In 1901, eight-year-old Adelaide Springett looked straight into the camera, holding the gaze of the photographer who asked her to pose.
In this photo, which has been colorized next to the original, you can see Adelaide chose to go barefoot. Her old, worn-out boots were so shabby that she was too ashamed to wear them in the photo.
At just eight years old, she already knew how hard and unfair life could be for some people.
Adelaide was the daughter of very poor parents. She lost two baby sisters who were twins at birth, and another little sister died when she was just three years old. Her mother struggled with alcohol and died while Adelaide was still young.
For a time, she lived right next door to the home of Jack the Ripper’s final victim.
Even with all that sadness and hardship, Adelaide lived a long life. She passed away in England in 1986, at the age of 94.
That day in the photo, she and her mother were staying at a Salvation Army shelter on Hanbury Street in London.
Her eyes in the picture say more than any words ever could.