Sander Gilman
Editor(s)
Barbara Von Eckhardt
Hardback
August 2026 • ISBN 978-1-64453-423-6 • $130.00
Paperback
August 2026 • ISBN 978-1-64453-422-9 • $29.95
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Series
Material Culture Perspectives
Junk Drawer: What We Leave Behind explores the personal objects that were once treasured by their owners yet were ultimately consigned to online “junk drawer” sales. Photographer and coeditor Barbara Von Eckardt acquired these random assortments from estate remnants on eBay and has documented their contents through evocative, sepia-toned images. In doing so, she has breathed new life into items the world had deemed valueless, but that hint at the stories and identities of those who once owned them.
In addition to the photographs, Von Eckardt and coeditor Sander L. Gilman have gathered essays by scholars across disciplines, each offering a unique perspective on how such everyday objects can carry profound meaning. The result is a “junk drawer” of reflections, as varied and thought-provoking as the artifacts themselves. It is a moving testament to the emotional and cultural resonance of ordinary things—and an invitation to look more deeply at the objects surrounding us.
About the Editors
Sander L. Gilman is Emeritus Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Emory University.
Barbara Von Eckhardt is Emeritus Professor History, Philosophy, and the Social Sciences at the Rhode Island School of Design.