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[Dowe's Photograph Rooms, Sycamore, Illinois]

Lewis Dowe American
March 1865
Not on view
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title:
    [Dowe's Photograph Rooms, Sycamore, Illinois]
  • Artist:
    Lewis Dowe (American, active 1860s–1880s)
  • Date:
    March 1865
  • Medium:
    Albumen silver print from glass negative
  • Dimensions:
    Image: 5 7/8 × 7 5/8 in. (14.9 × 19.3 cm)
    Sheet: 5 7/8 × 7 5/8 in. (14.9 × 19.3 cm)
    Mount: 8 × 10 in. (20.3 × 25.4 cm)
    Frame (approx): 14 x 17 in.
  • Classification:
    Photographs
  • Credit Line:
    William L. Schaeffer Collection, Promised Gift of Jennifer and Philip Maritz, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary
  • Object Number:
    L.2019.57.607
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs