As photographic technology changed during the nineteenth century, so did portraiture conventions. Daguerreotypists documented the genteel performances of their wealthy, impeccably dressed sitters, while tintypists depicted workingmen and women, accompanied by the tools of their trade. These butchers, bakers, wallpaper hangers, and waiters took pride in their manual labor and commissioned portraits to be shared with loved ones and displayed in albums alongside images of celebrities and politicians. Sitters from both social strata maintained a similar sense of propriety and decorum in the way they presented themselves to the photographer.
