Hi all,
Yes, it was a ferrous plate, and I do discuss it briefly in the context of literacy in Chapter 8 (Social, Cultural, and Symbolic Capital) of the book.
I remember that there is also another reference to a metal alphabet plate in the following:
Uunila, Kristi. 2005 Using the Past in Calvert County, Maryland: Archaeology as a Tool for Building Community. The SAA Archaeological Record 5(2):38–40.
Cheers,
Sarah Cowie
--- On Wed, 6/22/11, scarlett <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> From: scarlett <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Alphabet Plates Inquiry
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2011, 10:49 AM
> Hi Patricia,
> You could contact Sarah Cowie. In her study at the
> iron smelting town of Fayette, Michigan, the archaeologists
> recovered a fragment of an alphabet plate. If I recall
> correctly, that plate was made of iron, however, instead of
> ceramic. Dr. Cowie discussed the materiality of
> literacy in a 19th century company town.
>
> She discusses it in her book, The Plurality of Power: An
> Archaeology of Industrial Capitalism
> http://www.worldcat.org/search?qt=worldcat_org_all&q=The+Plurality+of+Power%3A+An+Archaeology+of+Industrial+Capitalism
>
> Dr. Cowie is in the Anthropology Department at the
> University of Nevada, Reno. I'm not sure if she has settled
> in there yet.
> http://www.cis.unr.edu/CampusDirectory/EmployeeList.aspx?STAFF=ANTH
>
> Cheers
> Tim
>
> On Jun 22, 2011, at 9:55 AM, P Samford wrote:
>
> > I am currently doing some research into alphabet or
> ABC plates - white-bodied earthenwares produced during the
> 19th and early 20th centuries and containing alphabets,
> usually molded or printed around the rim. We have
> found examples so far from six Maryland collections and I am
> interested in learning about other examples found in the
> U.S. I am particularly interested in the context of
> the items-dating, type of site, occupants, type of feature
> or layer in which the artifact was recovered.
> >
> > Thank you in advance for sharing your findings.
> >
> > Patricia Samford
> > Director, Maryland Archaeological Conservation
> Laboratory
> > Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum
> > 10515 Mackall Road
> > St. Leonard, MD 20685
>
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