Interior with Chinese furnishings, published by J. F. Jarvis, Washington, D.C.

The objectphotographed as held, uncropped

Catalogue description

A richly furnished interior: carved and inlaid screens and cabinetry, a hanging lamp, draped textiles, and a canopied structure at the centre of the room. The lighting is uneven and the deep tones have blocked up, which is characteristic of interior work at this date.

The object’s importance here is its imprint rather than its subject. J. F. Jarvis published from Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., which places Chinese material — whether an exhibition display, an importer’s showroom or a domestic interior — in the trade of the national capital.

It is catalogued in the eastward series for that reason: it is evidence that the appetite for these images was not a California phenomenon but a national one, supplied by publishers in Washington, Philadelphia and New York as readily as in San Francisco.

Transcriptiontext on the object, as printed

J. F. Jarvis’ Stereoscopic Views.
135 Penn. Ave. Wash’n, D. C.
[caption in cursive at the foot of the mount, not fully legible]

Historical context

James F. Jarvis was a leading Washington, D.C. stereograph publisher from the 1870s, later supplying views in quantity to Underwood & Underwood. Washington publishers served both a tourist trade and a national mail-order market.

What is not known

• The caption at the foot of the mount is in cursive and could not be read with confidence from the source photograph; the subject identification here is provisional and rests on the visible furnishings.
• Whether the interior is an exhibition display, a commercial showroom or a private room is not established.
• Date range inferred from the imprint and mount style.