Job Lot Cheap 1878

William Michael Harnett created this still life painting titled, "Job Lot Cheap" with oil on canvas. The painting depicts a haphazard stack of books placed upon a wooden surface, littered with fragments of torn posters advertising the books themselves. The textures, colors, and forms of these books are meticulously rendered, and we can notice the wear and tear of aging volumes. The torn posters with advertisements are an indication of mass printing and the culture of bookselling. Harnett’s mastery lies in his ability to imbue ordinary objects with a sense of history, inviting us to contemplate the social life of things. "Job Lot Cheap" is a commentary on the commodification of knowledge and the changing landscape of the literary world during his lifetime. The artist prompts us to reflect on the relationship between labor, value, and the democratization of knowledge in an era of mass production and consumption.