Remembrance of Things Present

Time capsules may seem trivial and useless to historians, but, as Nick Yablon shows in this new book, they offer crucial insights into how people view their own time, place, and culture, and their duties to future generations. Remembrance of Things Present traces the birth of the time capsule to the Gilded Age, when the growing volatility of cities prompted doubts about how, if at all, the period would be remembered. Yablon details how Americans from all walks of life constructed prospective memories of their present by contributing not just written testimony but also sources that professional historians and archivists still considered illegitimate, such as material artifacts, photographs, phonograph records, and films. By offering a direct line to posterity, time capsules also stimulated various hopes for the future. Remembrance of Things Present delves into these treasure chests to unearth those forgotten futures.