Faux materials and aspirational identity: Celluloid combs and working class dreams in the Pennsylvania anthracite region

Abstract

The introduction of synthetic and semi-synthetic materials in the late 19th and early 20th centuries opened a world of new possibilities for consumer objects. The abundance of new goods ushered in a new age of consumption: one in which identities were not only expressed through material culture, but could be actively made through material culture. One avenue that has not been thoroughly explored is the role of synthetic and semi-synthetic objects in negotiating both association with and distance from different forms of identity in the archaeological record. This article explores the cultural connotations underlying a small find recovered from a working class household in the anthracite coal company town of Eckley, Pennsylvania. Using the example of a celluloid lice comb, the author discusses the ways that mass production fundamentally changed status signaling in the Western world at the beginning of the 20th century and offers thoughts on improving our interpretations of the social consequences of objects within historical archaeological research.