Material Masculinities : Men and Goods in Eighteenth-Century England

This book explores men’s material culture and consumer behaviour in the rapid social and economic transformations of eighteenth-century England, arguing that men came to rely on their possessions to make sense of their identities during such significant historical changes. -- .

Material Masculinities examines the material and consumer practices of over 1000 men from the middling and upper ranks of eighteenth-century society, c.1650–1850. It draws upon evidence from over 35 archives and museum collections to detail how material objects were integral for men in forming identities and shaping experiences. For men of all social ranks, ages, and geographic locations, material knowledge was imperative for masculine social identities to operate in a commercial society. Before the centralised factory and widespread mass-produced goods, men personalised and repaired their goods; products were shaped by men’s attitudes and concerns. Objects were tools in men’s identity formation and the exercise of social and gendered power. There was a reciprocal relationship between men and goods in this period; men were active agents of material and commercial change driving product and aesthetic innovation.