I’m still trying to nail down some details for a few longer posts.

[Occupational portrait of a carpenter, three-quarter length, seated, facing front, holding hammer and nail, on a chair at his side are a saw, box plane, and measuring device], sixth plate daguerreotype, photographer unknown, circa 1840-1860, via Library of Congress. Click to open larger image in a new window.

Back soon with parts 2 and 3 of Infrastructure Week! (which has, admittedly, already turned into Infrastructure Fortnight! Let’s hope it doesn’t become Infrastructure Month!)

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NOTES:

No, I do not have a good explanation for why neck beards seem so popular among the circa 1840-1860 tradesmen in the Library of Congress’s collection of occupational portrait daguerreotypes. (See our March 24, 2021, blacksmith post for comparison.) The vagaries of fashion remain ever-mysterious to me.