University of Massachusetts Press Shaker Fever: America's Twentieth-Century Fascination with a Communitarian Sect (Public History in Historical Perspective)

Americans were enthralled by the Shakers in the years between 1925 and 1965. They bought Shaker furniture, saw Shaker worship services enacted on Broadway, sang Shaker songs, dressed in Shaker-inspired garb, collected Shaker artifacts, and restored Shaker villages. William D. Moore analyzes the activities of scholars, composers, collectors, folklorists, photographers, writers, choreographers, and museum staff who drove the national interest in this dwindling regional religious group.This interdisciplinary study places the activities of individuals -- including Doris Humphrey, Charles Sheeler, Laura Bragg, Juliana Force, and Edward Deming Andrews -- within the larger cultural and historical contexts of nationalism, modernism, and cultural resource management. Taking up previously unexamined primary sources and cultural productions that include the first scholarly studies of the faith, material culture and visual arts, stage performances, and museum exhibitions, Shaker Fever compels a reconsideration of this religious group and its place within American memory. It is sure to delight enthusiasts, public historians, museum professionals, furniture collectors, and anyone interested in the dynamics of cultural appropriation and stewardship. Review An original, timely work of first-rate scholarship, impressive in scope, which examines one by one the principal manifestations of the twentieth-century interest in the Shakers, which have never before been explicated in this depth and with such rigorous interpretation.--Robert P. Emlen, author of Shaker Village Views: Illustrated Maps and Landscape Drawings by Shaker Artists of the Nineteenth CenturyMoore's comprehensive exploration of the various enthusiasms inspired by the Shakers is unparalleled. Shaker Fever will appeal to those interested in issues of cultural representation as well as those who are fascinated by this religious group.--Michael Ann Williams, author of Staging Tradition: John Lair and Sarah Gertrude Knott About the Author William D. Moore is director of the American & New England Studies Program and associate professor of material culture at Boston University.