| Description |
1 online resource (266 pages) : illustrations |
| Contents |
Circulating objects : loss and decay in the American Philosophical Society's cabinet -- Shadowed silhouettes : writing indigenous resistance in early American museums -- American claimants : overwhelming collections and visitor impressions at the British Museum -- Novel inventions : nation and spectacle in the U.S. Patent Office gallery -- Specimen collectors : preservation and classification at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology |
| Summary |
"Useful Objects: Museums, Science, and Literature in Nineteenth-Century America explores the debates that surrounded the development of American museums during the nineteenth century. Throughout this period, museums included a wide range of objects, from botanical and zoological specimens to antiquarian artifacts and technological models. Intended to promote "useful knowledge," these collections generated broader discussions about how objects were selected, preserved, and classified. In guidebooks and periodicals, visitors described their experiences within museum galleries and marveled at the objects they encountered. And in fiction, essays, and poems, writers embraced the imaginative possibilities represented by collections and proposed alternative systems of arrangement. These conversations spanned across spheres of American culture, raising deeper questions about how objects are valued-and who gets to decide"-- Provided by publisher |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (Oxford Scholarship Online, viewed on February 8, 2022) |
| Subject |
Museums -- United States -- History -- 19th century
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Museums -- Social aspects -- United States
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Museums -- Collection management -- United States
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Museums in literature.
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Museums
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Museums -- Collection management
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Museums in literature
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Museums -- Social aspects
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United States
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| Genre/Form |
Electronic books
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History
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| LC no. |
2021013431 |
| ISBN |
9780197553497 |
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0197553494 |
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0197553508 |
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9780197553510 |
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0197553516 |
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9780197553503 |
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