The Age of Homespun: Objects and Stories in the Creation of an American Myth [Paperback]

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 12, 2002

They began their existence as everyday objects, but in the hands of Bancroft 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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1851, when theologian Horace Bushnell stood on the village green in Litchfield, Conn., and looked back lovingly on the "Age of Homespun," he was expressing a perennial American nostalgia for the "good old days," when clothing and other necessities were mostly made at home by family labor. Historian Ulrich (author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Midwife's Tale) has not set out to deflate the sentimentality that accompanies Bushnell's vision, but rather to trace its genesis and understand how it has weathered the test of time. In her previous works, Ulrich studied the lives of ordinary people, examining their diaries and what they left for probate when they died in order to understand their place in history. Here, under the tutelage of various museum curators, Ulrich shifts toward a material culture study studying objects to understand the people who used them. From 14 artifacts of early American life (baskets, spinning wheels, needlework, etc.), Ulrich uncovers details about their makers and users and the communities they built. Eighteenth-century New England was a battleground of Indian, colonist, slave and European cultures, and each left its mark on the design of these "surviving objects." A quote from Bushnell and an illustration of an object open each chapter. What follows is anything from a rambling digression on a particular cabinet's provenance to a detailed discussion of how dyes were made or flax prepared. As fascinating as the book can be, though, general readers may give up halfway through, finding it frustratingly diffuse and too much of a patchwork. But early Americanists, historical sleuths and "textilians" will delight. 165 illus.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Items produced in the home to be used by their owners and treasured by later generations are worthy of study in their own right, but they also tell us much about those who made and kept them. Ulrich, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812, again offers brilliant insights into the lives of early Americans, as she examines their material culture as well as their lives. This engaging combination of women's studies, history, and the study of museum artifacts will delight a wide variety of readers. Chapter by chapter, Ulrich presents interesting early American objects and follows their description with the even more fascinating stories of the people who owned them and the world in which they lived. This work, approachable for the casual reader but based upon firm scholarship, would be a welcome addition to most larger academic and public libraries. Theresa McDevitt, Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (November 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679766448
• ISBN-13: 978-0679766445
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #217,920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars something special January 16, 2002

By NotATameLion

Format:Hardcover

More story than history, more history than archaeology, Mrs. Ulrich's wonderful book, "The Age of Homespun: Objects and Stories in the Creation of an American Myth" is really something special.

Mrs. Ulrich walks us through history by examining a collection of early American objects. From baskets to cupboards to cloth, Mrs. Ulrich looks at the stories behind each piece and the implications of "homespun" (homemade, useful items) on the larger picture of history.

I am impressed by the keen and loving eye Mrs. Ulrich brings to her work. The background information on each type of these items must be vast, but Mrs. Ulrich seems to have an easy fluency in all of them. She combines this knowledge with a passion for history and a flair for storytelling. What results is a wonderful book.

The effect of struggle on craft-making and the effect of craft-making on conflict within history casts light on a little observed part of our history. Likewise, it gives us much to ponder about the future.

I give "The Age of Homespun" a hearty recommendation.

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Antiques Roadshow on Steroids February 7, 2002

By yvette marshall

Format:Hardcover

Excellent book! I had no idea that provenance could be so exciting! Ms. Ulrich is detail oriented and that is definitely a plus. She'll begin talking about a seemingly simple basket then launch into a social history of the place, people and time that basket was used by examining articles and announcements in the newspaper lining the basket. Brilliant! I learned so much about our America that I didn't know. Lemuel Haynes, revered 18th century black Reverend, wow! I was shocked and amused to find that people were struggling with what to do with the homeless back in 1795! What a complex and interesting place we live in. As a huge fan of American history I found this book to be a treasure. Read it if you want to know more about your American self.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Material Artifacts Spun Into Historical Silk December 7, 2002

By Ricky Hunter VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

The Age of Homespun was an age created out of American myth, but behind this mythology Laurel Thatcher Ulrich has found many treasures of true lives led. The author takes fourteen objects and spins out a story of cultures clashing and times changing. It is a fascinating series of narratives richly written with economy and style. Ulrich is most effective in showing the Indian struggle in this settlers' Age of Homespun. The author leaves no one out of the story and her selection of objects reflects this care as she cleverly creates a complete mosiac for this age. The only struggle I had with the book was my own ignorance of spinning, weaving, carding, etc., therefore being confused by some of the terms and concepts. An interesting book and a pleasure to read.