Annual Delaware Antiques Show 2019

the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. By mining underexplored photographs as well as complementary collections at Winterthur and the Delaware Historical Society, students in three classes at Winterthur (Historic Interiors, Exhibitions and Interpretation, and Oral History) exposed photographic gems that offer glimpses of entrepreneurs promoting and celebrating their places of work across the United States. Women, men, and children populate the interior and exterior scenes, often proudly displaying or featuring their tools of the trade or products sold. The earliest photograph in the exhibition, an 1850s or 1860s ambrotype of a shoemaker (cobbler) from the Winterthur collection, represents an image likely taken in a studio where the sitter selected tools of his trade and a violin as props (fig. 1) . His rather stiff pose is typical of earlier photographs, which required a longer exposure time and thus a relatively controlled environment for picture-taking. Many of the images in the show reflect later techniques such as albumen prints (popular 1860s to 1890s) and silver gelatin prints (popular 1880s to today) that could be created with cheaper and more portable materials. This allowed itinerant and community-based photographers alike to capture images of businesses both indoors and out easily, efficiently, and economically. Businesses owned and operated by women feature prominently in the exhibition. One silver gelatin print from Winterthur’s collection depicts two women standing proudly in front of a shop on Staten Island, New York (fig. 2 ). While the name of the shop remains a mystery, the window display of sweets and containers, neatly arranged shelves of candy jars visible in the interior, and signs promoting the once well-known Horton’s Ice Cream brand clearly identify the store as a source of tasty treats. Fig. 2. Storefront, Samuel Marksville, photographer, 352 Pleasant Avenue, New York, New York, ca. 1890. Silver gelatin print pasted to cardstock, printed ink and pencil on the reverse. Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera, Winterthur Library 77x373.11 — 128 —