ISBN10: 0870237926, ISBN13: 9780870237928, [publisher: University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, MA] Hardcover Hardcover, has a very slight lean to binding, a very shallow damp stain to outer edge of about 30-50 pages, slight bumps to spine ends and board corners, and a touch of additional smudging to edges of text block, otherwise a solid Near VG copy in like dust jacket which has some very faint dampstaining to rear panel, slight bumps to spine ends and corners with a short creased tear to top of front fold, light sunning to spine and panel edges, and some rubbing.
[Denver, CO, U.S.A.] [Publication Year: 1992]

Amherst, Mass: The University of Massachusetts Press, Date: 1992. Hardcover. VG-/VG- (ex-library with labels and stamps on spine, block, inside front and rear covers and title page verso. Light shelfwear. Pages are otherwise very clean and clear.). Chocolate cloth with gilt spine lettering, pink dust jacket with black lettering, bw illustration; 262 pp., BW illustrations throughout. "In American society, the concepts of "leisure" and "play" usually have been defined in opposition to the idea of "work." Yet as Dutch historian Johan Huizinga argued in his pathbreaking study Homo Ludens, the relationship between work and play is more complicated than this simple dichotomy suggests. Understood as a state of mind rather than as an activity, play can make the most challenging task relaxing, even joyful. At the same time, the pursuit of leisure can be serious business indeed." "Hard at Play is a collection of original essays that examine the role of leisure in American culture from the antebellum period to World War II. Encompassing a variety of disciplinary approaches, the pieces cover a wide range of topics, from roller skating and riflery to photography and "free play." Some of the essays explore how the upper and middle classes established boundaries around "appropriate" forms of recreation in order to distance themselves from the working class. Others demonstrate how gender and ethnicity circumscribed leisure pursuits. Still other essays document the transition of both ...

ISBN10: 0870237926, ISBN13: 9780870237928, [publisher: The University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, Mass] Hardcover Chocolate cloth with gilt spine lettering, pink dust jacket with black lettering, bw illustration; 262 pp., BW illustrations throughout. "In American society, the concepts of "leisure" and "play" usually have been defined in opposition to the idea of "work." Yet as Dutch historian Johan Huizinga argued in his pathbreaking study Homo Ludens, the relationship between work and play is more complicated than this simple dichotomy suggests. Understood as a state of mind rather than as an activity, play can make the most challenging task relaxing, even joyful. At the same time, the pursuit of leisure can be serious business indeed." "Hard at Play is a collection of original essays that examine the role of leisure in American culture from the antebellum period to World War II. Encompassing a variety of disciplinary approaches, the pieces cover a wide range of topics, from roller skating and riflery to photography and "free play." Some of the essays explore how the upper and middle classes established boundaries around "appropriate" forms of recreation in order to distance themselves from the working class. Others demonstrate how gender and ethnicity circumscribed leisure pursuits. Still other essays document the transition of both individuals and families from a posed and formal social life to ...
Show/Hide image