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An infinity of things : how Sir Henry Wellcome collected the world / Frances Larson.
Author
Larson, Frances, 1976-
[Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/Created
Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2009.
Description
xi, 343 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm
Availability
Available Online
Ebook Central Perpetual, DDA and Subscription Titles
Copies in the Library
Location
Call Number
Status
Location Service
Notes
Firestone Library - Stacks
R489.W3945 L37 2009
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Details
Subject(s)
Businessmen
—
Great Britain
—
Biography
[Browse]
Collectors and collecting
—
Great Britain
—
Biography
[Browse]
Philanthropists
—
Great Britain
—
Biography
[Browse]
Medical instruments and apparatus
—
Private collections
[Browse]
Medicine
—
History
[Browse]
Wellcome Historical Medical Museum
—
History
[Browse]
Wellcome, Henry S. (Henry Solomon) Sir 1853-1936
[Browse]
Related name
Wellcome, Henry S. (Henry Solomon), Sir, 1853-1936
[Browse]
Library of Congress genre(s)
Biographies
[Browse]
Rare books genre
Biographies
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Summary note
An Infinity of Things tells the story of one of the largest private collections ever created, and the life of the man behind it. Wellcome planned a great museum filled with treasures from all corners of the globe, charting the history of human health from prehistory to the present day. The breadth of his vision was matched only by the depth of his pockets. During the opening decades of the twentieth century he acquired a collection so large that later generations of staff took to describing its contents by the ton. But Wellcome's museum was never finished, and his collection was still stored in vast warehouses when he died, unseen and incomplete. Today, after decades of work by his successors, artefacts from the collection can be seen in museums and libraries throughout the world. Demonstrating what can happen when a collector's aspirations are left unconstrained by wealth, Frances Larson explores Wellcome's life through his possessions, revealing the many tensions in his character: between his talents as a businessman and his desire for scholarly recognition; his curiosity and his perfectionism; and his philanthropic aspirations and his drive for personal glory.
Bibliographic references
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
Roots: Herewith please find three rolls of chocolate foil ; A very full and complete volume ; The ideal of my heart
Tactics: An historical exhibition of rare and curious objects ; Excuse me Mr Treve ; Fellow feeling as a collector ; The whole of India should be ransacked ; An impossible man to deal with
Outcomes: The finest historical medical museum in the world ; When the whole is complete, it will be an exact facsimile of the original ; This is the history of medicine ; All tied up in knots ; We need very complete collections of all their fabrications ; This International Historical Museum
Legacies: Shelve it ; Ingrained habits of cautiousness ; Sir Henry Wellcome is dead ; Honour to whom honour is due.
Show 1 more Contents items
ISBN
9780199554461
0199554463
LCCN
2009928977
OCLC
633132865
Statement on language in description
Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage.
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An infinity of things [electronic resource] : how Sir Henry Wellcome collected the world / Frances Larson.
id
99125354491206421
An infinity of things : how Sir Henry Wellcome collected the world / Frances Larson.
id
SCSB-8857453