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NONFICTION: 'The Smithsonian's History of America in 101 Objects,' by Richard Kurin

From Abe Lincoln's hat to Louis Armstrong's trumpet, this book celebrates the objects in America's attic that represent our history and culture.

For the Minnesota Star Tribune
December 21, 2013 at 9:35PM
(Colleen Kelly/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

In 2011, as she listened to an 1880s recording of Alexander Graham Bell reciting "Mary Had a Little Lamb," Carlene Stephens, a curator at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., exclaimed, "This stuff makes the hair stand up on the back on my neck. It's the past speaking directly to us in a way we haven't heard before."

The Smithsonian Institution has a whole lot of "this stuff." And much of it does, indeed, allow the past to speak directly to us. In this beautifully illustrated book, Richard Kurin, undersecretary for art, history and culture at the Smithsonian, uses 101 objects from the institution's vast collections to illuminate four thematic strands that recur throughout American history: America the beautiful and bountiful; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; discovery, innovation and creativity, and diversity in our nation of nations. And Kurin provides an engaging way to enhance our knowledge of — and emotional connection to — our nation's past.

Kurin does not stray far from conventional wisdom. Many of his objects (such as "A Portrait, Said to Christopher Columbus," a shawl given by Queen Victoria to Harriet Tubman at the end of her life, and the furniture at Appomattox courthouse on the day Robert E. Lee surrendered) are little more than artifacts associated with an individual or an event that provide an occasion for a narrative about it.

A few objects, however, allow readers to sense what "it was like" for preceding generations of Americans. A pair of shackles, found on a compound off the coast of Dakar, in West Africa, Kurin reveals, were so small that the slave trapped in it walked around with the flesh of his or her legs raw and bloody because the metal rubbed against them. Passengers in Conestoga Wagons, Kurin points out, rarely rode inside them. They walked alongside the wagons, often traveling 10 or 15 miles a day. And the short-handled hoe, he indicates, enabled farm laborers to work efficiently, but forced them to bend — and suffer chronic back pain and spasms.

Several objects evoke emotional responses. To see the flag that flew over Fort McHenry when Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star Spangled Banner," visitors to the Smithsonian walk down a darkened hallway, pass charred remains of James Madison's presidential mansion, burned during the War of 1812, and a rocket and bomb from the British attack. Then they turn a corner, feel the light simulating dawn, and get their first glimpse of the now threadbare flag. Every time Kurin sees it he gets chills. Kurin's response is quite typical, no doubt, even, I suspect, among some people for whom America has been less than beautiful or bountiful.

Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies at Cornell University.


The Smithsonian's History of America in 101 Objects by Richard Kurin
The Smithsonian's History of America in 101 Objects by Richard Kurin (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Richard Kurin. Photo by Hugh Talman.
Richard Kurin. Photo by Hugh Talman. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Brass trumpet owned by Louis Armstrong, signed "Henri Selmer Paris DŽposŽ Grands Prix GenŽve 1927 Liege 1930 H. Selmer 4 Place Dancourt PARIS Made in France" "Louis Armstrong" Mouthpiece engraved: "Mt. Vernon N.Y. 7E VINCE"; Object Number Trumpet TR2008-32.1; mouthpiece TR2008-32.2
Brass trumpet owned by Louis Armstrong, signed "Henri Selmer Paris DŽposŽ Grands Prix GenŽve 1927 Liege 1930 H. Selmer 4 Place Dancourt PARIS Made in France" "Louis Armstrong" Mouthpiece engraved: "Mt. Vernon N.Y. 7E VINCE"; Object Number Trumpet TR2008-32.1; mouthpiece TR2008-32.2 (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Smithsonian Collections. Neil Armstrong's Apollo space suit
Objects from the Smithsonian Collections that represent the history of the United States include (clockwise, from left): Neil Armstrong’s Apollo spacesuit, President Lincoln’s stovepipe hat, an American Indian copper piece from Georgia, Louis Armstrong’s trumpet, a baseball signed by Babe Ruth and the Hope Diamond. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Baseball, autographed by Babe Ruth. 1993.0460.01.
Baseball, autographed by Babe Ruth. 1993.0460.01. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Smithsonian Collections. Hope Diamond
Smithsonian Collections. Hope Diamond (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Copper Repousse, winged dancer, Rogan Plate, Etowah site, Bartow County, Georgia, A091117
Copper Repousse, winged dancer, Rogan Plate, Etowah site, Bartow County, Georgia, A091117 (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Smithsonian Collections. Lincoln's hat.
Smithsonian Collections. Lincoln's hat. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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GLENN C. ALTSCHULER

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