Moving Day (in Little Old New York)
Beginning in the colonial era, leases in New York City expired on May 1, dubbed Moving Day. This deadline lasted throughout the nineteenth century. On Moving Day, trade in the city stopped entirely as New Yorkers transferred all their possessions from one location to another in a tumult exacerbated by pervasive housing shortages. Businesses also moved, as illustrated here by the layering of shop signs on the building in the center. In the foreground, a woman is sprawled across the contents of an overturned cart, trapped by a table and chest of drawers. She—like the city in general—has been turned upside down. This work and its companion, The Five Points (2016.797.17), are biting satires of the rough, chaotic aspects of life in the city.
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