Out of the attic
Subtitle: inventing antiques in twentieth-century New England
By: Briann Greenfield.
Series: Public history in historical perspective
Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Amherst [Mass.]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 265
ISBN-13: 9781558497108; 9781558497092
Subjects: Antiques business -- New England -- History -- 20th century; House furnishings -- New England -- Marketing -- Case studies; New England -- Antiquities -- Collectors and collecting -- History -- 20th century
Genres: Case studies
Other titles: Inventing antiques in twentieth-century New England
Description: Briann G. Greenfield traces the transformation of antiques from family keepsakes to valuable artistic objects, examining the role of collectors, dealers, and museum makers in the construction of a new tradition based on the aesthetic qualities of early American furnishings. While recognizing the significance of antiques as symbols of an enduring American culture, Greenfield also delves behind popular rhetoric to examine the development of a retail structure specifically designed to facilitate the buying and selling of old wares. --from publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction. Inventing antiques; title: 1. Priceless and price : the antiquing of New England; title: 2. The Jewish dealer : antiques, acculturation, and aesthetics; title: 3. Jessie Barker Gardner and George Gardner : making a collection permanent; title: 4. Highboys and high culture : adopting an American aesthetic in Deerfield, Massachusetts; title: 5. Exhibiting the ordinary : history making at the Smithsonian; title: Epilogue. The end of the antique?