This photo album is part of the blog series, A Philly Foodie Explores Local History, which connects Philadelphia history with food-related treasures uncovered in the archive of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 

In an attempt to explore local cookware history, this week's blog explores three items that would make any historian smile because nearly every page contains some bit of social and cultural history just waiting to be unpacked: an 1882 merchant catalog from the Lancaster homegoods company Steinman & Co, and an 1882 magazine and 1977 catalog from the Philadelphia department store Strawbridge & Clothier.  While these catalogs and magazines don’t exactly lay out an entire history of American cookware in their pages, an examination of their representations of cookware and cooking reveal historic differences in advertising that stand in stark contrast to modern ads today. Examine them yourself in the following photos!