Photo Credit: Christmas card by Louis Prang, showing a group of anthropomorphized frogs parading with banner and band. Note the card has the makings of a work of art (see below for more details about Prang and his philosophy of Christmas cards). 19th century (no specific date), American Antiquarian Society. M2545/Wikimedia Commons/PD Old 100 “The […]
Category: 19th century
Happy Thanksgiving!
No blog post this week. Instead, here’s my Thanksgiving wish to all of you (whether you’re in the States or abroad). May your holiday be joyous, peaceful, and full of grace!!! And if you’re curious about how Thanksgiving was celebrated in the Gilded Age, check out this blog post. Photo […]
An Out-of-Home Experience: Thanksgiving in the Gilded Age
Photo Credit: The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth, 1914, Jennie A. Brownscombe, Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal, The Netherlands. Note the painting depicts a Thanksgiving that is not family-oriented, held outdoors rather than inside the home, including a large and diverse group of people beyond the immediate family. Hohum/Wikimedia Commons/PD Art (PD Old) “‘The original Thanksgiving dinners […]
Gilded Age Backlash: The Progressive Era
Although this cartoon refers specifically to only one of the reforms during the Progressive Era (women’s suffragism), it is visually a great example of what was going on with all reforms during this era. Photo Credit: Political cartoon about suffrage in the United States. Four women supporting suffrage on a steamroller crushing rocks “opposition”. Illustration […]
Not Worth a Cent: The Coming of The Gilded Age
The idea behind the cartoon is, as I mention below, the fact that big business was “in bed” with government. In this cartoon, big business is represented by “the robber barons”, the name given to the tycoons of the railroad companies (and the businesses that made them possible, such as the steel business), depicted as […]
A Dissatisfying Ideology: 19th Century Separate Spheres
Photo Credit: Victorian gentleman and lady with flowers, silhouette, OpenClipartVectors/Pixabay/CC0 1.0 Since much of my writing (historical and otherwise) explores the relationship between the sexes and how women and men interact in the world, one of the basics to understanding Gilded Age and Progressive Era fiction is the concept of the separate spheres. I briefly […]
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