Explore Illinois from 1890 to 1920 and meet the people who lived here.

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By 1900 many people had the opportunity to share in the abundance of goods that industry produced for the marketplace. Improved transportation and a wider range of prices meant that everyone, from farm wives on the prairie to newly arrived immigrants in the big cities, could afford some of the possessions of the growing middle class. At the same time, many artists and designers reacted against mass-produced, ornate goods and popularized a return to simple, handmade forms. The Arts and Crafts Movement was heralded by social reformers who were beginning to understand the effects of germs on human health and worried about the dust-gathering effects of elaborate Victorian furnishings.

Enter the era of arts and industry.

© Illinois State Museum 31-Dec-96