What is folk culture? What distinguishes true folk creations from the
cultural hybrids of commerce and popular innovation? To clarify this
muddled situation and to provide clear standards and visual examples for
the study and appreciation of a broad range of objects, Henry Glassie
has written this detailed examination of material folk culture in the
United States. He isolates American material culture--that segment of
our culture that embodies the people's plans, methods, and reasons for
producing things that can be seen and touched--and discusses methods for
determining whether an object is truly folk--as opposed, say, to merely
popular--by examining its form, construction, and use.
The book represents the first attempt to compare different kinds of
material folk culture, including architecture, tools, and cookery, to
detect common patterns and, in doing so, challenges conventional views
of both folk culture and American culture.