Skyscrapers and sepulchers : a historic ethnography of New Jersey's terra cotta industry / Richard F. Veit Jr.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Microformat

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Veit, Richard F., 1968-

Contributor:

Schuyler, Robert L., 1947- advisor.

University of Pennsylvania.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Penn dissertations--Anthropology.

Anthropology--Penn dissertations.

Local Subjects:

Penn dissertations--Anthropology.

Anthropology--Penn dissertations.

Physical Description:

xv, 360 pages : illustrations ; 29 cm

Production:

1997.

Summary:

Between 1870 and 1930 the "clay district" of New Jersey was the hub of the United States' terra cotta industry. Using a contextual/symbolic approach, this dissertation examines both the development of the industry and its products, and the lives and industrial culture of the people who made terra cotta. This study's primary goal is to understand the distinctive local use of the material in the clay district; particularly in contrast with its commercial use in New York and other urban centers. The development of the industry, the tension between craft and mass production, and the varied ethnic backgrounds of the terra cotta workers are also discussed. When the terra cotta buildings, gravemarkers, statuary, and factories are viewed in context it is possible to examine how both the capitalist factory owners and the historically voiceless workers used this plastic medium to communicate a variety of messages regarding the lives, skills, and worldviews. By examining the multiple discourses embodied in these artifacts in conjunction with documents, photographs, and oral sources a unique perspective on turn-of-the century industrialism emerges one which neither artifacts nor documents alone could provide.

Notes:

Supervisor: Robert L. Schuyler.

Thesis (Ph.D. in Anthropology) -- University of Pennsylvania, 1997.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

University Microfilms order no.: 98-14923.

OCLC:

187457705