Rebecca Moses cutting silhouettes of her friends Fanny and Hyam Asher

Though it offers a delightful depiction of the material culture of mid-nineteenth century middle-class American life and the cutting of silhouettes as a family pastime, this image offers few clues about the lives of its subjects. It is unclear who Rebecca Moses was and what her relationship was to the young children identified as Hyam and Fanny Asher. Nor do we know how for certain how these children were related to Mr. and Mrs. Hyam Asher.

Rebecca Moses cutting silhouettes of her friends Fanny and Hyam Asher

1840