The Baker's Wagon
Against the backdrop of the potter William Marshall’s shop and the widow Bumstead’s corner home, a baker drives his cart full of fresh bread down Hester Street in the tenth ward. A staple of the American diet, a simple loaf of bread could be a very serious matter. Since the city’s settlement, government officials regulated the price, quality, and weight of bread made by licensed bakers, who had to initial all their loaves. The bakers often argued that the city’s fixed rates, or assizes, were too low and pushed for free-market pricing, which they eventually achieved by the 1820s.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Baker's Wagon
- Artist: William P. Chappel (American, 1801–1878)
- Date: 1870s
- Culture: American
- Medium: Oil on slate paper
- Dimensions: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4 in. (15.6 x 23.5 cm)
- Credit Line: The Edward W. C. Arnold Collection of New York Prints, Maps, and Pictures, Bequest of Edward W. C. Arnold, 1954
- Object Number: 54.90.510
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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William P. Chappel
1870s
William P. Chappel
1870s
William P. Chappel
1870s
William P. Chappel
1870s
William P. Chappel
1870s
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