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Before Amazon: Mail Order in Appalachia

A virtual exhibit exploring mail order in Appalachia through the Artifacts in the Appalachian Artifacts Teaching Collection

In rural Appalachia, like all of rural America, the advent of mail order shopping was hugely impactful.  Evidence is found in the array of things people owned and used—the material culture of Appalachia.  Below is a selection of mail order objects found in our Appalachian Artifacts Teaching Collection.

The "Ideal" Re- & De-Capper for Shotgun Shells

This shotgun shell loading equipment was owned by James O. Evans (1877-1968), a farmer in Clark Co., Kentucky.  It is part of a set of equipment owned by Evans that allowed him to manufacture his own shotgun shells.  It is artifact number 1984.1.3 in the Evans Collection.  The ad is from the 1902 Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogue

 

Carriage Lamp

This carriage lamp is from an unknown household in the Great Smoky Mountains near Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  It made light by burning kerosene and fit into standardized mounts built into commercially made carriages.   It is artifact number 1969.1.889 in the Edna Lynn Simms Collection.  The ad is from the 1902 Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogue.

 

Lamp Shade Holder

This lamp shade hardware is from eastern Kentucky. It was used to hold a lamp glass or tin lampshade to an electric light bulb socket.  It is artifact number 1997.26.1 in the collection. The ad is from the 190s Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogue:

 

About this Virtual Exhibit

This virtual exhibit is based on the curatorial work of Student Curatorial Associates Shadia Prater ('17) and Kathryn Dunn ('17) with assistance from Leander Keim ('19), Magenta Palo ('20), and Aero Erwin. Significant revisions were made during spring 2020 by supervisory curator Christopher Miller. 

LJAC Artifacts, Exhibits & Studio

This guide is maintained by the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center's Artifacts, Exhibits & Media Studio. 

The studio curates and provides access to the 3D artifact collections, produces exhibitions, and creates media to support the work of LJAC. To learn more about the studio, experience more of our creations, and explore the artifact collections, use the links below. Much of the work is done by Berea College students. The supervisory curator is Christopher Miller.