Mahogany: The Costs of Luxury in Early America

With Jennifer L. Anderson, Assistant Professor of History at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

This visual talk traces the path of this wood through many hands, from source to sale: from the enslaved African woodcutters, including skilled “huntsmen” who located the elusive trees amidst dense rainforest, to the ship captains, merchants, and timber dealers who scrambled after the best logs, to the skilled cabinetmakers who crafted the wood, and with it the tastes and aspirations of their diverse clientele.