Peddlers in Rio de Janeiro A British army officer sketched this early-nineteenth-century scene of everyday life in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The ability to balance large burdens on the head meant that the person’s hands were free for other use. Note the player (on the left) of a musical instrument originating in the Congo. On the right a woman gives alms to the man with the holy image in return for being allowed to kiss the image as an act of devotion. We do not know whether the peddlers were free and self-employed or were selling for their owners. (From “Views and Costumes of the City and Neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,” in Drawings Taken by Lieutenant Henry Chamberlain, During the Years 1819 and 1820 [London: Columbian Press, 1822]/Visual Connection Archive)