Object at Hand
About This Book
Dorothy's ruby slippers and the speech that saved Theodore Roosevelt from an assassination attempt are among the items in this reported history of remarkable objects from the Smithsonian's collections. It is aimed at readers interested in American history, popular culture, and museums. Beth Py-Lieberman, a veteran editor at Smithsonian magazine, reworks material from the magazine's long-running coverage and adds interviews with scholars, curators, and historians. The result is a guided walk through the Smithsonian museums that shows the institutions from the inside. Rather than organizing the objects by museum or by date, the author sorts them into themes such as audacity, utopia, haunting, deception, desire, triumph, and playfulness. Each section looks at the emotional life of its objects, how they relate to one another even when they seem to have nothing in common, and where they sit within the larger American story. The range is wide, covering artworks, scientific specimens, historical artifacts, airplanes, spacecraft, plants, and much more. Py-Lieberman offers her own reflections alongside insights and stories from Smithsonian experts, considering what each item says about people and how it has picked up cultural meaning in unexpected ways. The tone is playful and emotionally attentive, giving readers an up-close view of the collections.
ISBN: 9781588347497
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