Food

Part of a nation's history lies in what people eat. Artifacts at the Museum document the history of food in the United States from farm machinery to diet fads.

More than 1,300 pieces of stoneware and earthenware show how Americans have stored, prepared, and served food for centuries. Ovens, cookie cutters, kettles, aprons, and ice-cream-making machines are part of the collections, along with home canning jars and winemaking equipment. More than 1,000 objects recently came to the Museum when author and cooking show host Julia Child donated her entire kitchen, from appliances to cookbooks.

Advertising and business records of several food companies—such as Hills Brothers Coffee, Pepsi Cola, and Campbell's Soup—represent the commercial side of the subject

Rudolf Eickemeyer, Jr. (1862–1932) used a wide variety of printing processes, printing out some negatives in more than one medium.
Description
Rudolf Eickemeyer, Jr. (1862–1932) used a wide variety of printing processes, printing out some negatives in more than one medium. In his lectures, he pointed out that this approach to photography was important because in the hands of a photographer who “lives and understands the infinitely varied moods of nature, photography can be made to express and interpret them.” In correspondence with Dr. Olmstead at the Smithsonian, as the presentation of his gifts and bequest to the museum was being arranged, Eickemeyer wrote: “The collection illustrates the use of every important process and will, I believe, be of real educational value.”
The first of the Eickemeyer photographic collection came to the National Museum’s Department of Arts and Industries (the “Castle”), Division of Graphic Arts in 1922 at the close of a large exhibition of Eickemeyer’s work at the Anderson Gallery in New York. It was a gift from the photographer of five framed prints from the New York show that he considered representative of his work.
In 1929, Eickemeyer gave the Smithsonian 83 framed prints (including copies of the prints that he had previously given the museum), 15 portfolios, his medals and awards, and several miscellaneous photographic paraphernalia. In 1930, he made a will bequeathing most of his remaining prints, negatives, photographic equipment and other objects relating to his 30-year career as a photographer to the Smithsonian Institution.
Upon Eickemeyer’s death in 1932, an accession consisting primarily of photographic equipment from his studio came to the Smithsonian. Included in the bequest were 2 cameras, several lenses, scales, timers, printing frames, plate holders, dry mounters and a lecture case with slide projector and hand-colored lantern slides. Also included were 43 albums, journals and portfolios and assorted negatives and contact prints, many marked “discards.” There are 58 albums, notebooks and portfolios in the collection. Eickemeyer requested in his will that his gifts and bequests be called The Rudolf Eickemeyer, Jr. Collection.
The Eickemeyer accessions have remained remarkably intact over the past 50 years. With the exception of his medals and trophies (there is no record of these objects coming to the Museum of American History with the remainder of the collection), and the contact prints and negatives (his discards), most of the objects were assigned catalogue numbers and were clearly marked more than half a century ago.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1894
maker
Eickemeyer, Jr., Rudolf
ID Number
PG.004135.B046.21
accession number
106456
catalog number
4135.B46.21
Rudolf Eickemeyer, Jr. (1862–1932) used a wide variety of printing processes, printing out some negatives in more than one medium.
Description
Rudolf Eickemeyer, Jr. (1862–1932) used a wide variety of printing processes, printing out some negatives in more than one medium. In his lectures, he pointed out that this approach to photography was important because in the hands of a photographer who “lives and understands the infinitely varied moods of nature, photography can be made to express and interpret them.” In correspondence with Dr. Olmstead at the Smithsonian, as the presentation of his gifts and bequest to the museum was being arranged, Eickemeyer wrote: “The collection illustrates the use of every important process and will, I believe, be of real educational value.”
The first of the Eickemeyer photographic collection came to the National Museum’s Department of Arts and Industries (the “Castle”), Division of Graphic Arts in 1922 at the close of a large exhibition of Eickemeyer’s work at the Anderson Gallery in New York. It was a gift from the photographer of five framed prints from the New York show that he considered representative of his work.
In 1929, Eickemeyer gave the Smithsonian 83 framed prints (including copies of the prints that he had previously given the museum), 15 portfolios, his medals and awards, and several miscellaneous photographic paraphernalia. In 1930, he made a will bequeathing most of his remaining prints, negatives, photographic equipment and other objects relating to his 30-year career as a photographer to the Smithsonian Institution.
Upon Eickemeyer’s death in 1932, an accession consisting primarily of photographic equipment from his studio came to the Smithsonian. Included in the bequest were 2 cameras, several lenses, scales, timers, printing frames, plate holders, dry mounters and a lecture case with slide projector and hand-colored lantern slides. Also included were 43 albums, journals and portfolios and assorted negatives and contact prints, many marked “discards.” There are 58 albums, notebooks and portfolios in the collection. Eickemeyer requested in his will that his gifts and bequests be called The Rudolf Eickemeyer, Jr. Collection.
The Eickemeyer accessions have remained remarkably intact over the past 50 years. With the exception of his medals and trophies (there is no record of these objects coming to the Museum of American History with the remainder of the collection), and the contact prints and negatives (his discards), most of the objects were assigned catalogue numbers and were clearly marked more than half a century ago.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1894
maker
Eickemeyer, Jr., Rudolf
ID Number
PG.004135.B046.07
accession number
106456
catalog number
4135.B46.07
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1960s
photographer
Uzzle, Burk
ID Number
PG.72.12.089
accession number
2003.0044
catalog number
72.12.89
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
1990.0605.74
catalog number
1990.0605.74
accession number
1990.0605
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
1990.0605.62
catalog number
1990.0605.62
accession number
1990.0605
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
1990.0605.78
catalog number
1990.0605.78
accession number
1990.0605
On February 1, 1960, four African American college students—Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil, and David L.
Description
On February 1, 1960, four African American college students—Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil, and David L. Richmond—sat down at this "whites only" lunch counter at the Woolworth's store in Greensboro, North Carolina, and politely asked for service. Their request was refused, and when asked to leave, the students remained in their seats in protest.
For the six months that followed, hundreds of students, civil rights organizations, churches, and members of the community joined the protest and boycotted the store. Their commitment ultimately led to the desegregation of the F.W. Woolworth lunch counter on July 25, 1960. Their peaceful sit-down was a watershed event in the struggle for civil rights and helped ignite a youth-led movement to challenge racial inequality throughout the South.
user
F. W. Woolworth Co.
ID Number
1994.0156.01
catalog number
1994.0156.01
accession number
1994.0156
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Zalesky, Roy Joseph
ID Number
2017.0306.0034
accession number
2017.0306
catalog number
2017.0306.0034
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1984
maker
Zalesky, Roy Joseph
ID Number
2017.0306.0054
catalog number
2017.0306.0054
accession number
2017.0306
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
1990.0605.70
catalog number
1990.0605.70
accession number
1990.0605
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
1990.0605.72
catalog number
1990.0605.72
accession number
1990.0605
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
1990.0605.75
catalog number
1990.0605.75
accession number
1990.0605
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
1990.0605.73
catalog number
1990.0605.73
accession number
1990.0605
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
1990.0605.67
catalog number
1990.0605.67
accession number
1990.0605
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
1990.0605.63
catalog number
1990.0605.63
accession number
1990.0605
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
1990.0605.64
catalog number
1990.0605.64
accession number
1990.0605
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
1990.0605.77
catalog number
1990.0605.77
accession number
1990.0605
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
1990.0605.79
catalog number
1990.0605.79
accession number
1990.0605

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