Stipple line engraving depicting Shakers engaged in their particular form of religious worship, ca. 1830, displayed in a worn but handsome period bird's eye maple frame.  Text below the image, partially covered by the frame, reads "Shakers near Lebanon, / State of New York."  Unexamined out of frame but evidently somewhat trimmed at margins and more significantly along the upper edge and mounted to rigid backing, scattered staining and light foxing, overall in good condition.  Framed to 18.5 x 14.25 inches (47 x 36.2 cm.).

Several rows of Shakers, separated by gender, are shown performing a step dance in the meeting hall, with a female spectator seated in left foreground and African American men shown in the group. The short man at the head of the second row of Shakers is likely Brother David Rowley.  Cloaks and hats hang on pegs in the background.  The scene is known to depict the dance formation called the Square Order Shuffle in the 1824 Meetinghouse, Church Family, Mount Lebanon, NY.

While the print bears no indication of artist, engraver, or publisher, the present work is among some 18 versions of this scene that appeared during the 19th century with small variations and variant titles, including also "Shakers, their mode of Worship." There was considerable fascination with Shaker ways at the time, and these were among the first published images showing a facet of Shaker life. See Emlen's "The Shaker Dance Prints," in Imprint, v. 17, no. 2, autumn 1992. 

The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, known more widely as the Shakers, are a Christian sect founded in England during the mid-1700s.  The name "Shaker" comes from "Shaking Quakers," an insult coined to mock the way Shakers use their bodies during worship, whether shaking, shouting, dancing, whirling, or speaking in tongues.  The movement peaked in the 19th century, with 18 major communities as well as numerous smaller ones throughout the United States. Towards the end of the 19th century, the movement tapered out, as members died off and new converts slowed.  Shakers practice celibacy, which undoubtedly did not help matters.  Only one active Shaker community still exists in the United States, Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in Maine.  As of 2021, the village had three members.