List Price: $17.95

Tags: Arts & Photography, General,

Book Description:
...an important contribution to the historiography of race and race relations in America...provides a useful and thought-provoking examination of black collectibles as a window into a century of racial and racist perceptions...- Patricia Morton. "Mammy and Uncle Mose" examines the production and consumption of black collectibles and memorabilia from the 1880s to the late 1950s. Black collectibles and objects made in or with the image of a black person were everyday items such as advertising cards, housewares (salt and pepper shakers, cookie jars, spoon rests, etc.), toys and games, postcards, souvenirs, and decorative knick-knacks. These objects were almost universally derogatory, with racially exaggerated features that helped "prove" that African Americans were "different" and "inferior." These items of material culture gave a physical reality to ideas of racial inferiority. They were props that helped reinforce the "new" racist ideology that began emerging after reconstruction. From the 1880s to the 1930s, black people were portrayed as very dark, bug-eyed, nappy-headed, childlike, stupid, lazy, deferential but happy happy! From the 1930s to the late 1950s, racial attitudes began to relax. African Americans, while still portrayed as happy servants, had "brighter" skin tones, and images of black women were slimmed down. As the nation changed, the image created of black people by white people changed. Black collectibles are a window into American history.