AA-2026-9D5776
On the image
Sometime in the 1950s, a group of Americans gathered in a pine-panelled hall for the kind of covered-dish supper that was simultaneously a meal, a social obligation, and proof that the community still existed. The woman at the centre has dressed for the occasion in a grey wool dress with velvet collar and pearl earrings, a level of formality that the floral tablecloth and folding wooden chairs around her do not quite match, which was exactly the point — you dressed up to show the neighbours you respected them, and the neighbours showed up in open-collar shirts because they'd been baling hay. On the table, a set of the striped Fiesta-style tumblers that appeared in virtually every American kitchen between 1945 and 1965 holds something amber, positioned next to a plate of what appears to be a rice or pasta casserole, the contribution someone always brought because it travelled well and fed twelve. Behind her, a reel-to-reel machine sits on a shelf in the back room, almost certainly providing the evening's music, because hiring a band for a church supper was an expense the treasurer's committee had already voted down. She is looking directly at the camera with the patient composure of a woman who knows she will spend the next hour collecting other people's plates.
Visually related — by likeness
Indoor Community Supper, Folding Tables and Fiesta Glasses, 1950s. 1952–1959. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-9D5776. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/indoor-community-supper-folding-tables-and-fiesta-glasses-1950s.
@misc{aaAA20269D5776,
title = {Indoor Community Supper, Folding Tables and Fiesta Glasses, 1950s},
year = {1952–1959},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-9D5776},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/indoor-community-supper-folding-tables-and-fiesta-glasses-1950s}
}TY - ART TI - Indoor Community Supper, Folding Tables and Fiesta Glasses, 1950s PY - 1952–1959 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-9D5776 UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/indoor-community-supper-folding-tables-and-fiesta-glasses-1950s ER -
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