Object Details
- Creator
- Stern, Michael, 1946-
- Stern, Jane
- Topic
- Automobile travel -- United States
- Diners -- United States
- Bakeries -- United States
- Restaurants -- United States
- Truck stops -- United States
- Cowboys -- United States
- Roads -- United States
- Delicatessens -- United States
- Dining
- Dog shows -- United States
- Truck drivers -- United States
- Rodeos -- United States
- Food -- United States
- Local foods -- United States
- Kitsch -- United States
- Material culture -- United States
- Provenance
- Collection donated by Jane and Michael Stern, 2016.
- Creator
- Stern, Michael, 1946-
- Stern, Jane
- See more items in
- Jane and Michael Stern Collection
- Summary
- Collection documents Jane and Michael Stern's travels across the United States collecting data for their books on American material culture subjects, with particular emphasis on food and dining.
- Biographical / Historical
- Jane Grossman Stern (1946-) and Michael Stern (1946-) are American writers best known for their popular series of books titled Roadfood. These publications provided recommendations of restaurants, truck stops, diners, delis, bakeries, and other food-related establishments in the United States who served classic American regional specialties. The Sterns are also authors of books about American material culture subjects including truckers, cowboys, kitsch, and dog shows. They have been guests on public radio, contributors to magazine columns, and have won numerous awards for their work.
- Extent
- 17 Cubic feet (41 boxes)
- Date
- 1890-2008
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.1392
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Ephemera
- Trade literature
- Articles
- Notes
- Menus
- Cookbooks
- Brochures
- Correspondence
- Slides (photographs)
- Writings
- Business records
- Postcards
- Citation
- Jane and Michael Stern Collection, circa 1920-2015, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged into five series: Series 1, Research Documentation and Writings, 1975-2015, undated Series 2, Product Cookbooks, and Trade Literature, 1890-1993, undated Series 3, Photographic Materials, 1947-2008, undated Subseries 3.1, Photographs, 1947-2002, undated Subseries 3.2, Slides and Transparencies, 1965-2008, undated Series 4, Subject Files, 1910-1995 Series 5, Vintage Postcards, undated
- Processing Information
- Collection processed by Sarah Gediman, intern, 2019; Julia Gibson, intern, 2019; Savannah Hildre, intern, 2019; and Lauren Janik, intern, 2019; supervised by Vanessa Broussard-Simmons, Supervisory Archivist, 2019.
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Genre/Form
- Ephemera -- 20th century
- Ephemera -- 21st century
- Trade literature
- Articles -- 21st century
- Notes -- 20th century
- Menus -- 20th century
- Cookbooks -- 21st century
- Brochures -- 20th century
- Correspondence -- 21st century
- Brochures -- 21st century
- Cookbooks -- 20th century
- Slides (photographs) -- 20th century
- Writings
- Business records -- 20th century
- Articles -- 20th century
- Postcards -- 20th century -- United States
- Correspondence -- 20th century
- Menus -- 21st century
- Scope and Contents
- Collection primarily consists of the raw materials amassed by Jane and Michael Stern as they traveled the United States, researching for their books on American material culture subjects, with particular emphasis on food and dining. These materials include writings and notes from their various stops while traveling; photographs and slides of places they visited; vintage postcards collected in their travels; paper ephemera such as take-out menus, placemats, etc.; large quantities of trade literature such as product cookbooks (some dating back to the 1920s), food packaging and brochures on food related subjects, under headings such as "Meat, Fish, Game", "Parties, Etiquette, How-To", "Baking" and numerous others; trade literature on other material culture subjects the Sterns wrote books about with headings which include Rodeo, Cowboys, Indians" and many others; correspondence; business records, articles, and clippings. The collection is arranged into five series: Series 1, Research Documentation and Writings, 1975-2015, undated; Series 2, Product Cookbooks, and Trade Literature, 1890-1993, undated; Series 3, Photographic Materials, 1947-2008, undated; Series 4, Subject Files, 1910-1995; and Series 5, Vintage Postcards, undated.
- Restrictions
- Collection is open for research.
- Record ID
- ebl-1503513024798-1503513024801-0
In the Collection
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