- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Research Guides
- Art
- Material Culture Research
- Investigating Things
Material Culture Research : Investigating Things
Librarian
Encyclopedias
Grove Art Online (contained within Oxford Art Online). Extensive art encyclopedia provides historical context and bibliography. Search, e.g.: Norway, Vernacular Art, stereoscop*, dolls.
PRINT: The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Homes Through American History
Merchandise
Possible primary sources: historical merchandise catalogs, advertisements in magazines or newspapers
- EXAMPLE: Sears catalogs (available on campus).
- EXAMPLE: Towle Mfg. Co., Georgian: a pattern of spoons... (available via Internet Archive)
- French Peddler's Trade Catalog, ca. 1806-13 (Winterthur Museum).
- World's Fair exhibition catalogs (1851, 1867, 1876).
- American Periodicals Series Online (Colonial times to mid-20c)
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune (1849-1990).
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers: New York Times (1851-2009).
- Women's Magazine Archive
- Life Photo Archive (hosted by Google). Add source:life to Google search terms.
Handmade
Possible primary sources: Patterns, instruction books, do-it-yourself guides in popular magazines
Search the Library Catalog.
- Example of 19th century crochet patterns
- Example of 19th century Victorian furniture patterns (reprinted)
Search Google Books, HathiTrust, Internet Archive
- Example from Google Books: Upholstery: with numerous engravings and diagrams (1904)
- Example from HathiTrust: Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine (1850-60's)
- Example from Internet Archive: Practical Sheet Metal Work and Demonstrated Patterns (1910)
Letters and diaries
Possible primary sources: historical letters and diaries
Images of comparable objects
Possible image sources for comparative objects: Licensed image databases, museum collections online, historical photographs.
- ARTstor.
- AP Images.
- Wisconsin Historical Society, online collections.
- Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database.
- NYPL Digital Collections. Digitized prints, photographs, maps, archival materials, more.
- NY Historical Society Museum Collections
- Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Online Collection.
- Smithsonian Collections.
- Smithsonian/National Museum of American History Collections.
- Mercer Museum
- Vesterheim: Norwegian-American Museum and Heritage Center. (look for museums focusing on the type of object or cultural heritage you are researching).
- Wisconsin Veterans Museum.
secondary sources
Possible secondary sources: Books, journal articles, dissertations, conference papers, and every form of scholarly communication may provide research findings compiled by other scholars. Search broadly. Also look at footnotes and bibliography to discover the original sources the author consulted.
- UW-Madison Library Catalog, advanced search. Use "publication year" to limit to publications contemporary to your object.
- WorldCat (FirstSearch). Search across 70,000 libraries for materials to ILL.
- Art Full Text (1984-present).
- Art Index Retrospective (1929-1984).
- ARTbibliographies Modern.
- ProQuest: Arts Search. Search across a diverse set of arts and humanities databases, dissertations, historical runs of popular magazines, ebooks, more.
- JSTOR.
- America: History and Life.
- Readers' Guide Retrospective (1890-1982).
- Design and Applied Arts Index.
- ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
- Browse databases by subject/format.
- Browse research guides by subject.
Materials
Search for identification guides and historical overviews, such as
- example (fabrics): Silk Designs of the Eighteenth Century
- example (fabrics): Forties Fabrics
- example (wood): Furniture Woods
- example (wood): The Woodbook