Pattern in the Material Folk Culture of the Eastern United States

By Henry Glassie

Book Overview

What is folk culture? What distinguishes true folk creations from the cultural hybrids of commerce and popular innovation? To clarify this muddled situation and to provide clear standards and visual examples for the study and appreciation of a broad range of objects, Henry Glassie has written this detailed examination of material folk culture in the United States. He isolates American material culture--that segment of our culture that embodies the people's plans, methods, and reasons for producing things that can be seen and touched--and discusses methods for determining whether an object is truly folk--as opposed, say, to merely popular--by examining its form, construction, and use. The book represents the first attempt to compare different kinds of material folk culture, including architecture, tools, and cookery, to detect common patterns and, in doing so, challenges conventional views of both folk culture and American culture.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812275691
• ISBN13: 9780812275698
• Release Date: March 1969
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.

Customer Reviews

One of a kind

Glassie's book continues to be the single best overall discussion of design in American vernacular architecture and traditional crafts, even after more than thirty years.

Landmark Volume in Folklore Studies

This book provides descriptive information on houses, folk art, objects of mirth and merriment, and other forms of material culture from America's Eastern states. The book provides excellent resources for demonstrating how material folk cultural expressions can be studied for clues to regional identity. Glassie then demonstrates that understanding how folk culture is distributed over geographic regions provides clues for studying American history. It is an early study that links folklore to cultural geography and social history, and it provides a great starting point for understanding the scholarship in these areas within subsequent years.

Wonderful book!

I have developed into a strong Henry Glassie fan, having read nearly everything he has ever written. This one book, however, is the catalyst that started my love affair with Material Culture. While I can't reasonably say it changed my life, it did open my eyes to many things in life that would have gone unnoticed by me and I do feel my life is richer for it.