Lightner Museum Case Study
Danielle Burbank
Dr. Lee
LC22 ANT201
23 February 2017
The Lightner Museum: A Window into the Gilded Age
The Lightner Museum in St. Augustine contains several exhibits that accurately reflect American culture in its Gilded Age. From stained glass windows to rusted railroad tracks, this brilliant museum offers a window into late 19th to early 20th century American lifestyle. Museums and their artifacts are often used as resources to ethnographic research, which is what our classroom attempted to do at Lightner. After looking into five objects of assorted dates and materials, we were able to make educated inferences, later backed up by additional research, about America’s Gilded Age and the people who collected these objects. The …show more content…
The introduction of communication technology is reflected in the third object, one of the Lightner Museum’s oldest typewriters. Manufactured by Underwood & Company in early 20th Century America, the museum’s black and gold metal Underwood No. 5 was the leading model during its time. In order to expand, big businesses used typewriters such as the Underwood No. 5 to retain company records and quickly process paperwork. (Smithsonian). Communication technologies such as this were of vital importance to big corporations in the Gilded Age, and helped contribute to the 400% economic increase between 1860 and 1900. New transportation technologies also helped contribute to America’s economic prosperity. (Shmoop). The fourth object, Lightner Museum’s exhibition of a late 19th century Floridian narrow gage railroad track, gives an indication of the railroad system’s importance at the time. Short-line railroad companies in the area used various sized metal railroad tracks until standard gage tracks were introduced. The old track, rusted and brown, was originally used by Henry Flagler to reinforce the walls of the Alcazar until it was salvaged by the museum in 1991. Railroad transportation was of particular relevance in the Gilded Age as America expanded westward. America's railroads grew from 35,000 to 242,000 in the span of 40 years. (Shmoop). The expansion of these railroad tracks, as well as the invention of new communication systems, enabled America to take over the west as well as interconnect businesses and goods throughout the
Dr. Lee
LC22 ANT201
23 February 2017
The Lightner Museum: A Window into the Gilded Age
The Lightner Museum in St. Augustine contains several exhibits that accurately reflect American culture in its Gilded Age. From stained glass windows to rusted railroad tracks, this brilliant museum offers a window into late 19th to early 20th century American lifestyle. Museums and their artifacts are often used as resources to ethnographic research, which is what our classroom attempted to do at Lightner. After looking into five objects of assorted dates and materials, we were able to make educated inferences, later backed up by additional research, about America’s Gilded Age and the people who collected these objects. The …show more content…
The introduction of communication technology is reflected in the third object, one of the Lightner Museum’s oldest typewriters. Manufactured by Underwood & Company in early 20th Century America, the museum’s black and gold metal Underwood No. 5 was the leading model during its time. In order to expand, big businesses used typewriters such as the Underwood No. 5 to retain company records and quickly process paperwork. (Smithsonian). Communication technologies such as this were of vital importance to big corporations in the Gilded Age, and helped contribute to the 400% economic increase between 1860 and 1900. New transportation technologies also helped contribute to America’s economic prosperity. (Shmoop). The fourth object, Lightner Museum’s exhibition of a late 19th century Floridian narrow gage railroad track, gives an indication of the railroad system’s importance at the time. Short-line railroad companies in the area used various sized metal railroad tracks until standard gage tracks were introduced. The old track, rusted and brown, was originally used by Henry Flagler to reinforce the walls of the Alcazar until it was salvaged by the museum in 1991. Railroad transportation was of particular relevance in the Gilded Age as America expanded westward. America's railroads grew from 35,000 to 242,000 in the span of 40 years. (Shmoop). The expansion of these railroad tracks, as well as the invention of new communication systems, enabled America to take over the west as well as interconnect businesses and goods throughout the