Historic Arkansas Museum is adding new information to its Conspicuous Consumption exhibit currently on display in the Arkansas Made Gallery.

Hidden Histories is an exhibit within an exhibit; supplemental captions explore lesser-known facts about selected objects on display in Conspicuous Consumption. The result of careful research, this project shares information about items produced with an eye toward status or profit but at the expense of humans, animals and natural resources. Expanded captions illuminate subjects left in the shadows and provide a voice for unique individuals whose lives have been forgotten. Just as a partially submerged iceberg reveals only a fraction of its true size, a historical object can conceal stories that lie just below its surface.

The Conspicuous Consumption exhibit showcases a time in second half of the 1800s when mainstream fashion, textiles, accessories became accessible to all Arkansans. Improvements in industrial technology and mass-production meant items could be constructed cheaply and quickly and sold at reduced prices, and shipping by river, road and rail brought almost everything within reach. Several examples of these items including trendy clothing, fine furniture, guns and flatware are on display in the Arkansas Made Gallery.