Sources for Consumer and Material Culture
- Ad*Access @ Duke University LibrariesThe Ad*Access Project presents images and information for 7,000+ advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955.
- Alice Marshall Women's History Collection - Advertising Trade Cards
Housed in Archives and Special Collections at the Penn State Harrisburg Library, the trade cards showcase the 19th- and 20th-century woman as an entrepreneur and were used as early forms of advertising in America to promote not only goods but also services. This digital collection is a useful primary resource for students and researchers in numerous fields including American Studies, women's studies, advertising and business history, and the visual arts.
- ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new windowArchiveGrid includes over 5 million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,000 different archival institutions represented, ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies.
- Emergence of Advertising in America (1850-1920) @ Duke University LibrariesThis online collection presents over 3,300 items relating to the early history of advertising in the United States. The materials, drawn from the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University, provide a significant and informative perspective on the early evolution of this most ubiquitous feature of modern American business and culture.
- Trade Catalogues and the American Home This link opens in a new windowExplore domestic consumerism, life and leisure in America between 1850-1950 with Trade Catalogues and the American Home. This resource presents a wealth of highly illustrated primary source documents that highlight commercial tastes and consumer trends, and provide a valuable visual record for a breadth of interdisciplinary study.
- Catalog (Penn State University Libraries catalog) This link opens in a new windowThis is the online catalog of materials owned by Penn State Libraries. All formats (books, journals, audiovisuals, maps, recordings, etc.) are included. Circulation status for individual items is also provided. Coverage: Presently contains about 7 million records.
- Resources in the American Folklife Center (AFC)The American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress has numerous collections that relate to the topic of material culture. Search the online catalog for "material culture" in the AFC Reference Collection to find books about various objects.
- America: History & Life with Full Text This link opens in a new windowSearch for articles on all aspects of the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Articles from national, state and local historical journals are covered, as well as historical articles in major humanities and social science journals.
- American Studies Journals: A Directory of Worldwide ResourcesCreated in October 2006, this website provides scholars with the latest research published in American studies journals throughout the world. Organized by the International Initiative of the American Studies Association and funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, this site is the outcome of a collaboration between 31 journal editors in 17 countries.
- Anthropology Plus This link opens in a new windowWorld's most comprehensive index for research in the fields of social, cultural, physical, biological, and linguistic anthropology, ethnology, archaeology, folklore, and material culture.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowJSTOR is a not-for-profit organization that provides a trusted archive of important scholarly journals and a selection of scholarly books. Content in JSTOR spans many disciplines, primarily in the humanities and social sciences.
- Consumer ReportsConsumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit member organization that works side by side with consumers for truth, transparency, and fairness in the marketplace.
- eBay.comeBay Inc. is a global commerce leader that connects millions of buyers and sellers around the world.
- Etsy.comEtsy is the global marketplace for unique and creative goods.
- Martha Stewart.com and Martha Stewart LivingMartha Stewart Living women's lifestyle magazine and other Martha Stewart branded publications have been an essential in the homes of women since her first book was published in 1982. Martha Stewart Living magazine subscriptions offer articles and features on a wide range of topics that interest women including home improvement and decorating, beauty, entertaining and parties, holiday celebrations, food and cooking, DIY projects, crafting and more.
- Pinterest.comPinterest is an American image sharing and social media service designed to enable saving and discovery of information on the World Wide Web using images and, on a smaller scale, GIFs and videos, in the form of pinboards.
- Vogue MagazineVogue is an American monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine covering many topics, including fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway, based in New York City. Vogue began as a weekly newspaper, first published based in New York City in 1892 in the United States, before becoming a monthly publication years later.
- Encyclopedia of American Studies This link opens in a new windowThe Encyclopedia of American Studies provides interdisciplinary coverage of the American experience, from pre-colonial days to the present. Over 660 articles cover areas such as history, literature, art, photography, film, architecture, urban studies, ethnicity, race, gender, economics, politics, wars, consumer culture, and global America.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) This link opens in a new windowA collection of over 1000 reference resources.
- Association for Consumer Research (ACR)Founded in 1969, the Association for Consumer Research (ACR) was established by a group of consumer behavior researchers whose informal meeting led to the vision of a yearly conference devoted to the study of consumer behavior. Today, ACR’s mission is to advance consumer research and facilitate the exchange of scholarly information among members of academia, industry, and government worldwide.
- Popular Culture Association (PCA)The Popular Culture Association (PCA), formerly known as the Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association, promotes the study of popular culture throughout the world through the establishment and promotion of conferences, publications, and discussion. PCA publishes the Journal of Popular Culture, which is a peer-reviewed journal and the official publication of the Popular Culture Association. PCA also issues the Journal of American Culture that combines studies of American literature, history, and the arts, with studies of the popular, the taken-for-granted, and the ordinary pieces of American life, to produce analyses of American culture with a breadth and holism lacking in traditional American studies.