MID to LATE 19TH CENTURY AMERICAN ANTIQUE 9 1/4" x 7 1/2" SEPIA TONED ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC, OCCUPATIONAL ALBUMEN PHOTOGRAPH FEATURING GROUP of NEW ENGLAND DAIRY WORKERS/MILKERS, SEATED & WEARING APRONS (unframed)
[Previously laid down on old mill board]
(Circa 1865-1880)
Mid to late 19th century American antique occupational photography & images of New England commercial activity
DIMENSIONS:
Matting: 14" Width x 11" Height
Photo: 9 1⁄4" Width x 7 1⁄2" Height
DESCRIPTION:
Offered for your review and consideration is this recently discovered sepia-toned, albumen original photograph of a group of New England milkers or dairy workers, wearing aprons, sitting together and posing for a photograph of them at rest and away from the toil of work. This is an original photographic print and not a later reproduction or photo print executed from an already existing original one. A clue exists in the photo suggesting these men were not butchers or blacksmiths but rather dairy workers and milkers, due to the old milk box advertising wooden crate that has 'cream' stenciled on it, seen below the seated men in the front. Milkers would've also worn aprons tied around their waists, to protect their lower extremities and clothing from milk splash when working, seated on stools or benches in barns, housing the dairy cows. These weren't wealthy men by any means and that's clear from their disheveled overall appearance, shabby clothing and worn-out, barely intact leather shoes. They were gainfully employed but precariously and only barely and clearly were making what amounted to be a subsistence wage and living. This was the rough and tough, hard-scrabble, rural reality of 19th century New England. It wasn't easy and was a life of endless toil. No one except for the fantastically wealthy, of whom there were few, escaped this harsh reality. Personal and urgent in its appeal, this mid to late 19th century American antique albumen photograph speaks to us from the past and reminds us of just how easy we actually have it now, if we were to compare our present circumstances with theirs. Marvelous.
CONDITION:
Good to Very Good overall vintage condition.