Article ID: CBB001550527

“They Carry Their Religion . . . into Every Act of Their Public and Private Lives”: Quaker Consumption of Early Photographic Images in Philadelphia, 1839--1860 (2015)

unapi

Determining whether, or to what degree, there was a Quaker aesthetic in Philadelphia has challenged scholars for more than half a century. Through their material choices, nineteenth-century Friends consciously and unconsciously conveyed information and ideas about their religious beliefs and the extent of their intersection with non-Quakers to friends, family members, business associates, strangers, and the world at large. An analysis of Philadelphia Quakers' antebellum photographic consumption, including a comparison with non-Quakers' selections, reveals that although there was a range of choices of attributes in daguerreotypes among Quakers, their portraits fall at the more restrained end of the spectrum. By choosing a gallery, wearing certain clothing, and opting for a daguerreotype of a particular size and elaboration, Friends balanced their own needs with those of their faith and actively participated in the consumer culture of a major metropolitan area. Their choices invite us to look at how people employed material culture---photographic images and clothing here, but also buildings, landscapes, furniture, and everyday items---and put their imprint on the actions of buying, selling, giving, receiving, and using objects and spaces.

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Authors & Contributors
Jan Kiely
Ma, Shaoling
Flanagan, Daniel J.
Rasmus R. Simonsen
Craig A. R. Campbell
Geoff Bender
Concepts
Technology and culture
Photography
Technology and religion
Quakers and Quakerism
Technology and art
Photographs
Time Periods
19th century
20th century
18th century
20th century, early
21st century
Places
Philadelphia, PA
France
China
Great Britain
Republic of China (1912-1949)
England
Institutions
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
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