Wallet 1838 - 1842

Editor: Here we have a leather wallet, created sometime between 1838 and 1842 by Chas. Arms. It looks so worn and used. I wonder what kind of stories it could tell? What strikes you about this piece? Curator: The sheer survival of this object offers us a portal into a specific socio-economic strata of early 19th-century America. Consider the fact that a wallet, an object signifying personal wealth and financial transaction, was deemed worthy of preservation. What does that say about the values of that time, and who had the privilege to own and keep such an item? Editor: I see what you mean. It’s not just an everyday object, but a marker of status, isn't it? Curator: Exactly! This wallet can lead us to broader questions of access and power. How did economic policies of the time affect different communities? Who was systematically excluded from participating in the economic landscape represented by this wallet? Editor: That's fascinating. It makes you consider all the labor that went into producing something even this 'simple.' What kinds of assumptions am I making about who might have owned such a wallet? Curator: Precisely! Objects like these demand that we deconstruct those assumptions and seek out a more nuanced understanding of the past, recognizing both the privileges and the struggles interwoven into its existence. What else does this wallet reveal to you? Editor: I never thought a wallet could be such a loaded object! Thinking about it now, it's almost like a historical artifact. Curator: It is! It’s about moving beyond the object's face value and thinking critically about its wider implications, connecting individual stories to broader social and political currents.