An essential—and monumental—member of the Sonoran Desert ecosystem, the saguaro cactus has become the quintessential icon of the American West. In the Arms of the Saguaros shows how, from the botanical explorers of the nineteenth century to the tourism boosters in our own time, saguaros and their images have fulfilled attention-getting needs and expectations. Through text and lavish images, this work explores the saguaro’s growth into a western icon from the early days of the American railroad to the years bracketing World War II, when Sun Belt boosterism hit its zenith and proponents of tourism succeed in moving the saguaro to the center of the promotional frame. This book explores how the growth of tourism brought the saguaro to ever-larger audiences through the proliferation of western-themed imagery on the American roadside. The history of the saguaro’s popular and highly imaginative range points to the current moment in which the saguaro touches us as a global icon in art, fashion, and entertainment.
Buried within the collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History exists an astonishing group of historical relics from the pre-Revolutionary War era to the present day, many of which have never been on display. Donated to the museum by generations of souvenir collectors, these ordinary objects of extraordinary circumstance all have amazing tales to tell about their roles in American history. Souvenir Nation presents fifty of the museum's most eccentric items. Objects include a chunk broken off Plymouth Rock; a lock of Andrew Jackson's hair; a dish towel used as the flag of truce to end the Civil War; the microphones used by FDR for his Fireside Chats; and the chairs that seated Nixon and Kennedy in their 1960 television debate.
Delight in the cultural aspects of Latin America by observing the objects that give life to history Latin American Cultural Objects and Episodesprovides readers with an eclectic and fascinating exploration of Latin American history through the examination of physical objects. Distinguished author and Professor William H. Beezley takes readers on a journey that includes objects used music and visual media, such as movies, documentaries, and television. Forming an integral part of the history they represent, the objects described in this book tell the tale of the little known or neglected part of Latin American history. While most historical authors and researchers focus on the political and economic life of Latin America, this author uses the objects he highlights to explain and illuminate the daily lives of the Latin American peoples and the legacies that they share. Forming an essential part of a comprehensive understanding of Latin American history, the book includes discussions and explorations of: How objects have transformed and shaped the cultures of Latin America over the years Unusual and interesting objects serendipitously discovered by a variety of researchers and historians Ten chapters, each beginning with an object acting as a synecdoche or metonym that introduces a discussion of Latin American historical life The significance of the objects to particular religious practices, musical traditions, or schools of visual media, such as folk art, film or television Perfect for anyone interested in Latin American life beyond politics and economics, Latin American Cultural Objects and Episodes belongs on the bookshelves of everyone with a curiosity about culture in Latin America as it’s revealed through physical objects.
Better Living": Advertising, Media, and the New Vocabulary of Business Leadership, 1935-1955 is a history of how big business learned to be both entertaining and persuasive when talking to the public. Examining the years from the Depression to postwar prosperity, "Better Living" follows the dissemination of a politically competitive claim of "more," "new," and "better" in industry and in life. Beginning with the changes in business-government relations during the New Deal, this study looks at the ways in which politically active corporations and their leaders learned how to speak - at a time when speaking was not enough." "Using archival sources such as the NBC, Ford Motor Company, DuPont, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt collections, William L. Bird, Jr., establishes the importance of industrial films and their role in public relations and employee relations, as well as the use of dramatic radio productions in corporate public relations. The author examines the interplay between general mass radio and print advertising, radio program sponsorship and scriptwriting, sponsored motion pictures and television entertainment, as well as exhibitions and industrial fairs and the role these media played in shaping ideas about American business and political and cultural institutions in this country for the decades to come." --Book Jacket.
The poster - inexpensive, colorful, and immediate - was an ideal medium for delivering messages about Americans' duties on the home front during World War II. Design for Victory presents more than 150 of these stunning images - many never reproduced since their first issue - culled from the collections of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. William L. Bird, Jr. and Harry R. Rubenstein delve beneath the surface of these colorful graphics, telling the stories behind their production and revealing how posters fulfilled the goals and needs of their creators. The authors describe the history of how specific posters were conceived and received, focusing on the workings of the wartime advertising profession and demonstrating how posters often reflected uneasy relations between labor and management.
An essential—and monumental—member of the Sonoran Desert ecosystem, the saguaro cactus has become the quintessential icon of the American West. In the Arms of the Saguaros shows how, from the botanical explorers of the nineteenth century to the tourism boosters in our own time, saguaros and their images have fulfilled attention-getting needs and expectations. Through text and lavish images, this work explores the saguaro’s growth into a western icon from the early days of the American railroad to the years bracketing World War II, when Sun Belt boosterism hit its zenith and proponents of tourism succeed in moving the saguaro to the center of the promotional frame. This book explores how the growth of tourism brought the saguaro to ever-larger audiences through the proliferation of western-themed imagery on the American roadside. The history of the saguaro’s popular and highly imaginative range points to the current moment in which the saguaro touches us as a global icon in art, fashion, and entertainment.
Have the 1950s been overly romanticized? Beneath the calm, conformist exterior, new ideas and attitudes were percolating. This was the decade of McCarthyism, Levittowns, and men in gray flannel suits, but the 1950s also saw bold architectural styles, the rise of paperback novels and the Beat writers, Cinema Scope and film noir, television variety shows, the Golden Age of the automobile, subliminal advertising, fast food, Frisbees, and silly putty. Meanwhile, teens attained a more prominent role in American culture with hot rods, rock 'n' roll, preppies and greasers, and—gasp—juvenile delinquency. At the same time, a new technological threat, the atom bomb, lurked beneath the surface of the postwar decade. This volume presents a nuanced look at a surprisingly complex time in American popular culture.
Elyria is named for Heman Ely, who in 1817 settled in a strategically located area close to Lake Erie along the picturesque Black River. Historically, Elyria, which became the seat of Lorain County, has been a center of commerce and government while also serving as a market and source of supplies for the surrounding agricultural community. Industrial development has included steel mills, quarries, automobile-related firms, and a wide variety of other manufacturing facilities. Over the years, Broad Street has been an important center of retail and professional activity. For recreation, Elyrias citizens are able to enjoy beautiful parks and recreation facilities.
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