Photograph, Cabinet

Description

One of two cabinet cards of Sister Emma Jane Neale posed in a Shaker cloak. One image (1951.4235.1) shows the front of the cloak and (1951.4236.1) shows the back side of the cloak. Sister Emma was in charge of the cloak-making industry at the Mount Lebanon Church Family. The two photographs of Sister Emma modeling a cloak were used for promotion the cloak business, in fact, the two photographs were reduced to a woven image used on the Shakers silk label sewn into the cloaks. The company that made the labels also provided the Shakers with silk bookmarks in a variety of colors (see photo) to advertise and promote the cloak business. The building on the bookmark Mount Lebanon's Church Family Trustees Office. The photograph was also used on an advertising bifold published by the Shakers. See Richmond 345. Two variants of the cover of this bifold are pictured in the image section. The photograph was made in Pirie McDonald's studio in Albany, NY, but is associated with the Church Family, Mount Lebanon, NY. As an aside, it is interesting that Sister Emma posed for Pirie MacDonald for this photograph. MacDonald, born in Chicago (1867), and perfected his craft in Hudson, NY, as an apprentice to Frank Forshaw (1883) before opening a studio in Albany around 1890. In the next ten years he built a great reputation as an artist and technician, eventually being invited to photograph "kings and presidents." Eventually MacDonald announced that he would no longer photograph women and presented himself as "Pirie MacDonald - Photographer of Men." The photograph of Sister Emma then hold a special place both in being one of a few "Shaker models" but also one of a relatively small number of women that MacDonald photographed.

Notes

Sister Emma J. Neale posed for this photograph, which was used in marketing materials for the cloaks made by her workshop. To learn more about Sister Emma's cloak workshop, read this blog post: https://www.shakermuseum.us/cloak-cutting-counter/