The Museum Book

A paperback edition of this unique and fascinating guide exploring everything from the history of museums, to the very meaning of the word ‘museum’, illustrated with incredible collage-style art. Suppose you went into a museum and you didn’t know what it was. From the first sentence of this brilliant book, Jan Mark inspires us to think. She muses on the Muses and the word museum, on why and how people collect things, on different kinds of museums (cabinets, buildings, villages, towns), on their contribution to science and on the notion of classification. She examines the Elgin Marbles (saved or stolen?), famous fakes, the dodo, and some great collectors. Stylish collages brilliantly capture the essence of the highly readable and thought-provoking text – as well as the timeless wonders of museums.