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Each volume of the mid-nineteenth century magazine, Yankee
Doodle,
included a section called "Live Portraits,"
featuring an
illustration and description of various women's jobs. The December
19,
1846, issue focused on "Map Colorers." This work was
generally
done by girls who had some art training. They also had to be
detail oriented
and patient enough to finish maps that were quite complicated.
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| Girls who had a talent and
appreciation
for art tended to make the best lithographers. However, many men
were still
employed in the field, and some believed they were more proficient.
Lithography
companies like Currier & Ives would sometimes send to France for
qualified
lithographers because there weren't enough in America. The image to
the
left, called "St. John's P.E. Church, Mt. Morris," is by
Fanny
Palmer. She studied lithography in London, and was best-known for
her architectural
drawings. The image to the right, called "Scene in
Vermont," is
by Catherine Scollay, who was employed by Pendleton's Lithography of
Boston.
Lithography was a lucrative career for skilled artists such as
Palmer and
Scollay. Click on images to enlarge. |
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This February 13, 1858, illustration called "Girls Making
Valentines"
comes from Harper's Weekly Magazine.
When Esther Howland of Worcester, Massachusetts, began her
valentine-making
business, she placed her first advertisement in a local newspaper,
The
Daily Spy on February 5, 1850.
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| The Oread Institute, in
Worcester,
Massachusetts, was an important and popular women's school from 1848
until
it closed its doors in 1881. This ca. 1870's photograph is
significant not
only because it captures the school in its final years, but because
it was
taken by a woman, Ms. Augustine H. Folsom. Click to enlarge. |
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Performing, whether in the circus or on the stage, was not viewed
as
a respectable occupation for women. Since it took women out of the
home,
it was viewed as an occupation that would demoralize them.
The image to the left is of a female snake charmer, who was
probably
part of a performing group. The center image is of Lavinia Warren,
who
married Tom Thumb in 1863 and occasionally performed in P. T.
Barnum's
Circus Act. The image of the tightrope walkers to the right comes
from
a 1818 circus broadside that advertised tightrope walkers,
dancers, and
stunts to be performed by both men and women.
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