Print materials can also be considered material culture as they are items where culture has manifested into a physical form. Studying print as material culture is different from typical archival research, where print materials are read for their textual contents. In studying print materials as material culture, we can about aspects of society and culture which would not have been written down because of their mundane presence in people's lives. Additionally, we can learn more about the lives print materials and their histories such as intended users, intended uses, and how they were actually utilized in the past.
What more can we learn from books outside from reading their textual contents?
Through material culture studies, books can also be studied as objects. Studying books as objects can tell us about their previous uses, the contexts they were involved in/intended for, and the experiences of previous readers. The experience of looking at old editions of books in person is different from viewing digital facsimiles or modern editions and by examining and analyzing the physical properties and condition of a book, we can learn more about its history and the practices around it.
All types of print materials can be considered material culture, but books can often be dominate in the archives. However, the Rubenstein Library holds much more than books, manuscripts, and journals. Here are some of the online finding aids for collections containing that contain non-book examples of print materials which can be studied as material culture.
World's Finest Comics, no. 11 (Autumn 1943), from the Edwin and Terry Murray Collection of Pulp Culture, 1940-2001.
Crackers + Honey, 2000?-2002?, from the Karissa Cove Zine Collection
First page of the Chronicle, November 20, 1931, from the Duke Chronicle
S. S. White Dental Manufacturing Co. tooth powder ad, 1918, from the Ad*Access Collection
Here are some additional Duke resources for researching and understanding non-book print materials.
