Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 8.03 Mass Media
Presentation #1 Title
Eye On Appalachia: Portrayals of the Mountain South in American Mass-Produced Woodcut Relief Prints, c.1870-1890
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
After the Civil War, the technology for mass production of images developed rapidly in America, far surpassing that employed in Europe. The result was a period of twenty or so years -- roughly between 1870 and 1890 -- during which there emerged a large body of woodcut images that circulated widely, in illustrated monthly magazines, and in books and subscribtion series. This twenty year period corresponds roughly to the period now known as the Gilded Age, during which time the mountain south emerged as a distinct region in the national consciousness. So it is not surprising that this body of work includes many images of the mountain south. These images in turn include visual tropes that would come to define what we now know as Appalachia to the nation, including the shoeless mountain folk; the Snuffy Smith style shack, perched at the top of the impossibly sloping mountain farm; and the dramatic images of sweeping and sublime wild mountain landscapes. Some of the individual images are familiar to students of Appalachian Studies. However, most readers and scholars don't know that they are part of a large, coherent body of work. For a presentation at the ASA, I plan a slide show and discussion of this body of work. My slides will include many striking images. I plan to discuss these in the context of the emerging image-reproduction technology, and the culture of printers and publishers, which gave rise to them.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Kevin E. O'Donnell is Professor of English in the Department of Literature and Language at East TN State, and is Director of the Environmental Studies minor there.
Eye On Appalachia: Portrayals of the Mountain South in American Mass-Produced Woodcut Relief Prints, c.1870-1890
After the Civil War, the technology for mass production of images developed rapidly in America, far surpassing that employed in Europe. The result was a period of twenty or so years -- roughly between 1870 and 1890 -- during which there emerged a large body of woodcut images that circulated widely, in illustrated monthly magazines, and in books and subscribtion series. This twenty year period corresponds roughly to the period now known as the Gilded Age, during which time the mountain south emerged as a distinct region in the national consciousness. So it is not surprising that this body of work includes many images of the mountain south. These images in turn include visual tropes that would come to define what we now know as Appalachia to the nation, including the shoeless mountain folk; the Snuffy Smith style shack, perched at the top of the impossibly sloping mountain farm; and the dramatic images of sweeping and sublime wild mountain landscapes. Some of the individual images are familiar to students of Appalachian Studies. However, most readers and scholars don't know that they are part of a large, coherent body of work. For a presentation at the ASA, I plan a slide show and discussion of this body of work. My slides will include many striking images. I plan to discuss these in the context of the emerging image-reproduction technology, and the culture of printers and publishers, which gave rise to them.
