Legacies: Collecting America's History at the Smithsonian - Hardcover

Lubar, Steven; Kendrick, Kathleen M.

3.8

20 ratings by Goodreads

9781560988861: Legacies: Collecting America's History at the Smithsonian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 156098886X ISBN 13: 9781560988861

Publisher: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, 2001

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The Smithsonian Institution has been America's museum since 1846. What do its vast collections -- from the ruby slippers to a piece of Plymouth Rock, first ladies' gowns to patchwork quilts, a Model T Ford to a customized Ford LTD low rider -- tell Americans about themselves? In this lavishly illustrated guide to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Steven Lubar and Kathleen M. Kendrick tell the stories behind more than 250 of the museum's treasures, many of them never before photographed for publication. These stories not only reveal what America as a nation has decided to save and why but also speak to changing visions of national identity.

As the authors demonstrate, views of history change over time, methods of historical investigation evolve and improve, and Americas' understand of the past matures. Shifts in focus and attitude lie at the hearth of Legacies, which is organized around four concepts of what a national museum of history can be: a treasure house, a shrine to the famous, a palace of progress, and a mirror of the nation. Thus, the museum collects cherished or precious objects, houses celebrity memorabilia, documents technological advances, and reflects visitors' own lives. Taking examples from science and technology, politics, decorative arts, military history, ethnic heritage, popular culture and everyday life, the authors provide historical context for the work of the Smithsonian and shed new light on what is important, and who is included, in American history. Throughout its history, Lubar and Kendrick conclude, the museum has played a vital role in both shaping and reflecting America's sense of itself as a nation.

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Review:

The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History houses some 3.2 million artifacts. Some, such as the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the first chunk of gold found at Sutter's Mill, are of indisputable importance; others, such as a sleeveless denim jacket worn by a late member of a motorcycle gang, may seem less significant to the casual observer.

But, write museum curators Steven Lubar and Kathleen Kendrick, every artifact in the museum's holdings is important in its own way. In this highly selective tour of the museum's inventory, they point out curiosities and treasures alike, all of them providing clues about the American past: a clamshell used in the Depression as currency, accepted as an object of value by the denizens of a California beach town; a fragment of a Confederate flag torn from its post by an angry Union sympathizer the day after Virginia voted for secession; the overstuffed chair from which actor Carroll O'Connor delivered Archie Bunker's diatribes on the sitcom All in the Family; a 1903 Teddy bear, made after then-president Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear cub while out hunting; Tom Thumb's hat, Prince's guitar, Cesar Chavez's windbreaker, and dozens of other items that chronicle the ever-changing culture.

Accompanied by 260 photographs, the book makes for a delightful and informative survey not only of the Smithsonian's extensive holdings, but also of the nation's past. History buffs and collectors will revel in it. --Gregory McNamee

About the Author:

Steven Lubar has worked at the National Museum of American History for almost twenty years and has written widely on the history of technology, material culture, and public history. He is currently chair of the museum's division of the history of technology.

Kathleen M. Kendrick grew up in the Washington, DC area and spent many childhood field trips at the Smithsonian. In her current position as assistant curator of the museum's Star-Spangled Banner PRoject, she is helping develop an exhibition on the history and meaning of the American flag.

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