Findings: The Material Culture of Needlework and Sewing
by Mary C. Beaudry
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Book Summary Information
Author: Mary C. BeaudryEdition: Hardcover
Published: 2007-01-28
ISBN: 0300110936
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Yale University Press
Book Reviews of Findings: The Material Culture of Needlework and Sewing
Book Review: Good Findings...
Summary: 4 Stars
First and foremost, this volume will be definitely helpful for those who wish to interpret the many sewing-related artifacts recovered from historic-period archaeological sites (and most historical sites yield at least some of these items). Beaudry quite rightly points out that small finds, such as sewing-related materials, have the potential to yield much information about the people who once lived and worked on these sites. They can reveal as much (if not more) as the ceramics, glass, clay pipes and animal bones which have been traditionally the major focus of archaeological analysis. The reason for the importance of small finds is simple--they are often very personal items. As such they have profound implications for the construction of both personal and social identities. In the case of small finds relating to needlework and sewing (objects often uncritically associated with femininity), Beaudry sees the opportunity to examine gender construction and social rank in addition to personal identity. In Findings she sets out to "construct a rich contextual analysis of how women and men used objects of needlework and sewing and to consider the multiplicity of meanings these everyday objects conveyed" (p.7).
Findings is, however, just as useful for a second purpose. This volume serves as a model for other archaeologists who need (desperately) to write more guides to historical material culture. In her discussions of pins, needles, thimbles, and the like Beaudry gives us important terminology (e.g., knurling refers to the machine-applied indentations on a thimble), diagnostic information (e.g., how to tell scissors from shears), and chronological information. But more importantly, Findings also explores the range of interpretive possibilities of these objects with the understanding that the meaning of material culture varies with context. This is a rare attribute among works on material culture.
Moreover, this work succeeds in providing an impressive amount of cultural information for these items--in effect creating an interpretive context in which archaeologists can place their own sewing-related finds. After a brief introduction to her subject matter and intensions, each chapter of Findings tackles a particular class of artifact often associated with needlework and/or sewing--pins (Chapter 1), needles (Chapter 2), thimbles (Chapter 3), shears and scissors (Chapter 4) and other notions and accessories (Chapter 6). In each of these chapters the material under scrutiny is densely contextualized. Beaudry explores both the documentary and archaeological records--Neothlithic sites in Anatolia, Iraq and Greece, Predynastic Egypt, and Bronze Age Europe, eighteenth-century children's poems, the economic work of Adam Smith, period paintings, probate inventories, court records, collectors literature, and museum collections--looking for sewing-related material. Historical archaeologists will be impressed at the geographic and temporal breadth of Beadury's work. Findings presents a truly global historical archaeology including material finds from sites such as the Five Points of New York, Spanish St. Augustine, the Ross Female Factory in Tasmania, Andrew Jackson's Hermitage, Patuxent Point, St. Mary's City, Quebec City, Tilbury Fort, Brimstone Hill, Bridewell Palace, Notley Hall, the Katherine Naylor privy, Oyster Street in Old Portsmith, Bolingbroke Castle, Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, the steam boat Bertrand, free black tenant farms in Delaware and many others.
Despite this impressive amount of contextual material, this work is still at heart a guide to interpreting a particular class of material culture. As this is the case, a reader might have hoped for more illustrations and photos of the material under study. Findings does provide illustrations demonstrating the landmark terminology for each type of object, but this reviewer would have preferred to see a much greater volume of material illustrated. It would have been nice to see a number of photos and illustrations to match the breadth of the textual examples, but this is probably beyond the ability (or at least the desire) of most publishers. Overall, this is a small flaw in a remarkable work.
In summary, Mary Beaudry has written a book that will be a great source of not only identifying sewing-related objects, but also interpreting them. This aspect sets Findings apart from many other volumes relating to material culture and makes it a striking model for guides to the many other types of small finds that could be similarly contextually situated.
Summary of Findings: The Material Culture of Needlework and Sewing
Mary C. Beaudry mines archaeological findings of sewing and needlework to discover what these small traces of female experience reveal about the societies and cultures in which they were used. Beaudry’s geographical and chronological scope is broad: she examines sites in the United States and Great Britain, as well as Australia and Canada, and she ranges from the Middle Ages through the Industrial Revolution.
The author describes the social and cultural significance of “findings”: pins, needles, thimbles, scissors, and other sewing accessories and tools. Through the fascinating stories that grow out of these findings, Beaudry shows the extent to which such “small things” were deeply entrenched in the construction of gender, personal identity, and social class.
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