Getty Museum

[Man with Carpentry Tools]

Date

about 1848

Medium

Hand-colored daguerreotype

Culture

American

Department

Photographs

Institution

Getty Museum

For his portrait, this carpenter chose to be shown with the tools of his trade: a bench plane and miter saw. Curlicues of wood shavings suggest actual work in progress, but the static quality of his pose and the blank backdrop indicate that the portrait was made in the photographer's studio rather than the carpenter's workroom. Despite such obvious staging, this worker stands proudly with his tools, looking directly at the camera.

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