Victorian views: stereographs of the Mt. Lebanon Shaker community, 1865-1895
Date
1999
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Hundreds of stereographic views exist showing almost all of the known Shaker villages of the late nineteenth century. One hundred thirty-one of these images feature the Mt. Lebanon, New York, Shaker community. Even though the subject matter of these objects was engineered and designed by the Shakers, and then sold to the visiting public, very little research has been done to explore why they exist. Unlike the more lucrative and well-known Shaker chairs, dusters, herbs, and fancy work, stereographic views were not made by Shaker hands and yet they did equally as much to advertise the religious society to the rest of the nation. ☐ By focusing on the stereographs of the lead community of Mt. Lebanon and exploring the subject matter of these objects, it was possible to see what the Shakers were willing to show of themselves to the outside world. Growing issues within the society, like the sharp decline in membership occurring throughout the later nineteenth century, may have prompted their production. Evidence suggests that the most probable and significant purpose of the stereographic views of the Mt. Lebanon Shaker village was for them to serve as propaganda. Using the popular stereographs as tools meant that the Shakers would be able to access and present themselves to parts of American society that they never would have been able to reach otherwise. The sale of these items to visitors, at the same time that personal possession of these objects by the individual Shakers was denied, appears to have only been condoned because of the hope they offered of attracting new members.