Americana Insights presents the latest research and discoveries on traditional American folk art and material culture. Groundbreaking essays by leading scholars provide a wealth of new insights on a wide array of artistic traditions, covering a broad geographic area—including New England, the mid-Atlantic, South, and Midwest—and spanning the colonial era to early twentieth century. Together, these essays bring depth and color to our understanding of the diverse American experience. This is the only interdisciplinary publication devoted exclusively to traditional Americana and folk art.

In this second volume, the authors explore the varied makers and materials of early Americana and folk art. They delve into the history and craft of Cherokee rivercane basket weaving traditions and the life and work of understudied folk artists such as the New England portraitist Sturtevant J. Hamblin and the German immigrant Charles C. Hofmann. Venturing out to sea, another essay examines displays of early Americana on mid-twentieth-century ocean liners, which became floating museums of American history. Other essays examine a French American sampler, Pennsylvania German fraktur, carousel carvings, quilts, and gameboards. Each essay offers a fresh perspective on American creativity and ingenuity, taking readers on a journey through the art and artifacts of early America.

Contributors: Trevor Brandt, Paul S. D’Ambrosio, Tobin Fraley, Emelie Gevalt, Christopher Malone, Richard Miller, Matthew E. Monk, Amelia Peck, Christian Roden, Cynthia V. A. Schaffner, Eileen M. Smiles, Jennifer M. Swope