Artwork Page for The Hold-Up

Details / Information for The Hold-Up

The Hold-Up

1880s

American, 19th century

Medium
tintype, whole plate
Measurements
Overall: 21.6 x 16.5 cm (8 1/2 x 6 1/2 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Isaacs and Carol Nigro 2003.299
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Since the beginning of photography, objects and people have been purposefully arranged, or staged, for the camera. Popular in the late 1860s and 1870s, tintypes offered low prices and shortened exposure times. Perhaps because tintypists commonly worked at fairs and carnivals, frivolous images, such as this staged hold-up, became common. In these fictional scenes, all the participants were in on the joke. Some such scenes may be novelties, others may be gag portraits commissioned by groups of friends.
A vertically oriented tintype photograph depicts three men with light skin tones. The central man sits writing at a table covered with a fringed, striped cloth. On our left, a bearded man in a brimmed hat and vest looks toward us while holding a large knife over the seated man's head. On our right, another man in a dark cap points a handgun at him. The plate's edges appear dark and worn.

The Hold-Up

1880s

American, 19th century

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