hair pinned up, wearing a dark high-necked blouse with a decorative brooch at the collar and ruffled trim.
Unknown photographer, Portrait of a young Nellie Bly.

About this source

What it is

This black-and-white studio photograph shows a young woman with short curly hair pinned up, wearing a dark high-necked blouse with a decorative brooch and ruffled trim. The photographer is unknown.

Why it matters

This image dates from early in Nellie Bly's career, before her famous round-the-world journey made her internationally known. It shows her as a young journalist just starting out, before the fame that would define her public image.

Look closer

  • How does this early portrait differ from later images of Bly as a celebrity?
  • What might her clothing suggest about her social position at this time?
  • Why is it useful for historians to have images from different points in someone's life?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Nellie Bly on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Front cover of a red leather-bound book with ornate gold tooling. Gold text reads 'Jules Verne, Le Tour du Monde en 80 Jours, Illustré' inside a central oval medallion, with decorative Greek key borders and floral roundels.Book

Secondary source

Around the World in Eighty Days

Jules Verne · 1872

Front cover of the book 'Ten Days in a Mad-House' by Nellie Bly. Decorative border with vines and a price label reading 'Price 25 Cents' at top. Title in large capitals in a framed panel, with 'by Nellie Bly' signature in script at bottom, above a wreath-like ornament with flowers.Book

Primary source

Ten Days in a Mad-House

Nellie Bly · 1887

Sepia studio portrait of a woman in a long checked coat and a striped cap, holding a dark handbag, standing before a painted garden backdrop with a tiled floor.Photograph

Primary source

Nellie Bly, Journalist

1889

Front cover of the Official Program for the Woman Suffrage Procession, Washington, March 3, 1913. A painted illustration shows a woman on a white horse blowing a trumpet and carrying a purple banner reading 'Votes for Women', with the Capitol dome at right and two women walking behind. Text reads 'Official Program, Woman Suffrage, Procession, Washington D.C. March 3, 1913'.Document

Primary source

Official Program, Woman Suffrage Procession, Washington, March 3, 1913

National American Woman Suffrage Association · 3 March 1913

Black-and-white studio portrait of a woman standing in a checked wool coat with large buttons, a cap on her head, and a crocodile-skin travel bag in her right hand. A painted backdrop of foliage and a patterned carpet surround her. Printed title above reads Nellie Bly; caption below describes her trip around the earth in 72 days, 6 hours, and 11 minutes.Photograph

Primary source

Nellie Bly, The New York Correspondent

1889

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