Findings : the material culture of needlework and sewing / Mary C. Beaudry.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beaudry, Mary Carolyn, 1950-2020.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pins and needles--History.

Pins and needles.

Sewing--Equipment and supplies--History.

Sewing.

Needlework--Equipment and supplies--History.

Needlework.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 237 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, c2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Introduction: Small finds, big histories

The lowly pin

The needle : 'an important little article'

The ubiquitous and occasionally ordinary thimble

Shears and scissors

Findings : notions, accessories, and the artifacts of textile production

Stitching together the evidence.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-226) and index.

ISBN:

0-300-13480-0

OCLC:

614480516