Photo credit: Brendan Kownacki
It was a day back in time when the cast of AMC’s hit show “Mad Men” stopped by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to donate props, costumes and memorabilia into the museum’s collection of culturally significant entertainment items. Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks and John Slattery were all in attendance along with AMC President Charlie Collier and series creator Matthew Weiner, who all came to DC to celebrate the attention to detail that the show took when it created it’s 1960’s era setting. “They perfectly recreated the 1960s and they fashioned a world as big, and almost as true as life itself” said Charlie Collier, President and General Manager of AMC, the home of Mad Men for the last 7 seasons.
Jon Hamm, who portrayed Don Draper on the AMC series “Mad Men,” poses with one of his costumes that is being donated to the Smithsonian
Among the items being donated were sketches of costume designs, one of Don Draper’s iconic suits and fedoras and a yellow house dress of his wife Betty. The museum was interested in an apron she wore as well to show a contrast of domesticity and working life during the time period. Series creator and executive producer Matthew Weiner expressed that when possible, the crew would try and locate period accurate items like the liquor bottles being donated, rather than recreating them. This made the show in many ways “the archaeological site for humanity from this period.” The items reflect society and business culture and items like business cards also track the growth and changes of the characters through the arcs of the series.
Christina Hendricks, who portrays Joan Harris on the AMC series “Mad Men” poses with costume design sketches for her character that are part of the memorabilia being donated to the Smithsonian
Costume design sketches from “Mad Men”
Deputy director of the museum, Sue Fruchter shared a moment from the early days of the series that linked two together, recounting when someone from the production phoned the Smithsonian trying to find out how a telegram would have been delivered in 1963. “We actually knew that…but it is an example of how the story lines explored on television intersect with larger themes and issues of American life.”
Millions of people visit the museum each year and get a peak at other popular items like Dorothy’s ruby slippers, or Archie Bunker’s favorite chair, and at the end of last year, Hollywood on the Potomac was on the scene when cast members from the popular show the Wonder Years donated memorabilia from their show which helped to document another slice of American life from the past.
Charlie Collier, John Slattery, Christina Hendricks, Jon Hamm, Matthew Weiner
Hamm and his castmates prepare to say goodbye to their celebrated characters as the final episodes of the series are slated to air in April and May of this year but their legacy is now cemented in American culture with their arrival at the museum. As AMC President Charlie Collier put it, “all good things must come to an end and all great things come to the Smithsonian.”
