Curiosities from the Cabinet

Curiosities from the Cabinet features museum objects from Weston-super-Mare to the Shetlands. We hear people from inside and outside the museum world – curators, conservators, artists, visitors, users – talking about these objects with knowledge, passion and even tenderness.

British Museum Assyriologist Irving Finkel explains the oldest known map of the world; David Kohn of the American Museum of Natural History introduces Darwin’s weed garden; and novelist Cindy Jones spins her own story around Jane Austen’s writing table. 

This book will inform and intrigue anyone who likes visiting museums.

‘An accessible read, with short case studies and clear themes, allowing readers to dip in.’ Museums Journal

‘Curiosities from the Cabinet offers a glimpse of the past of museums, then a fresh exploration of their collections. Far from being a defunct form, left behind by time, the idea of the cabinet of curiosity continues to entice and surprise. This book does too.’

David Anderson, Director, National Museum Wales

‘This is both an accessible and illuminating introduction to some wonderful objects.’ 
Kate Arnold-Forster, Director, Museum of English Rural Life, Reading

Buy it now in e-book or paperback here.

Read a sample here.

Download the advance information sheet here.