The Golden Age of Homespun
by Jared Van Wagenen
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Description
"You have seen neglected oxbows, but what do you know of their making or of the training of a yoke of oxen?... What do you know of the rambling shoemakers who came to a farmhouse and stayed until each member of the family was newly shod with leather from the farm's cattle? Have you ever wondered about the processes by which our frontiersmen translated forest land into fields of wheat? What do you know about those two first crops of the pioneers, ashes and maple sugar? What do you know of log show more houses, of shingle making, bridges, and flax growing, of spinning and weaving cloth for a garment that was homegrown and homemade? Here is folk history, the accumulated memory of old men and women whom the author knew,... memories he has substantiated by a lifetime of research."-from the Foreword by Louis C. JonesThe Golden Age of Homespun chronicles the occupations, handicrafts, and traditions that defined rural life in upstate New York-and throughout much of America-in the first half of the nineteenth century. First published in 1953, it is an engaging and affectionate account of how land was cleared, farms established, and homes built; of how each family fed, clothed, and warmed itself; and of the trades, crafts, and industries that augmented a primarily agrarian economy. Illustrated with 45 delightful line drawings that depict the activities and implements described by Jared van Wagenen, Jr., The Golden Age of Homespun is an invaluable record of how upstate New York farmers lived on and off the land in the decades before the Civil War-a vanished way of life that still holds strong appeal in the American imagination. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Pretty good read. Dude was a living bridge between the pre-machine age and the modern world, and he covered a lot of ground here- but was little light on details which I guess is reasonable given that he was a tiny kid when the last flax left his granny's wheel. Certainly a worthwhile read if you like Edmund Morris or even Wendell Berry but not much in the way of a farm manual.
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Author Information
4 Works 44 Members
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Golden Age of Homespun
- Original publication date
- 1953
- Important places
- New York, USA
- Dedication
- FOR MAGDALENA, wife of my youth and of my sunset years
- First words
- To ask what, when, and where was the "homespun age" and what was the fashion of its appearance is surely a proper inquiry.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)In any case, it supports one of my favorite contentions--that the homespun age nourished many splendid qualities of heart and brain.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 41
- Popularity
- 717,795
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.25)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 4
