Hobbies : leisure and the culture of work in America / Steven M. Gelber.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gelber, Steven M.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hobbies--Social aspects--United States.

Hobbies.

Leisure--Social aspects--United States.

Leisure.

Hobbies--United States--History.

Industries--Social aspects--United States--History.

Industries.

Social change--United States.

Social change.

Industries--Social aspects.

History.

Leisure--Social aspects.

Hobbies--Social aspects.

United States.

Physical Description:

xi, 374 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, [1999]

Summary:

Why do we fill our leisure time with the activities we do? And what do our hobbies say about our culture? Gelber traces the history of hobbies from the mid-nineteenth century through the 1950s, demonstrating that, although they are touted as a break from work, hobbies actually reflect the values of the workplace.

Contents:

Introduction: Context and Theory 1

Section 1. Hobbies as a Category

1. Occupations for Free Time 23

Section 2. Collecting

2. The Collectible Object 59

3. Collectors 78

4. Constructing a Collector's Market 107

5. Deconstructing a Collector's Market 129

Section 3. Handicrafts

6. Crafts, Tools, and Gender in the Nineteenth Century 155

7. Expanding the Boundaries of Crafts 193

8. Home Crafts in Hard Times 224

9. Kits: Assembly as Craft 255

10. Do-It-Yourself: Expected Leisure 268.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [301]-362) and index.

ISBN:

0231113927

0231113935

OCLC:

40339024