Exhibit Caption Selections

Having made all the selections, there were a few things that stood out. Universally, I want the caption to tell me something that I cannot say about the object from looking at it. This might be one of those ‘I’ll know it when I see it’ things, but I try to point those moments out in the explanations. I also want the caption to tell me something about the object’s background: when it was made, who made it, or where it came from. Because all of our objects commemorate different things and were made in different times for different reasons this is especially important.

Chelsea
2. A Collector’s Item
During the Bicentennial boom, manufacturers produced America-themed items to market to the patriotic public of the mid-1970s. This McCormick Distilling Company decanter belonged to a set of seven Revolutionary War figurines called the Patriot Series, including: Betsy Ross, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson.

This caption tells me where and when the decanter originated. Also, knowing that this is just one of the set and seeing the list of who else got a decanter makes me imagine what those others look like.

Stephen
2. This commemorative block from the HMS Minden, the ship where Francis Scott Key was believed to have composed The Star Spangled Banner was a high status commemorative object. President Lincoln was known to have had a cane made of the same material.

I like the way that this caption immediately identifies with the object and lets the reader know the object was once part of a ship. The detail about Lincoln is novel and gives readers the impression of how significant this type of object is to people.

Lyell
3.  The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, engraved on this badge worn at a 1941 Elks Lodge convention, took on increasingly symbolic roles leading up to the country’s participation in World War II. Fittingly, the badge eventually entered the collection of the late Manfred Anson, an escapee from Nazi Germany who cherished the values associated with these symbols of freedom.

This caption ties itself together nicely. I like how it goes from symbols-of-freedom, pre-war, during war, then back to symbols-of-freedom. The information related to the collector gives me background I would never get just looking at the object.

Kelsey
1.  This commemorative flag resembled miniature flags sold at Independence Hall in 1898 by Betsy Ross’s granddaughters.  The miniature flags sold at Independence Hall helped raise donations for the preservation of the American Flag house, where it is believed that Betsy Ross created the first American flag during the Revolutionary War. This commemorative flag celebrated the Betsy Ross story and that moment in American women’s history.

I was really torn with this one. I liked #3 and how it references the bicentennial, but ended up choosing this one because I would never get the Betsy Ross connection on my own. I like the way the back-story is more narrative-based. Women are also lacking in all of our objects so we need this one to represent.

Sharron
1.  Taking a drink from this porcelain gem was not even a remote consideration in the 18th century.  This commemorative pitcher was a physical way of memoralizing American Independence.  Crafted in North Staffforshire, England almost exclusively to meet American demand, this symbolic pitcher celebrates both American Independence and the brotherly bond between America’s first President, George Washington and his French protégé Marquis de Lafayette – a bond that lasted until Washington’s death in 1799.

I chose this object because it covers where the object was created. The irony of England manufacturing American goods is not overstated, but also is clear for people who read it and gives them something to muse over while looking at the pitcher.