The Vade Mecum For America Or A Companion For Traders And Travellers

The first encyclopedia to look at the study of material culture (objects, images, spaces technology, production, and consumption), and what it reveals about historical and contemporary life in the United States. Reaching back 400 years, Material Life in America: An Encyclopedia is the first reference showing what the study of material culture reveals about American society—revelations not accessible through traditional sources and methods. In nearly 200 entries, the encyclopedia traces the history of artifacts, concepts and ideas, industries, peoples and cultures, cultural productions, historical forces, periods and styles, religious and secular rituals and traditions, and much more. Everyone from researchers and curators to students and general readers will find example after example of how the objects and environments created or altered by humans reveal as much about American life as diaries, documents, and texts.

Sweeping survey of 150 years of colonial history (1607–1763) offers authoritative views on agrarian society and leadership, non-English influences, religion, education, literature, music, architecture, and much more. 33 black-and-white illustrations.

Every nation is the invention of its writers. America is no exception. The United States is a state of mind and spirit created, in part, by the books that have emerged from the American experience - as truly as its politics have been shaped by history. We are all, in some fashion, the spiritual heirs of Poor Richard, Father Knickerbocker, Huckleberry Finn, and other cherished figures from our literary past. Writers have created our national image, not only in our eyes but in the eyes of the world. This book from American Heritage offers a panoramic view of the American scene and the American people by its own writers - from colonial days until modern times.