Fables Of Abundance: A Cultural History Of Advertising In America

509 Pages·1995·31.98 MB·English

by  Jackson Lears

ISBN-13: 978-0-465-09075-4
ISBN-10: 0-465-09075-3
FABLES OF ABUNDANCE

FABLES
OF
ABUNDANCE
A CULTURAL HISTORY OF
ADVERTISING IN AMERICA
Jackson Lears
B
BOOKS
A Member of The Perseus Books Group
Copyright © 1994 by BasicBooks, A Member of The Perseus Books Group
All rights reselVed. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book
may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in
the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For informa
tion, address BasicBooks, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-8810.
Designed by Ellen Levine
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lears, T. J. Jackson, 1947-
Fables of abundance: a cultural history of advertising in America / by T. J. Jackson
Lears.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-465-09076--1 (cloth)
ISBN 0-465-09075-3 (paper)
1. Advertising-United States-History-19th century. 2. Advertising
United States-History-20th century I. Title
HF5813.U6U18 1994
659.1'0973-dc20 94-12749
CIP
For my mother, my father, and my brother Lee
and for my daughters, Rachel and Adin,
in remembrance and hope

«Le superjlu, chose tres necessaire. "
-Voltaire
"There is no wealth but life.
»
-John Ruskin

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
PART I
THE RECONFIGURATION OF WEALTH:
FROM FECUND EARTH TO EFFICIENT FACTORY
1. The Lyric of Plenty 17
2. The Modernization of Magic 40
3. The Stabilization of Sorcery 75
4. The Disembodiment of Abundance 102
PART II
THE CONTAINMENT OF CARNIVAL:
ADVERTISING AND AMERICAN SOCIAL VALUES
FROM THE PATENT MEDICINE ERA TO THE
CONSOLIDATION OF CORPORATE POWER
5. The Merger of Intimacy and Publicity 137
6. The Perfectionist Project 162