Shakers, Their Mode of Worship by D.W. Kellogg and Company

D.W. Kellogg and Company · ca 1838

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.