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Events
Jan. 9 | Call for papers: Identities and Technocultures
A 2-day conference about American culture and technologies that examines how new technologies dominate and define Americaness in the US and abroad. Co-sponsored by the University of Iowa Center for Ethnic Studies and the Arts (CESA) and the Mid-America American Studies Association (MAASA).
Resources: Abstracts of American Studies Dissertations
By University | By Year
Venable, Charles L. "A Craft in Industry: Silversmithing in America, 1840-1940," Program in American and New England Studies, Boston University, April 1993. Advisor: Keith N. Morgan (10, 4, 2)
This dissertation traces the development of the American silverware industry from 1840 to 1940. Due to factors such as the Tariff of 1842, new technology, and an improved national transportation system, silver production in this country increased greatly in the 1840s and 1850s. The economic boom in the Northeast produced by the Civil War stimulated the industry’s development and producers responded by expanding production and hiring many foreign-trained craftsmen and designers to increase quality. Although the depression of the 1870s reduced sales, it also caused makers to become more innovative in design in an attempt to bring to the marketplace more novel and hence more saleable products. The introduction of objects in the Japanese taste is an example of this phenomenon.
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