A Short History of Collecting: Gallery of Wunderkammern

This gallery features some of the most iconic Wunderkammer catalogues, depicting collections as densely arranged spaces filled with naturalia and artificialia, often including chimeric creatures. The TC holds, for instance, a precious copy of Museum Wormianum (1655), once owned by Cuvier. Catalogues of encyclopaedic collections, reflecting the transition toward more systematic, scientific organisation during the Enlightenment, are also included, such as those of Bonnier de la Mosson (1744) and Dávila (1767). As collections became increasingly specialised, accumulations of curiosities gradually shifted toward the realm of the dime museum, with the 1860s Guide Book of Barnum's American Museum a fine example in the TC. In France, meanwhile, the eclecticism of collecting practices was studied by erudite scholars who wrote about them, sometimes in fictionalised accounts, as exemplified by manuscripts and books from P. Eudel's library. Finally, at the close of the last millennium, a renewed interest in the original Cabinets of Curiosities emerged, beginning with the 1984 From Wunderkammer to Museum, a catalogue that has since become a highly praised item. Many more items await discovery in the gallery.

Wunderkammer book collecting in the 20th Century

"The Wunderkammer was intended to be [...] a microcosm of the three kingdoms of nature (animal, vegetable and mineral) and also a summary of human knowledge, a combination of naturalia and artificialia which could be gathered together in one collection of objects to demonstrate how all matter fitted together in the cosmology."
Paul Grinke, From Wunderkammer to Museum, 2006:13

If the Cabinets of Curiosities of the Renaissance and Baroque periods have entered the modern imagination chiefly through engraved views of their collections, it is only relatively recently that the collecting of Wunderkammer books has emerged as a discipline in its own right. This development was pioneered in the 1980s and can be traced back to a 1981 exhibition at Colnaghi, London, which prompted the British antiquarian bookseller Diana Parikian, with the assistance of the Quaritch rare book dealership, to assemble the first dedicated collection of rare Wunderkammer books. This collection was described for posterity in the catalogue From Wunderkammer to Museum, published in 1984. Further efforts by the Librairie Paul Jammes led to the formation of an even more extensive collection, culminating in the catalogue Cabinets de Curiosités, Collections, Collectionneurs (Librairie Paul Jammes, 1997). Artist Erik Desmazières contributed to the preparation of this catalogue with a special engraving, Wunderkammer, later enlarged as La Chambre des merveilles, now regarded as one of his masterpieces and emblematic of the modern revival of interest in the Wunderkammer of earlier ages (Librairie Jammes, Preface to Volume 300). Together, these works form the bibliographic foundation for the present gallery.

  • Librairie Paul Jammes (1997), Cabinets de Curiosités, Collections, Collectionneurs. Paris: Librairie Paul Jammes, 160 pp. [in coll.: As issued]
From Wunderkammer to Museum, a Bibliography

The catalogue From Wunderkammer to Museum, first published in 1984, "had its origins in a visit paid by the antiquarian bookseller, Diana Parikian [1926-2012], a specialist in early Continental iconography, to P. & D. Colnaghi's exhibition, 'Objects for a Wunderkammer', in 1981. It was the first exhibition of objects specifically associated with the world of the early Wunderkammer, or private museum, and Diana immediately saw the possibility of applying the idea to the world of rare books" (Grinke, 2006:7). Diana Parikian enlisted the help of Nicholas Poole-Wilson, managing director of the renowned firm Bernard Quaritch Ltd., to locate suitable books. The antiquarian bookseller Paul Grinke (b. 1943) later joined the effort, contributing to the search for additional material and to the preparation of the catalogue. The resulting work comprises seventy-five outstanding books from the European Renaissance and Baroque periods. The original 1984 catalogue was issued in very small numbers and "distributed to the handful of wealthy institutions to which the vendors hoped to sell the collection en bloc. As might have been foreseen, the Getty Trust bought the majority of the books, returning only those that duplicated their existing holdings. Believing the catalogue to have far more interest than its limited original circulation allowed, Quaritch has reissued it in a handsome new edition, with a new introduction and additional bibliography by the original author, and new illustrations" (Harrison, 2008, book review, J. Hist. Coll., 20 (1), 147-148).

  • Grinke, P. (2006), From Wunderkammer to Museum. Bernard Quaritch Ltd., 112 pp., illustrated [in coll.: Ligth blue grey cloth, gilt spine title. Laid in is a Quaritch compliments slip on which Nicholas Poole-Wilson, managing director of Quaritch, has written birthday greetings in presenting this copy to long-time client Robert S Pirie (1934-2015). With the Robert S Pirie Reference Library bookplate]
  • Librairie Jammes (1997), Cabinets de Curiosités, Collections, Collectionneurs. Paris: Librairie Paul Jammes, 160 pp. [in coll.: As issued]

"The customers who received this... were fortunate indeed": A Rare Copy, Further Inscribed, of the First Wunderkammer Book Catalogue

From Wunderkammer to Museum, compiled by P.Grinke
London, United Kingdom: Diana Parikian and Bernard Quaritch Ltd., 1984

Description: GRINKE, Paul (1984), From Wunderkammer to Museum. Diana Parikian and Bernard Quaritch Ltd., 82 pp. Publisher's printed softcover, as issued; inscribed "30.1.1984, for John Sutcliffe, from the author, Paul Grinke."" The 1984 edition is considered rare. Harrison (2008) notes that it was "originally published in a very small edition, distributed to the handful of wealthy institutions to which the vendors hoped to sell the collection en bloc," a statement confirmed in the second edition of the catalogue, where it is described as having been "printed in very small numbers" (Grinke, 2006:12). According to a review in The Book Collector, Spring 1985, p. 97: "The customers who received this... were fortunate indeed. Only a few were printed... we understand that there are simply no more to be had." The present copy, inscribed by Paul Grinke, is thus of particular interest, all the more so given that the work itself is "something of a pioneer catalogue in a field now much studied" (Grinke, 2006:12).

Select a thumbnail to view its caption.

Culture of Collecting from the First Empire to the Belle Epoque

TEXT COMING LATER

The Works of Octave Uzanne

COMING LATER

The Works of Paul Eudel

Paul Eudel (1837-1911) was one of the great French collectors, bibliophiles, and art critics of the second half of the 19th century. He wrote prolifically on the culture of collecting, notably in his 1885 anthology Collections et Collectionneurs, which brings together eight stories illustrating an exceptional breadth of interests. Few of his contemporaries ranged so widely: his subjects include artworks, toys, sporting memorabilia, pipes, stamps, marionettes, and shells, reflecting a curiosity that transcended conventional boundaries. He also published studies on individual collectors and on forgeries, as well as fictional works set within the world of collecting, among other topics. Eudel himself assembled diverse collections of artworks, books, and engravings, documented in several sale catalogues (Drouot, 1895-1898). He also formed a distinguished collection of silverware (Eudel, 1884) and, more unusually, a remarkable ensemble of collection catalogues. While such catalogues were fashionable during the Belle Époque, Eudel described his own as "almost unique," notably organised through a system of colour-coded bindings: red for engravings, blue for autographs, brown for artworks, yellow for paintings, jaspé for ceramics, and black for books (Drouot, 1895: xi). His little museum was claimed to be second only to the collection of Baron Pichon. The extraordinary diversity of both his collections and his writings places Eudel at the heart of the culture of collecting during a transitional period marked by increasing specialisation, yet also by an unprecedented proliferation of objects and fields of interest. His work and practice thus retain the spirit of the Cabinet of Curiosities, embracing multiplicity rather than narrowing focus.

  • Drouot(1895), Bibliothèque P. E., Catalogue de Livres Rares et Curieux et d’Affiches Illustrées. Paris: Léon Sapin, 73 pp.; Drouot (1898), Catalogue de la Bibliothèque de M. Paul Eudel, Première Partie. Paris: E. Paul et Fils et Guillemin, 178 pp.; Drouot (1898), Catalogue de la Bibliothèque de M. Paul Eudel, Deuxième Partie. Paris: E. Paul et Fils et Guillemin, 30 pp. [in coll.: Bound together in bradel binding, retaining their covers]
  • Eudel, P. (1884), 60 planches d'orfèvrerie de la Collection de Paul Eudel, pour faire suite aux Eléments d'orfèvrerie composés par Pierre Germain. Paris: Quantin. Engravings (drawn by Adolphe Giraldon and engraved by Dujardin) in portfolio [in coll.: CHAMPFLEURY COPY - Portfolio chipped, one of 400 copies, in-4. Presented to "excellent maître et ami Champfleury". Referred in Champfleury's sale catalogue (1890:lot 738)]

Unique Volumes of Some of Eudel's Writings on the Collecting Process, from His Library Sold in 1913

AUTHOR COPY - Trucs & Truqueurs..., by P. Eudel
Paris: Librairie Molière, 1908

Description: EUDEL, Paul (1908), Trucs & Truqueurs. Altérations, Fraudes et Contrefaçons dévoilées. Paris: Librairie Molière, 579 pp. In two volumes in-8, beautiful binding, full red morocco, gilt edges, signed by Chambolle-Duru. One of three copies on Japan paper, No. 1. Eudel's gilt armorial stamp on both covers. Interestingly, the book mentions Chambolle-Duru binding forgeries, a proof that original Chambolle-Duru bindings were already highly praised by contemporary collectors - A tour de force by the author, offering a comprehensive overview of famous fraudulent collectibles, from the Lying Stones of Professor Béringer to L'Assiette à la guillotine of Gouellain. Forgeries described include prehistoric and archaeological artifacts, silverware, paintings, engravings, ceramics, bookbindings, autographs, and musical instruments, among others. Notorious forgers, such as Becker (18th century, coins) and Hagué (19th century, book bindings) are also mentioned. The section on counterfeits at the Saint-Germain museum, as well as ways to recognise forgeries, are also discussed.

Provenance: Paul Eudel (1908-1911)

References: Eudel sale catalogue (1913:lot 150)

Select a thumbnail to view its caption.

AUTHOR COPY - Journal de Bord de mon frère Émile, by P. Eudel
Savenay, France: 1897

Description: EUDEL, Paul (1897), Journal de Bord de mon frère Émile. Savenay, 106 pp. Full red morocco binding, signed by Chambolle-Duru, also personally signed Chambolle below the typed note "Achevé de relier le 29 Aout 1904", gilt edges. Eudel's gilt armorial stamp on both covers. One of only 2 copies on Holland paper, No. 2 with Eudel's inscriptions "Il a été tiré deux exemplaires sur Hollande - no2, P. Eudel" and "Tirage en tout à 50 exemplaires P.E." - A thorough study of this travel log yields eight instances where Émile Eudel refers to shells. They provide first-hand accounts of Paul Eudel's brother life as a shell collector during maritime campaigns undertaken by the Second French Colonial Empire.

Provenance: Paul Eudel (1897-1911)

References: Eudel sale catalogue (1913:lot 282)

Select a thumbnail to view its caption.

AUTHOR COPY - Entre Collectionneurs, by P. Eudel
Paris: E. Dentu, 1888

Description: EUDEL, Paul (1888), Entre Collectionneurs. In: Nos Cinquante Ans, Récits, contes et nouvelles, pp. 219-227. Paris: E. Dentu, 497 pp. In-12 Bradel gray percaline binding, untrimmed, with covers preserved. Eudel's gilt armorial stamp in the centre of the upper cover. Copy enriched with twenty autograph signatures on the front endpaper of the following authors: A. Arnould, P. Audebrand, E. d'Auriac, Borel d'Hauterive, Henri de Bornier, Aug. Challamel, Ch, Chincholle, Jules Claretie, Louis Collas, P. Eudel, Ferdinand Fabre, Ed. Grimblot, F. Jahyer, J. Mary, Ed. Montagne, J. Noulens, Em. Richebourg, Jules Simon, André Theuriet, Edmond Thibaudière, Ed. Thierry - 31 short stories including the one on collectors by Eudel. It recounts the story of a group of collectors discussing a rare coin exchange made by one of them. The main character, eager to acquire a coveted coin, crafts a fake medal to deceive another into parting with it. The tale concludes with an unexpected twist regarding the coin's true origin.

Provenance: Paul Eudel (1888-1911)

References: Eudel sale catalogue (1913:lot 355)

Select a thumbnail to view its caption.

The 1885 'Collections et Collectionneurs' Correspondence Archive, a Unique Resource on Collecting Culture

Correspondance, Collections et collectionneurs, avant et après
Paris: Unpublished material, c. 1885

Description: Unique archive accumulated by Paul Eudel relating to the preparation and publication of his Collections et Collectionneurs book (see below). Bound volume dated 1885 with over 80 letters and a manuscript on shell collecting by his brother Émile, handwritten, some with envelopes. Among the letters contained in this precious archive are some from Arthur Maury, one of the pioneers of philately and author of the first stamp-collecting catalogues, from Arsène Vigeant, collector of fencing memorabilia, from Ad. Giraldon regarding the toy collection of Mme. Agar; from faience collector Gustave Gouellain, to whom Eudel dedicated Collections et Collectionneurs, others from the printing firm of P. Charaire et fils, who printed the work for publisher G. Charpentier, and many more from other philatelists and shell collectors. Short thank-you letters and other compliments for the publication of the book come from Baronne Davillier, widow of Baron Jean-Charles Davillier, Baron Pichon, Champfleury, and Edmond Bonnaffé to only cite some of the most famous. The manuscript on shell collecting by Eudel’s brother Émile gives many details about shell collecting (books for browsing or to buy, characteristics/psychology of the collector, common & rare types of shells, famous collections & great collectors, treatment/improvement of shells, dealers, prices, field collecting, publications). Valuable information also comes from Edouard Auguste Marie (1835-1888), French malacologist. In an 11-page letter, Marie replies to Eudel's request for information "on the most important conchological collections and the value of the rarest shells."
Accompanied with: EUDEL, Paul (1885), Collections et collectionneurs. G. Charpentier et Cie., Paris, 300 pp. Modern binding, one of only two copies printed on rose-colored paper, with Eudel's signed autograph inscription on the title verso: "Il a été tiré sur papier rose deux exemplaires qui n'ont pas été mis dans le commerce. Paul Eudel. No2".

Provenance: Paul Eudel

Select a thumbnail to view its caption.

Dime museums from the Gilded Age to the Roaring Twenties

TEXT COMING LATER

The P.T. Barnum Museum

COMING LATER

Encyclopedic collecting in the Enlightenment

TEXT COMING LATER

The Encyclopedic Collection of Pedro Francisco Dávila

COMING LATER

The Encyclopedic Collection of Joseph Bonnier de la Mosson

Silver armorial jeton of Bonnier de la Mosson, octagonal, bearing his crowned cipher on the obverse and his coat of arms on the reverse.

Joseph Bonnier de la Mosson (1702-1744), who inherited both a considerable fortune and the post of Trésorier of Languedoc upon his father's death in 1726, was uniquely positioned to indulge his passion for collecting during his short adult life, which was prematurely ended by accident. It was in the Hôtel du Lude in Paris, also inherited from his father, that Bonnier de la Mosson created one of the greatest collection cabinets of the Ancien Régime, remarkable for both its size and scope, at a time when interest in natural history was beginning to eclipse the traditional focus on antiquities. Bonnier de la Mosson assembled an extensive natural history collection, alongside collections of scientific instruments and objects related to physics, chemistry, pharmacy, and engineering. He also maintained an art collection and a library. Altogether, these were displayed across seven interconnected rooms on the first floor of his hôtel particulier. Today, the cabinet is primarily known through scholarly studies based on surviving illustrations and catalogues. His collections exemplify the transition from the Renaissance Wunderkammer (see below) to the systematically organized, scientifically oriented cabinets of the Enlightenment. The first catalogue of the collection was published in Paris in 1737, seven years before his death, as a small duodecimo volume of 64 pages prepared by Edme François Gersaint, the prominent dealer and cataloguer of the period. Immediately following Bonnier de la Mosson's death in 1744, Gersaint was commissioned by the family to produce a second, expanded catalogue of 234 pages in octavo format to facilitate the sale of the collection. The descriptions provided in the 1744 catalogue demonstrate why it was considered one of the most renowned collections of both natural history specimens and scientific instruments (Schuh's Bibliography).

The Very Rare Catalogue of One of The Finest Parisian Cabinets, With Some Prices & Buyers' Names

Catalogue raisonné d'une collection considerable..., by E.-F. Gersaint
Paris: Jaques Barois & Pierre-Guillaume Simon, 1744
[xxx]

Description: GERSAINT, Edmé-François (1744), Catalogue raisonné d'une collection considerable de diverses curiositiés en tous genres, contenues dans les cabinets de feu Monsieur Bonnier de la Mosson. Paris: Jaques Barois & Pierre-Guillaume Simon, 234 pp., with Avis and Errata sheet. Title-frontispiece after Boucher reused with modified text (print in third state of three). Fine French contemporary marbled calf, spine richly gilt, in compartments, ruled in red. Many prices and buyers'names penned to the margins in a fine hand - "Very rare [...] This sale catalog lists 966 lots with brief descriptions, including illustrated books and works of art. Among the different sections of the scientific collections may be mentioned the following: Cabinet d'Anatomie (pages 1-4), Cabinet de Chimie ou Laboratorie (pages 5-16), Cabinet de Pharmacie (pages 11-18), the natural history cabinet containg mostly minerals (pages 54-82), and the Cabinet de Mécanique et de Physique (pages 83-172), in which 222 scientific instruments and machines are listed and described in detail, including descriptions of many microscopes and a whole treatise on telescopes (pages 116-20)." (Schuh's Bibliography). The frontispiece engraving, with shows shells and corals in the foreground and three shelves of bottled, preserved anatomical and animal specimens in the background [Wilson 16], was reproduced from the earlier 1736 Gersaint catalogue.

Select a thumbnail to view its caption.

'Le Miroir des Urines', a Fitting Book for a Cabinet of Curiosities, From the Bonnier de la Mosson Library

Le Miroir des Urines..., by J. Davach de la Rivière
Paris: Cavelier, Delaguette, 1696

Description: DAVACH DE LA RIVIÈRE, Jean (1696), Le Miroir des Urines par lesquelles on voit & connoit les differens temperamens, les humeurs dominantes, les sieges & les causes des maladies d'un chacun. Paris, 337 pp. Rare first edition, including the privilege (signed by the author) and errata. Contemporary calfskin binding with a gilt-stamped spine label and richly decorated floral gilt tooling on the spine; old repair to the upper headcap, rear joints cracked, corners worn. The binding features the gilt-stamped coat of arms of Bonnier de La Mosson on the front cover and the gilt-stamped name "Mr. Bonnier de La Mosson" on the back cover. With a handwritten previous ownership note on the inside cover: "Ce present livre ajetté a Paris le premier mai 1721. il couste 6₶ [livres] il appartient au Sieur Thierry, chirurgien a Donzy."

Provenance: Joseph Bonnier de la Mosson (after 1721-1745)

References: Library sale catalogue (1745:lot 432)

Select a thumbnail to view its caption.

Cabinets of curiosities of the Renaissance

Cabinets of Curiosities, or so-called Wunderkammern, were assemblages of naturalia, exotica, artificialia, and scientifica which, combined in an eclectic manner, created an atmosphere that exceeded the sum of their individual parts. They flourished in Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in the context of early modern exploration, and declined in the eighteenth century with the rise of Enlightenment rationalism (see above). Many Cabinets of Curiosities were assembled by apothecaries, physicians, and other scholars who sought to study the objects they collected. At the same time, these collections served as sources of pleasure and as status symbols, celebrating the wealth, erudition, and intellectual authority of their owners. Members of the nobility likewise assembled such cabinets, frequently through the acquisition of pre-existing collections, as exemplified by Peter the Great.

Renaissance Cabinets of Curiosities have entered the modern imagination chiefly through engraved views of their collections, frequently issued as double-page foldouts in contemporary catalogues. What strikes the modern viewer is the densely packed and eclectic arrangement of naturalia and artificialia within a single space, frequently incorporating chimeras, legendary creatures, and mystical objects. Items are usually crowded into every corner and, characteristically, suspended from the ceiling. The reader of such catalogues is at once overwhelmed and compelled to scrutinise each depicted object. On closer inspection, however, a form of order emerges: objects are often grouped according to a discernible, if idiosyncratic, logic. Only a small number of such Wunderkammer depictions exist. The most celebrated include those of Ferrante Imperato (1599), Francesco Calceolari (1622), Ole Worm (1655), and Ferdinando Cospi (1677).

The Cabinet of Curiosities of Nicolas Chevalier

Nicolas Chevalier (1661-1720), of the Reformed faith, was forced into exile in Holland following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. There he became a bookseller, printer, and engraver of medals, and published several learned dissertations. He dedicated his work to Jacob de Wilde, auditor of the Admiralty of Amsterdam and a noted collector. While in Holland, Chevalier assembled a collection of rarities that may be divided into three distinct Cabinets of Curiosities, corresponding to different periods and locations in his life: Amsterdam (1685-1703), Utrecht (1703-1716), and Amsterdam again (1716-1720). Although Chevalier's catalogues are rarely mentioned in studies of Wunderkammern, they contain fine engravings depicting the various sections of his collection, exemplifying the exotic wonders that reached Holland during the Dutch Golden Age.

...

Rare Catalogue of the First Cabinet of Rarities of Nicolas Chevalier

... Description de la Chambre des Raretez de l'Auteur
Amsterdam: Abraham Wolfgang, 1694
[Cabinets de Curiosités... #87]

Description: CHEVALIER, Nicolas (1694), Remarques sur la Pièce Antique de Bronze, Trouvée depuis quelques années aux environs de Rome, & proposée ensuite aux Curieux de l'Antiquité, pour tâcher d'en découvrir l'usage : Avec une Description de la Chambre des Raretez de l'Auteur. Amsterdam: Abraham Wolfgang, frontispiece, [10] ff., 138 pp., 14 copper-engraved plates, 3 folding plates. In-12, dark brown grained calf binding, restored, spine with raised bands and ornamentation, red-speckled edges. A few very faint water stains. One folding plate lacking - The present catalogue, describing his first cabinet, includes a list of objects and is magnificently illustrated of engravings showing the walls and ceiling of his collection displays. His cabinet contains coins and medals, along with the tools necessary for their striking; antiquities; a curious cabinet of amber; ethnographic weapons; exotic animals; unicorn horns, and more. Most of these marvels can be seen in the fine engraved plates.

Select a thumbnail to view its caption.

The Cabinet of Curiosities of Ferdinando Cospi

Marchese Ferdinando Cospi (1606-1686), a Bolognese senator and purchasing agent for the Medici family, assembled a large collection of natural curiosities. He donated it for the use of scholars to the city of Bologna in 1657; it was formally bequeathed in 1672 and housed in an annex to Aldrovandi's museum in the Palazzo Pubblico. Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1605), often regarded as the father of natural history, had earlier willed his vast collections in botany and zoology to the Senate of Bologna. These were opened to the public in 1617, making them among the earliest examples of a private scholarly collection becoming publicly accessible. The two collections, later merged, were described by Lorenzo Legati (c. 1605-1675) in a celebrated Wunderkammer catalogue. As the catalogue focused primarily on Cospi's collection, the more encyclopedic and scientific character of Aldrovandi's holdings was somewhat obscured, while Cospi's different ambition, that of the Wunderkammer, emerges clearly in the engraving of the museum's interior. The Aldrovandi and Cospi collections were nonetheless complementary, the latter contributing significant artificialia to what had been a predominantly naturalia-focused assemblage. In 1743, a large portion of the collection was transferred to the Istituto delle Scienze, which was later incorporated into the Museo Civico di Bologna in 1871.

The dwarf Sebastiano Biavati, a living member of the collection, stands alongside Ferdinando Cospi before the Cabinet of Curiosities, presenting it to the reader of the Wunderkammer catalogue.

Museo Cospiano, One of the Most Emplematic Depictions of a Wunderkammer Interior

Museo Cospiano annesso a quello del famos Ulisse Aldrovandie...
Bologna: Giacomo Monti, 1677
[From Wunderkammer to Museum #25][Cabinets de Curiosités... #97]

Description: LEGATI, Lorenzo (1677), Museo Cospiano annesso a quello del famoso Ulisse Aldrovandie donato all sua Patria dall'Illustrissimo Signor Ferdinando Cospi ptrizio di Bologna e Senatore... Bologna: Giacomo Monti. Titlepage printed in red and black with a woodcut device, large folding engraved plate of the interior of the museum (by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli), engraved portrait of Cospi (by Adrian Haelvegh after Justus Susterman), a woodcut portrait of the dedicatee, Ferdinand III of Tuscany, on dedication leaf, 532 pp. with woodcut illustrations in the text. Folio (320 x 215mm). Eighteenth century vellum; approximately 30 leaves toned, occasional spotting. With one photograph and two manuscript sheets tipped in, one text in Italian and one in French about the pictured medieval crossbow - The woodcuts represent various kinds of animals, terra cottas, arms, stones, minerals. The volume is divided into five books. The first lists human and animal specimens, birds and monsters. The second covers reptiles, fish, corals, shells and fossils, minerals, crustaceans, and plants. The third treats 'exotic' books and manuscripts, mathematical, scientific and nautical instruments, weapons, vases, funerary tablets and games. Book four describes medals and coins, while the last book classifies religious images from localities throughout the known world. It also describes the pre-Columbian Codex Cospi as a book of 'Mexican hieroglyphs, which are most extravagant figures and for the most part depict men and animals that are strangely monstrous'. Curios include an acephalous dog and cat with two bodies. There is also a section on games, a small (eight entries) but remarkable collection suite.

Select a thumbnail to view its caption.

The Cabinet of Curiosities of the Tradescant Family

COMING LATER

The Cabinet of Curiosities of Ole Worm

COMING LATER