author
C. Malcolm Watkins
A pioneering historian and archaeologist, he helped turn everyday objects—pottery, tools, furnishings, and household goods—into vivid evidence for early American life. His books invite readers to see the past not just through famous events, but through the things people made and used.
3 Audiobooks
North Devon Pottery and Its Export to America in the 17th Century
by C. Malcolm Watkins
About the author
Born in Malden, Massachusetts, in 1911, C. Malcolm Watkins grew up surrounded by an interest in early American material culture and later earned a science degree from Harvard College in 1934. He began museum work at the Wells Historical Museum, the predecessor of Old Sturbridge Village, and went on to serve in the United States Army during World War II before returning to curatorial and research work.
Watkins became an important figure in the study of early American life through objects and archaeology. At the Smithsonian, where he worked for 31 years and served as head curator in the Department of Cultural History at what is now the National Museum of American History, he helped shape the fields of material culture studies and historical archaeology. His research focused especially on decorative arts and the everyday artifacts that reveal how people lived.
His writing reflects that same curiosity and care. Rather than treating artifacts as static museum pieces, Watkins used them to tell human stories about colonial America, craft, trade, and domestic life, making his work valuable to both scholars and general readers.