What a fascinating, if sad, picture that is. Study the boys' faces, there is a similarity in them that makes me think that there are brothers there - possibly the four on the left are siblings, likewise the three on the right. They have particularly sad expressions - surprising when they are being photographed - an event as rare to them as one of us appearing on TV. None of them look undernourished, either, despite their tattered clothes, dirty faces and feet. Is the one bottom left wearing wooden Clogs, by the way?
I'm not suggesting they are an early cast for 'Oliver', but suspect that real abandoned street urchins would have run a mile before being persuaded to stand for a posed shot by a photographer. I'd love to know the story behind this photograph.