The antiques trade in transition: collecting and dealing decorative arts of the Old South
| Author(s) | Rhodes, Trent | |
| Date Accessioned | 2018-09-11T12:07:00Z | |
| Date Available | 2018-09-11T12:07:00Z | |
| Publication Date | 2018 | |
| SWORD Update | 2018-07-23T22:12:45Z | |
| Abstract | This thesis examines the history of collecting and dealing pre-Civil War objects made in the Old South—Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. It focuses primarily on “high-style” furniture, while an effort has been made to include decorative arts of other mediums where possible. Part One situates the Southern antiques trade within the broader historical context of collecting and dealing antiques in the North. As Northern collectors and dealers were attracted to romantic fictions of the Old South, they capitalized on the regional economic imbalance, purchasing Southern objects for fractions of their value and exporting them to Northern markets. Throughout the period of Northern interest in Southern objects, African Americans were a primary source of their antique supply. Through a series of case studies, Part Two illuminates the history of the early antiques trade in the South, examining the role of a diverse set dealers in developing the field including Morris and Charles Navis, Dianna Brown, J. Franklin Biggs, William O’Hagan, and Dewitt Thurmond Chatham. It also investigates the maturation of Southern collecting and the complex set of motivations that inspired individuals to begin purchasing objects made in the South. As these collectors and dealers were linked with one another by Southern antiques, issues of race, class, place, and identity were brought to the fore of the antiques trade. | en_US |
| Advisor | Savage, J. Thomas | |
| Degree | M.A. | |
| Program | University of Delaware, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture | |
| Unique Identifier | 1051299390 | |
| URL | http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/23777 | |
| Language | en | |
| Publisher | University of Delaware | en_US |
| URI | https://search.proquest.com/docview/2088135971?accountid=10457 | |
| Keywords | Social sciences | en_US |
| Keywords | Collecting | en_US |
| Keywords | Decorative arts | en_US |
| Keywords | Southern antique collectors | en_US |
| Keywords | Southern antique dealers | en_US |
| Keywords | Southern collecting | en_US |
| Title | The antiques trade in transition: collecting and dealing decorative arts of the Old South | en_US |
| Type | Thesis | en_US |