The Arts of Deception: Playing with Fraud in the Age of Barnum

Ingenious automatons which appeared to think on their own. Dubious mermaids and wild men who resisted classification....
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$147.23 AUD
SKU: 9780674005914
Product Type: Books
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Author: James W. Cook
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Subtotal: $147.23
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The Arts of Deception: Playing with Fraud in the Age of Barnum by Cook, James W.

The Arts of Deception: Playing with Fraud in the Age of Barnum

$147.23

The Arts of Deception: Playing with Fraud in the Age of Barnum

$147.23
Author: James W. Cook
Format: Paperback
Language: English

Ingenious automatons which appeared to think on their own. Dubious mermaids and wild men who resisted classification. Elegant sleight-of-hand artists who routinely exposed the secrets of their trade. These were some of the playful forms of fraud which astonished, titillated, and even outraged nineteenth-century America's new middle class, producing some of the most remarkable urban spectacles of the century.

In The Arts of Deception, James W. Cook explores this distinctly modern mode of trickery designed to puzzle the eye and challenge the brain. Championed by the Prince of Humbug, P. T. Barnum, these cultural puzzles confused the line between reality and illusion. Upsetting the normally strict boundaries of value, race, class, and truth, the spectacles offer a revealing look at the tastes, concerns, and prejudices of America's very first mass audiences. We are brought into the exhibition halls, theaters, galleries, and museums where imposture flourished, and into the minds of the curiosity-seekers who eagerly debated the wonders before their eyes. Cook creates an original portrait of a culture in which ambiguous objects, images, and acts on display helped define a new value system for the expanding middle class, as it confronted a complex and confusing world.

Author: James W. Cook
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 07/15/2001
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.13lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.12w x 0.91d
ISBN: 9780674005914


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 05/01/2001 pg. 106
Choice 02/01/2002 pg. 1104

About the Author
Cook, James W.: - James W. Cook is Assistant Professor of History and American Culture at the University of Michigan.

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