13. The American Antiquarian Society donation book, which was organized chronologically, often interspersed listings of material acquisitions and textual donations. This detail of a page from 1832 registers several Native objects from the Algonquian Northeast: an ax and chisel from western Massachusetts, a gouge from Worcester, and an ax from Sutton. The entries included little detailed provenance data or physical descriptions of the objects, making it difficult to reconstruct their specific historical and geographical contexts or communities of origin. The entries highlighted Euro-American donors such as Jacob Porter, George Trumbull Jr., and Josiah Hall, registering and honoring their contributions to the Society’s growing cabinet. Given the paucity of information, it is difficult to know the precise circumstances under which these donors acquired these Indigenous objects.
Welcome to Commonplace, a destination for exploring and exchanging ideas about early American history and culture. A bit less formal than a scholarly journal, a bit more scholarly than a popular magazine, Commonplace speaks—and listens—to scholars, museum curators, teachers, hobbyists, and just about anyone interested in American history before 1900. It is for all sorts of people to read about all sorts of things relating to early American life—from architecture to literature, from politics to parlor manners. It’s a place to find insightful analysis of early American history as it is discussed in scholarly literature, as it manifests on the evening news, as it is curated in museums, big and small; as it is performed in documentary and dramatic films and as it shows up in everyday life.
In addition to critical evaluations of books and websites (Reviews) and poetic research and fiction (Creative Writing), our articles explore material and visual culture (Objects); pedagogy, the writing of literary scholarship, and the historian’s craft (Teach); and diverse aspects of America’s past and its many peoples (Learn). For more great content, check out our other projects, (Just Teach One) and (Just Teach One African American Print).
How to cite Commonplace articles:
Author, “Title of Article,” Commonplace: the journal of early American life, date accessed, URL.
Sophie White, “Trading Looks Race, Religion and Dress in French America,” Commonplace: the journal of early American life, accessed September 30, 2019, https://commonplace.online/article/trading-looks-race-religion-dress-french-america/
Joshua R. Greenberg, editor
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