Description
Book SynopsisA collection of essays that examine early American cultural, political, and social history through a material lens, exploring the meanings of objects ranging from artworks and domestic furnishings to Penn’s Treaty Tree.
Trade Review“A vibrant compendium of essays that gives a master class in object analysis and shatters old categories of material and visual culture. Together, the authors powerfully demonstrate the global movement of commodities, the sometimes numinous power of memory objects, and the closely calibrated and negotiated human indications of wealth and power in early America. Historians of all stripes should pay attention to their clarion call to look deeply and think broadly.”
—Ann Smart Martin,author of Buying into the World of Goods: Early Consumers in Backcountry Virginia
“In such a focused collection there must inevitably be omissions—of approaches, comparative material, historiography, or actors. But the volume is nevertheless proof that the meticulous study of the experience of living in a material world is richly rewarding.”
—Wendy Jean Katz Panorama
“By laying out compelling examples of the cross-cultural movement of people, raw materials and ideas, this volume offers important insights into Britishness, as well as useful approaches that can further enliven and broaden our study of early American history and culture”
—Sarah Jones Weicksel Journal of Design History
