Consumer Culture in Rural America
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Schlereth, Thomas J. “Country Stores, County Fairs, and Mail Order Catalogs: Consumption in Rural America,” in Simon J. Bronner, ed., Consuming Visions: Accumulation and Display of Goods in America 1880-1920. New York: Norton, 1989.
Traces the growth of a rural consumer culture in the United States between 1880 and 1920. According to Schlereth, there existed an earlier tradition of consumption in rural areas and there was not a “revolution” in rural consumption during this period, although the level and scope did rise noticeably. Rural Americans increasingly purchased more and more goods that they previously made at home or did without. This trend can be explained by increasing rural populations, innovations in transportation and communication, the rise of a rural press and mail delivery, an increase in discretionary income. Moreover, rural Americans were no different than their urban counterparts in their desire for the material comforts of modern life, or a “middle class consciousness.” The essay also traces changes in product availability and display in rural general stores, the rise of national brand-name advertising, and the widespread use and popularity of mail order catalogs.
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Wenger, Diane E. “Delivering the Goods: The Country Storekeeper and Inland Commerce in the Mid-Atlantic.” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 129 (January 2005): 45-72.
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