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xi Acknowledgments As an undergraduate at the University of British Columbia I could not have foreseen that research for my honours thesis would eventually lead to my first book, a career that I love, and a network of friends and colleagues to whom I owe a great debt for their support over these many years. I am grateful to three mentors whose intellectual, professional , and moral support for me as a (once) young scholar cannot be overestimated. First, my undergraduate and master’s advisor Bill French, who sparked my interest in Mexican history and supported my idea to research the relationship between a developing consumer culture and the rapid modernization experienced during the presidency of Porfirio Díaz. Second, at Texas Christian University (TCU) my dissertation director , Bill Beezley, set a high standard of creativity, generosity, and intellectual rigor that I try to emulate as a scholar and teacher. After so many years of discussing this project with him he still never fails to listen to an idea of mine and then convince me to make it better. Finally, Susan Ramírez at TCU provided timely support and counsel, two gifts that I continued to take advantage of as I worked on the book manuscript. At TCU, the University of Alabama (UA), and elsewhere, many have earned my gratitude for their editing skills, insights, response to questions, knack for le mot juste, sundry forms of aid, and sometimes just memorable companionship and conversation over a drink. Heartfelt thanks go to Susan Gauss, William Schell, Marie Francois, and Helen Delpar for reading and commenting on drafts of this manuscript. My compadre and writing collaborator Víctor Macías proofread numerous conference papers and served as an invaluable sounding board for issues of consumption in Mexico. Others include Jürgen Buchenau, Paul xii Acknowledgments Garner, Daniel Newcomer, James Garza, Susie Porter, Shannon BakerTuller , William B. Taylor, Arturo Flores, Don Coerver, Sarah Sohmer, Margaret Peacock, Holly Grout, Harold Selesky, Larry Clayton, Jenny Shaw, Stephen Schwab, Teresa Cribelli, Dave Michelson, Rich Megraw, John Beeler, Chuck Clark, Dan Riches, Diana Jeaneth Montano, Michael Matthews, and Monica Rankin. The staff at the interlibrary loan departments of both TCU and UA earned my respect and appreciation for their diligence and speed, while Brett Spencer of the UA Libraries worked wonders in acquiring microfilm and special-order books crucial for my research. Working with the University of New Mexico Press has been a delight and I thank all involved for their talent and professionalism, especially the anonymous reader of my manuscript and my copy editor, Joy Margheim. Special praise goes to Clark Whitehorn, the editor in chief at New Mexico, for his patient shepherding of me through the publication process for the first time. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Assistance in Mexico came from many individuals. Special thanks go to Kitzia Nin-Castillo Poniatowska de Romero de Terreros for allowing me access to the archives of the Palacio de Hierro and to Víctor Macías for arranging our introduction. Verónica Zárate Toscano at the Instituto Mora shaved off hours of bureaucratic hassles for me at her institution and several others. The friendly and efficient staff at the Centro de Estudios de Historia de México Carso, the Archivo General de la Nación,theBibliotecaMiguelLerdodeTejada,theInstitutoMora,andthe Hemeroteca at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México allowed me to dedicate as much of my precious time as possible to productive research. At the AGN, special thanks go to Alma Vázquez in the Centro de Información Gráfica for bringing me countless images to consider for the book and to the director, Aurora Gómez Galvarriato, for her timely assistance in acquiring the permissions to publish them. As the director of the Biblioteca Miguel Lerdo de Tejada, Juan Manuel Herrera graciously extended every courtesy to me on my trips over the years. His staff, particularly Alfredo de Jesús Pantoja Oláco, even delayed closing times to help me take the last images for my book. Finally, I owe a particular debt to Javier Pérez Siller at the Universidad Autónoma de Puebla and his México-Francia research team. From the moment he introduced himself after spying me reading French newspapers at the UNAM Hemeroteca, Javier has deepened my understanding of the French presence in Mexico and kept me in stitches with his remarkable sense of humor and remarkably poor taste in pulque. [18.222.67.251] Project...

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