Lewis Dowe
1860s
[Dowe's Photograph Rooms, Sycamore, Illinois]

Albumen print
5 7/8 × 7 5/8 in. (14.9 × 19.3 cm) (image) 8 × 10 in. (20.3 × 25.4 cm) (mount)
 
Metropolitan Museum of Art
William L. Schaeffer Collection, Promised Gift of Jennifer and Philip Maritz, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary, Accession Number: ?
 
Above a bustling thoroughfare in Sycamore, Illinois, boldface lettering advertises the services of photographer Lewis Dowe, a portraitist who also published postcards and stereoviews. Easier to miss in the image is a mannequin perched above the awning to promote the studio. The flurry of activity below Dowe's storefront and the prime location of the outfit, poised between a tailor and a saloon, speak to the important role of photography in town life.
 
LL/95722