Tea Rusk and Brick House

William P. Chappel

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Rusk—a hard biscuit made of twice-baked bread—was a popular snack, valued for its long shelf life. Bakers often produced rusks, biscuits, gingerbread, and tea-cakes to be hawked by boys and young men in the streets. At least once, the city revoked its permission to employ such peddlers because of the boys’ disorderly behavior. Bakers petitioned the council for a reprieve, noting the popularity of the portable snacks with "Country people, Boatmen, and other transient persons." The location of this stately brick house is a mystery, but we know from the plaque located just below the roof that it was insured against fire losses by the Mutual Insurance Company.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art