Junk Drawer: What We Leave Behind (Material Culture Perspectives) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1644534223 ISBN 13: 9781644534229

Publisher: University of Delaware Press, 2026

Synopsis

Junk Drawer: What We Leave Behind explores the personal objects that were once treasured by their owners yet were ultimately consigned to online "junk drawer" sales. Photographer and coeditor Barbara Von Eckardt acquired these random assortments from estate remnants on eBay and has documented their contents through evocative, sepia-toned images. In doing so, she has breathed new life into items that the world had deemed valueless, but that hint at the stories and identities of those who once owned them.

In addition to the photographs, Von Eckardt and coeditor Sander L. Gilman have gathered essays by scholars across disciplines, each offering a unique perspective on how such everyday objects can carry profound meaning. The result is a "junk drawer" of reflections, as varied and thought-provoking as the artifacts themselves. It is a moving testament to the emotional and cultural resonance of ordinary things—and an invitation to look more deeply at the objects surrounding us.

About this title

About the Authors

Sander L. Gilman is an emeritus professor of liberal arts and sciences at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Barbara Von Eckardt is an emeritus professor of history, philosophy, and the social sciences at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Delaware Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1644534223
• ISBN 13: 9781644534229
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 204
• Editor: Sander Gilman, Barbara Von Eckardt