Buttermilk Pedlar

William P. Chappel

1870s · Oil on slate paper · The American Wing

The ever-growing network of farms and ferries that extended throughout the region supplied city residents with an array of foods, including buttermilk. Those who could not get to the market relied on peddlers for convenience. The Dutch-style brick residence and carriage house at right are commodious; though, the older Dutch style had fallen out of fashion with some. In 1806, a Philadelphian derided them as "uncouth," scoffing that one "might walk up the wall to the peak of the roof with tolerable safety, the mason having kindly built it so as to form steps of about ten inches in height. They were probably once thought handsome."

Artist

William P. Chappel

Date

1870s

Medium

Oil on slate paper

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

The Edward W. C. Arnold Collection of New York Prints, Maps, and Pictures, Bequest of Edward W. C. Arnold, 1954