This black and white print depicts four rows of men facing four rows of women dancing inside a Shaker meeting room. Their arms are bent at waist height with hands extended as they advance towards each other and appear to be “shaking with fervor” and dancing, which was common with the group and how they got their nickname. They are all dressed simply and alike and are wearing caps, but the women on the end of each row have a small hand towel draped across their right forearms, perhaps to wipe their brows after the vigorous shakey dancing. The last row of men contains two African Americans and the people are of all shapes and sizes even if dressed alike. Cloaks and hats hang on pegs in the background. A women is seated in profile on a benchdepicted on the lower left. She appears to be wearing a cloak and large bonnet. On the lower right of the print is a bench holding a top hat and either a narrow cane or a rinding crop.
The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, commonly known as the Shakers, was a Protestant sect founded in England in 1747. Ann Lee (1736-1784) was the founder and leader of the American Shakers. The Shakers practiced communal living, where all property was shared. Simplicity in dress, speech, and manner were encouraged, as was living in rural colonies away from the corrupting influences of the cities. At their height, between 1830 -1860, about 6,000 Shaker brothers and sisters lived in more than 20 communities in the Northeast, Ohio, and Kentucky.
This print is identical to an earlier print by Anthony Imbert (circa 1826-1836) titled Shakers Near Lebanon, New York State and was based on an image by John Warner Barber. This print was published by the lithographic firm of D. W. Kellogg and Company. A later copy was produced by Nathaniel Currier. Daniel Wright Kellogg (1807-1874) founded the company in Hartford, Connecticut in 1830. Even before its first retail store opened in 1834, the D.W. Kellogg & Co. lithography firm was well established and popular in United States, particularly in the South and the Southwest. As the founding member of the family company, Daniel Wright Kellogg was responsible for the initial growth and popularity of the firm. After he left the company, it continued to flourish for decades under his younger brothers and other family members.
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