The Age of Homespun: Objects and Stories in the Creation of an American Myth (Hardcover)

by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (Author) "The basket is four and a half inches high and four inches in diameter, about the size of a large tomato can, though smaller at..." (more)
Key Phrases: unfinished stocking, spinning meetings, woodsplint baskets, New England, New Hampshire, Hannah Barnard (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Using objects that Americans have saved through the centuries and stories they have passed along, as well as histories teased from documents, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich chronicles the production of cloth--and of history--in early America. Under the singular and brilliant lens that Ulrich brings to this study, ordinary household goods--Indian baskets, spinning wheels, a chimneypiece, a cupboard, a niddy-noddy, bed coverings, silk embroidery, a pocketbook, a linen tablecloth, a coverlet and a rose blanket, and an unfinished stocking--provide the key to a transformed understanding of cultural encounter, frontier war, Revolutionary politics, international commerce, and early industrialization in America. We discover how ideas about cloth and clothing affected relations between English settlers and their Algonkian neighbors. We see how an English production system based on a clear division of labor—men doing the weaving and women the spinning--broke down in the colonial setting, becoming first marginalized, then feminized, then politicized, and how the new system both prepared the way for and was sustained by machine-powered spinning.

Pulling these divergent threads together into a rich and revealing tapestry of --the age of homespun,--Ulrich demonstrates how ordinary objects reveal larger economic and social structures, and, in particular, how early Americans and their descendants made, used, sold, and saved textiles in order to assert identities, shape relationships, and create history.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1 edition (October 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679445943
• ISBN-13: 978-0679445944
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #228,568 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars something special, January 16, 2002

By	NotATameLion (Michigan) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	yvette marshall (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Ricky Hunter (New York City, NY United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.