The Age of Homespun
Objects and Stories in the Creation of an American Myth
Nonfiction, Home & Garden, Antiques & Collectibles, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology, History, Americas, United States
| Author: | Laurel Thatcher Ulrich | ISBN: | 9780307416865 |
| Publisher: | Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group | Publication: | August 26, 2009 |
| Imprint: | Vintage | Language: | English |
| Author: | Laurel Thatcher Ulrich |
| ISBN: | 9780307416865 |
| Publisher: | Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |
| Publication: | August 26, 2009 |
| Imprint: | Vintage |
| Language: | English |
They began their existence as everyday objects, but in the hands of award-winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, fourteen domestic items from preindustrial America–ranging from a linen tablecloth to an unfinished sock–relinquish their stories and offer profound insights into our history.
In an age when even meals are rarely made from scratch, homespun easily acquires the glow of nostalgia. The objects Ulrich investigates unravel those simplified illusions, revealing important clues to the culture and people who made them. Ulrich uses an Indian basket to explore the uneasy coexistence of native and colonial Americans. A piece of silk embroidery reveals racial and class distinctions, and two old spinning wheels illuminate the connections between colonial cloth-making and war. Pulling these divergent threads together, Ulrich demonstrates how early Americans made, used, sold, and saved textiles in order to assert their identities, shape relationships, and create history.
They began their existence as everyday objects, but in the hands of award-winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, fourteen domestic items from preindustrial America–ranging from a linen tablecloth to an unfinished sock–relinquish their stories and offer profound insights into our history.
In an age when even meals are rarely made from scratch, homespun easily acquires the glow of nostalgia. The objects Ulrich investigates unravel those simplified illusions, revealing important clues to the culture and people who made them. Ulrich uses an Indian basket to explore the uneasy coexistence of native and colonial Americans. A piece of silk embroidery reveals racial and class distinctions, and two old spinning wheels illuminate the connections between colonial cloth-making and war. Pulling these divergent threads together, Ulrich demonstrates how early Americans made, used, sold, and saved textiles in order to assert their identities, shape relationships, and create history.
