Standard of living
Subtitle: the measure of the middle class in modern America
By: Marina Moskowitz.
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Baltimore
Language: eng
Number of pages: 300
Subjects: Middle class -- United States -- History.; Cost and standard of living -- United States -- History.
Description: "In Standard of Living, Marina Moskowitz focuses on the relationship between middle-class identity and material culture through four case studies. In one, she examines the incorporation of silverplate flatware into the daily rituals of American life. Mass production made this former luxury item affordable, while advertising, etiquette books, and home advice columns stressed its value as a family heirloom and confirmed its place in the middle-class dining room. Moskowitz then turns her attention to bathroom fixtures, the proliferation of indoor sanitation, and a hygiene industry equally interested in profits and public health. Home ownership contributed an essential element of this standard, and Moskowitz next charts the mail-order home industry, which sold not just kit houses but also the very idea of owning a home. Concluding with a look at zoning and urban planning as means of fostering and protecting the standard of living for whole communities, this book offers important evidence of and fresh insights into the history of the American middle class."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-276) and index.
Based on the author's dissertation.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: The standard of living; title: The standard of etiquette; title: The standard of health and decency; title: The standard of investment; title: The standard of management; title: Conclusion: The standard of living, revisited.