One for the Road: The Origins of America's Souvenir Obsession

Tourists can’t touch the recreated scenes inside the halls of George Washington’s childhood home in Mount Vernon, Virginia. Instead, visitors make do with the gift store. There, they can pick up Mount Vernon-branded Liberty Honey; children can leave with a Mount Vernon spinning top. On the shelves are Blue Canton China pieces and other official licensed products that promotional copy advertises “strive to capture the Washington’s tastes and personal style.”

None of the items for sale in the gift shop are the real thing, of course. They’re souvenirs: reproductions, portable memories, proof of travel. Throughout the history of the United States, the broad function of mementos like these has remained constant. What form they take and what, exactly, they represent, however, has changed quite a bit.