Toys of Depression Era Greenbelt
Daniel Kapust
This, ladies and gentlemen, is my fourth and final project for American
Studies 205. The task was to "use material culture to interpret some
aspect of life in Greenbelt, Maryland". I chose to do a project
concerning children. Why? I like children, and not much history has been
written on them. So, I decided that I would give it a try. Over the next
several minutes, you will explore an exhibit that discusses the impact of
the Great Depression on children, particularly the children of Greenbelt,
as seen through their toys. My belief is that the toys may be viewed
within the context of their consuming culture - namely, inhabitants of
Greenbelt during the
Depression . I will perform analyses of four
children's toys exhibited in the Greenbelt museum with an eye towards
observing the impact of
the consuming culture on them. I
will argue, in the four following analyses, that each object does indeed
reflect its context, as well as the values or ideals of the Greenbelt
community.
Click Here to Look at some Dolls
Click Here to Look at an Ice Skate
Click Here to Look at the Brer Rabbit Book
Click Here to Look at the Mickey Trapeze
Click Here to Look at a Porcelain Doll
Click Here to Look at Doll House Furniture
Click Here to Look at a Toy Soldier
Click Here to Look at a Baseball Glove
Throughout this project, several themes reccur, particularly the
importance of family, women's roles, and recreation in Greenbelt. Thus, I
have provided three links for the viewer to other projects with further
information on these topics:
Kelly's Project on Family in Greenbelt
Dawn's Project on Recreation
Jimmy's Project on the Role of Women in Greenbelt