Wednesday, January 27, 2010
This talk presents an interdisciplinary study of a mid-18th-century Newport woman—widow and shopkeeper Elizabeth Pratt. Widow Pratt’s home is now part of the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard historic and archaeological site, owned by the Newport Historical Society.
Thousands of excavated artifact fragments and documentary evidence from merchant and court records provide an intimate perspective on the Pratt household’s material world and daily activities. Pratt lived during a time when Newporters of all social stations were united by new consumer possibilities, economic opportunities, and social uncertainties. The Consumer Revolution brought mass production and mass markets. People all over the British Empire shared in a burgeoning World of Goods, especially in urban trading centers like Newport. Shop keeping was a new opportunity for literally and figuratively fashioning identities, relationships, and values. Trading transformed Pratt’s life and her social relationships, as it transformed her broader world.
This program has been generously sponsored by the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.
Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Time: 6:00pm – 7:30pm
Location: Colony House, Washington Square, Newport, RI