Man bij een koffiekan 1854

This etching, "Man with a Coffee Pot", was made by Frédéric-Désiré Hillemacher, though based on an earlier design. The print shows a Parisian coffee maker as he appeared in 1766. The visual codes here are very particular to the period – we can tell that this man is a coffee maker not just from the pot, but also his clothing. Coffee houses were a big deal at this time in Paris, and we should remember that revolutionary ideas were brewing there as well as coffee. To understand this print, we might explore visual source books showing different professions, which reveal the dress codes of the time, or explore the history of coffee houses in Paris to understand their social and political role. In so doing, we can understand the important social role of art as an historical document.