Summary
Wooden cotton reel with red thread, used by Kath Davis to make items for her glory box in the late 1930s.
Kath Davis began collecting items for her glory box when she started work at 17, living with her parents in Traralgon, and had competed her collection by around 1940.
Physical Description
Wooden cotton reel with red cotton thread wound round centre. Brand label on top of reel 'J&P Coats 6 cord
Significance
Glory boxes represented a significant rite of passage for many women growing up before, during and after World War Two. They provide a material symbol through which can be explored themes of artistry, sexuality, economy and cultural maintenance. Of particular interest is how glory boxes can be used to track the growing consumer culture after World War Two and how there was a shift from the hand made to the mass produced. The traditions cross time and cultures.
Kath Davis's box is significant for the strength of its documented story, and for its completeness in terms of survival of both the box and its collection.
More Information
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Donation from Ms Kath Davis, 18 Feb 2005
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User
Ms Kath Davis, Traralgon, Latrobe Valley, Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, circa 1938
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Inscriptions
On top of reel: J. & P. COATS 6 CORD/300YDS/40/275 MET. On bottom of reel: COTTON THREAD/MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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Object Measurements
3.3 cm (Width), 3.25 cm (Height)
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References
Oral history interview, 2003 (disc and abbreviated transcript); references in 'The Glory Box: Origins, Symbols and Experiences', 1996 (masters thesis) and in 'The Glory Box: Marriage, Migration and Material Culture in Australia, 1930-1960' (phd thesis in progress) - all produced by Moya McFadzean
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Keywords
