Everyday life, found in the record
A field method for everyday memories
An old object can open a door, but it cannot tell the whole story by itself. Pair the thing with its record, its maker or user where known, and the conditions that shaped how it was used.
Begin with a trace
Choose one object, image, advertisement or firsthand account. Record the title, creator, date, place, collection and the archive’s own description. The Smithsonian’s collection search spans museum objects, archives and library materials; its records can be incomplete and display status may change.
Sources: Collections Search Center · Personal Stories and Primary Sources: Conversations with Elders, Unit Two
Ask what the record can support
The Library of Congress’s Federal Writers’ Project life histories were collected from 1936 to 1940 and vary in form and detail. They preserve first-person accounts, but they were gathered and edited within a particular public project. Read the catalog note and surrounding collection context before treating a passage as representative.
Sources: American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936 to 1940
Compare, don’t universalize
Look for another account from a different place, household or social position. A remembered toy, song or household routine can be meaningful without being shared by everyone. State whether a sentence comes from a contemporary source, a later recollection or your interpretation.
Sources: Oral History and Social History
Keep the record attached
Save the stable collection link and any rights statement. Distinguish the date of the artifact from the date a record was digitized or described. If a source is silent, call the gap a gap instead of filling it with a familiar story.
Sources: American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936 to 1940 · Collections Search Center · Personal Stories and Primary Sources: Conversations with Elders, Unit Two
Source statements are linked beside each section. Full publication details appear in Source notes.