Mile of Make-Believe

A History of the Eaton's Santa Claus Parade

AvSteve Penfold

Inbunden, Engelska, 2016

672 kr

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Beskrivning

A Mile of Make Believe examines the unique history of the Santa Claus parade in Canada. This volume focuses on the Eaton’s sponsored parades that occurred in Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg as well as the shorter-lived parades in Calgary and Edmonton. There is also a discussion of small town alternatives, organized by civic groups, service clubs, and chambers of commerce.By focusing on the pioneering effort of the Eaton’s department store Steve Penfold argues that the parade ultimately represented a paradoxical form of cultural power: it allowed Eaton’s to press its image onto public life while also reflecting the decline of the once powerful retailer. Penfold’s analysis reveals the "corporate fantastic" – a visual and narrative mix of meticulous organization and whimsical style– and its influence on parade traditions. Steve Penfold’s considerable analytical skills have produced a work that is simultaneously a cultural history, history of business and commentary on consumerism. Professional historians and the general public alike would be remiss if this wasn’t on their holiday wish list.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2016-08-31
Mått:152 x 229 x 25 mm
Vikt:500 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:256
Förlag:University of Toronto Press
ISBN:9781442630963

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Mer om författaren

Steve Penfold is an associate professor in the Department of History at the University of Toronto. He is the author of The Donut: A Canadian History (UTP 2008).

Recensioner i media

Steve Penfold has "crafted a smart and funny account of a lost piece of Canadiana." - Holly Doan (Blacklocks Reporter, November 5, 2016) ‘This book should find its way down our chimneys as an excellent example of going beneath the surface to uncover the deeper structure of our collective past.’- Len Kuffert (Canadian Historical Review vol 98:02:2017) "A Mile Of Make Believe recounts with warmth and nostalgia the Christmas extravaganza sponsored by a family-owned corporation once the largest retailer in the country. This is not a dry municipal history; Eaton’s in its heyday sponsored Santa parades from Edmonton to Montréal. Author Steve Penfold, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, has crafted a smart and funny account of a lost piece of Canadiana." - Holly Doan (Blacklock’s Reporter, September 15, 2018) "[Steve Penfold] situates [the Santa Claus Parade] within North American parade culture and its use of public space, a growing twentieth-century consumer culture and the increasing centrality of Santa Claus in its Christmas narrative as well as the rise of the department store that dominated the retail landscape."- Ross Fair, Ryerson University (University of Toronto Quarterly, vol 87 3, Summer 2018)

Innehållsförteckning

Introduction Alfreda’s LamentChapter One The Corporate FantasticChapter Two Santa in PublicChapter Three The Mediated SantaChapter Four The Civic FantasticChapter Five Casualty of the Times Conclusion The Most Fabulous Dreams of Childhood\NotesBibliography