The Origins of Museums

Present-day museums are almost as diverse in character as the collections that they contain, yet all are united by a historical thread leading back to a common origin in collections of "curiousities" in 16th and 17th-century Europe. In this unique, thorough account of the history of collecting, 35 noted authors discuss museums and their methods and sources of acquisitions, and the principles they used in cataloguing, publishing, and display.Impey, Oliver R. is the author of 'The Origins of Museums', published 1985 under ISBN 9780199521081 and ISBN 0199521085.