{"product_id":"city-of-second-sight-justin-t-clark-9781469638737","title":"City of Second Sight: Nineteenth-Century Boston and the Making of American Visual Culture","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn the decades before the U.S. Civil War, the city of Boston evolved from a dilapidated, haphazardly planned, and architecturally stagnant provincial town into a booming and visually impressive metropolis. In an effort to remake Boston into the \"Athens of America,\" neighborhoods were leveled, streets straightened, and an ambitious set of architectural ordinances enacted. However, even as residents reveled in a vibrant new landscape of landmark buildings, art galleries, parks, and bustling streets, the social and sensory upheaval of city life also gave rise to a widespread fascination with the unseen. Focusing his analysis between 1820 and 1860, Justin T. Clark traces how the effort to impose moral and social order on the city also inspired many--from Transcendentalists to clairvoyants and amateur artists--to seek out more ethereal visions of the infinite and ideal beyond the gilded paintings and glimmering storefronts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBy elucidating the reciprocal influence of two of the most important developments in nineteenth-century American culture--the spectacular city and visionary culture--Clark demonstrates how the nineteenth-century city is not only the birthplace of modern spectacle but also a battleground for the freedom and autonomy of the spectator.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Justin T. Clark\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1469638738\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781469638737\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of North Carolina Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/16\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 292\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.66d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2018","brand":"Justin T. Clark","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48217380290815,"sku":"9781469638737","price":37.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_33c88607-e5fd-4891-9a58-ca1aae8045a9.jpg?v=1771996857","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/city-of-second-sight-justin-t-clark-9781469638737","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}