- Hardcover: 512 pages
- Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf; 1 edition (Sep 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0679445943
- ISBN-13: 978-0679445944
- Product Dimensions: 24.1 x 16.7 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,212,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Age of Homespun
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More About the Author
Product Description
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.
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.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
Having to read this for a Master's seminar at my university I could tell from the title it wasn't necessarily going to be of great interest to me. In fairness, some of the stories told in the book were immersive and enjoyable, but overall the amount of detail given on weaving and stitching techniques was rather offputting. My two seminar colleagues (both older than me and female) thoroughly enjoyed the book, so perhaps my lack of enjoyment is rather to do with my age and gender more than anything. The book seemed well researched, and went into great depth, as mentioned, so if you are at all interested in the myth surrounding America's 'Age of Homespun' then this is an ideal book to start with. It does provide context and uses many characters from the age, which is what I took solitary enjoyment from; the depth with which Ulrich tackles the textile industry of the age became offputting for me due to its pervasiveness throughout the majority of the text. Worth reading if you are interested in women's role on the American continent in the 17th/18th Centuries; Native American's also feature prominently in a couple of chapters.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
43 of 44 people found the following review helpful
something special
16 Jan 2002
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.
36 of 38 people found the following review helpful
The Antiques Roadshow on Steroids
7 Feb 2002
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.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Material Artifacts Spun Into Historical Silk
7 Dec 2002
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.
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