Sacred relics : pieces of the past in nineteenth-century America /
Teresa Barnett.
- xii, 250 pages ; 24 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 197-244) and index.
Part 1: Origins and meanings. Beginnings ; History's remains ; The sentimental relic -- Part 2: The Civil War. The battlefield's remains ; "In memory of our beloved Confederacy" : pathetic relics of the lost cause ; From relic to souvenir : buffs' collecting of the war -- Part 3: Conclusion. The waning of the relic.
"A piece of Plymouth Rock. A lock of George Washington's hair. Wood from the cabin where Abraham Lincoln was born. Various bits and pieces of the past--often called 'association items'--may appear to be eccentric odds and ends, but they are valued because of their connections to prominent people and events in American history. Kept in museum collections large and small across the United States, such objects are the touchstones of our popular engagement with history. In Sacred Relics, Teresa Barnett explores the history of private collections of such items, illuminating how Americans view the past. She traces the relic-collecting tradition back to eighteenth-century England, then on to articles belonging to the founding fathers and through the mass collecting of artifacts that followed the Civil War. Ultimately, Barnett shows how we can trace our own historical collecting from the nineteenth century's assemblages of the material possessions of notable men and women."--Jacket.
9780226059600 022605960X
2013005613
GBB378875 bnb
016488670 Uk
1800-1899 1800-talet
Collectors and collecting--History--United States--19th century. Souvenirs (Keepsakes)--History--United States--19th century. Collectors and collecting. Souvenirs (Keepsakes) Andenken. Sachkultur. Musealisierung. Samlarverksamhet. Souvenirer.