Useful objects museums, science, and literature in nineteenth-century America Gochberg, Reed creator author. text bibliography History. nyu 2021 monographic eng print 266 pages : illustrations (black and white). ; 25 cm "Useful Objects: Museums, Science, and Literature in Nineteenth-Century America explores the debates that surrounded the development of American museums during the nineteenth century. Throughout this period, museums included a wide range of objects, from botanical and zoological specimens to antiquarian artifacts and technological models. Intended to promote "useful knowledge," these collections generated broader discussions about how objects were selected, preserved, and classified. In guidebooks and periodicals, visitors described their experiences within museum galleries and marveled at the objects they encountered. And in fiction, essays, and poems, writers embraced the imaginative possibilities represented by collections and proposed alternative systems of arrangement. These conversations spanned across spheres of American culture, raising deeper questions about how objects are valued-and who gets to decide"-- Circulating objects : loss and decay in the American Philosophical Society's cabinet -- Shadowed silhouettes : writing indigenous resistance in early American museums -- American claimants : overwhelming collections and visitor impressions at the British Museum -- Novel inventions : nation and spectacle in the U.S. Patent Office gallery -- Specimen collectors : preservation and classification at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. Reed Gochberg. Includes bibliographical references and index. n-us--- Museums United States History 19th century Museums Social aspects United States Museums Collection management United States Museums in literature Museums Museums Collection management Museums in literature Museums Social aspects United States 1800-1899 fast AM11 .G63 2021 069.097309/034 Useful objects Gochberg, Reed. New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2021] (DLC) 2021013431 9780197553480 0197553486 9780197553503 9780197553510 9780197553497 2021013430 LBSOR/DLC 210327 20220303191217.3 in00004554185 eng