Chicken Market
Date1937 (printed 1979)
Mediumgelatin silver print
DimensionsSight: 19 x 15 in. (48.3 x 38.1 cm)
Mat: 30 x 24 in. (76.2 x 61 cm)
ClassificationsVisual Works
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Schussel
Object number81.0241
DescriptionIn the late 19th and early 20th century, the lower part of Eastern Manhattan - the site of Manhattan's earliest settlement - became the primary settlement for millions of immigrants. Berenice Abbott's image of a kosher chicken market is a reminder that, in particular, large numbers of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe made their homes on the Lower East Side. Historically accustomed to living in prearranged sections (ghettos) of European cities, many Jewish immigrants willingly congregated together in their adopted homeland, many establishing markets that sold foods prepared according to religious prescriptions.
