The Lives of the Objects: Collecting Design - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1851779728 ISBN 13: 9781851779727

Publisher: V&A, 2019

Synopsis

In this intriguing insight into the work and history of a museum, V&A director and historian Dr Tristram Hunt brings together ten renowned V&A curators to tell the stories behind ten of their most treasured objects. ‘Tipu’s Tiger’ (an almost life-size wooden semi-automaton mauling a European soldier), the ‘Great Bed of Ware’ (an Elizabethan bed for 8 people) and a Shakespeare First Folio are among the featured highlights whose route to the V&A collections are entertainingly revealed.

Through these stories, this insightful history of museum curation – a world of careful study and sometimes remarkable fortuity – shows how the priorities of a museum are shaped and change over time.

Published to explore in more depth some of the stories featured in the BBC six part series Secrets of the Museum

About this title

About the Author

Tristram Hunt is the author of several books on British history, and the Director of the V&A.

From the Back Cover

In this intriguing insight into the work and history of a museum, V&A director and historian Dr Tristram Hunt brings together ten renowned V&A curators to tell the stories behind ten of their most treasured objects. ‘Tipu’s Tiger’ (an almost life-size wooden semi-automaton mauling a European soldier), the ‘Great Bed of Ware’ (an Elizabethan bed for 8 people) and a Shakespeare First Folio are among the featured highlights whose route to the V&A collections are entertainingly revealed.

Through these stories, this insightful history of museum curation – a world of careful study and sometimes remarkable fortuity – shows how the priorities of a museum are shaped and change over time.

Edition details

• Publisher: V&A
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1851779728
• ISBN 13: 9781851779727
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256
• Editor: Hunt Tristram